Author Topic: New lathe  (Read 5250 times)

Offline AVTUR

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #15 on: April 06, 2021, 12:45:51 PM »
Admiral

In addition to using a bridge I put a bar in the bore of the spindle so that the chuck sets on to it when being fitted or removed. The Cowell had its bar (diameter 1/4", length 7") faced to length yesterday.

I attach a photograph of the height setting gauge in use. The tool is at the "correct" height and the gauge needs a bit of fine tuning.

A lathe is a marvellous tool for just holding things.

I like single point thread cutting but having no thread chasers finishing is usually done with a die. I have single point thread cut internal threads in brass, all over 3/4" in diameter. My Myford is only any good for imperial threads (I have a set set of metric change wheels but have not had such an important job to sacrifice time to fitting and removing them) so dies are used for metric and BA threads.

AVTUR
There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #16 on: April 06, 2021, 01:29:18 PM »
Elegant way to show that the simple tools are often the best / easiest to use - thank you for the picture  :cheers:

Per

Offline Jim

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #17 on: April 15, 2021, 12:34:45 AM »
What a great little lathe that is.
Kind regards,

Jim

Offline AVTUR

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #18 on: April 15, 2021, 04:10:00 PM »
First, the lathe has got a new accessory - a cover. I believe that machine tools should be protected from the outside world. Covers keep them snug and warm (perhaps) in their own little oily environment. The Myford lathe has had Myford plastic covers which go brittle after a few years. The milling machine has a garden furniture cover which has shed its plastic lining after years of use. I tried finding a similar garden furniture cover for the Cowells on the internet without success but became aware that there are firms  making bespoke machine covers. I eventually used a company in east London that quoted a month’s delivery time. It arrived within two weeks, was not expensive and appears to be far more substantial than a garden furniture cover (made from thick PVC).

I have now made good use of the lathe. It is rather sweet to use. So far I have only used the self centring three jaw chuck which appears to run true (a real surprise since they never run true for me). The cross slide is permanently engaged with the leadscrew which is interesting. The leadscrew pitch is 1mm and the four dials are large and very clearly marked. The graticules are marked at 0,02mm intervals. The handles are even larger and there is no backlash. The leadscrew can be disconnected from the power by a cross slide operated clutch. This works very consistently.

Having started to use the lathe I am now questioning the need for a DRO. Because everything is so clear and simple the DRO requirement has moved from “must have”, through “need” and “want” to “could be of use”. This suits me because I was getting very confused and mixed-up looking at DRO websites.

AVTUR
There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Offline iRon

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #19 on: April 15, 2021, 06:57:57 PM »
The dials certainly look very clear and easy to read.

Ron

Offline iRon

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #20 on: April 15, 2021, 07:08:56 PM »
The cover looks very smart and substantial. Please may I ask where you obtained it?

Ron

Offline AVTUR

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Re: New lathe
« Reply #21 on: April 16, 2021, 12:10:12 PM »
The cover looks very smart and substantial. Please may I ask where you obtained it?

Ron

Ron

I have sent you a PM.

AVTUR
There is no such thing as a stupid question.

 

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