If you are more interested in having the parts you describe instead of learning and playing with a lathe, you might do well to consider www.emachineshop.com. They have a small software program to download that allows you to make a sketch that gets quoted. You can experiment with a variety of manufacturing techniques, materials, quantities, tolerances, etc. to see what each option would cost. You can do all of this before you submit it to them for manufacture. You can also email them about other manufacturing options that you may not be aware of.
As others have said, the learning curve and cost of additional tooling are both fairly steep - worth it, mind you, if that is what you want to do, but otherwise maybe not the best approach.
Jim
nicipi <nicipi@...> wrote:
First, thanks for all your feedback Mike, John, Ian and Mike - you
guys have added a lot to my sense of what's involved in this
endeavor. I should at least clarify my tolerances.
The wall thickness can actually be anywhere between 16thou and
32thou, and every one that I make can be in that range (don't all
need to be identical); the only restriction here is that it still be
flarable. Also, the thickness should be relative to the 0.437" outer
diameter of the main part of the tube (the 0.437" can be plus/minus
5thou or maybe even 10thou). It is important that the
0.625" "outward rolled-like bead" be clean and rounded (a picture
would really help here - I have a photo and a schematic but don't
know how to share it with you guys). Otherwise, the surfaces don't
need to be perfect, so for example, as John points out, the inside of
the tube can be done with just drill/bore (if I'm using the right
wording).
What I first need to do is make sure I understand the procedural
options here. Each of you guys have added something unique to try,
and I've been reading your instructions over and over. What's just
now becoming a little clearer to me are things like what does the
tailstock do, what are the options for supporting the piece, what are
centers, etc., and most importantly, what is a mandrel and how is it
used (so that I can implement Mike's technique or variant thereof -
the mandrel seems to be a key here.) It certainly would be helpful
to see one of these machines up close and in action. I even looked
on youtube but only one video came up when I searched on "mini-lathe"
and it wasn't very enlightening.
Nicipi
