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Hi:

I've just joined the list and I have found many comments touting the benefits of
a quick change tool post. Being on a limited budget, though, I was wondering
if the model sold by Harbor Freight (
Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42806) is worth the $85. Has anyone tried the
set? Any problems? It appears to come with some great attacments and
tools. I hate to do things on the cheap, but there are other tools I need, and
money is limited. Any comments or suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks,

Jason Swan

The barbell weight wasn't an original idea! I used a 2 1/2# one
from Walmart; it was cheap & had the least amount of detail cast in.
I'd expected it to warp when the "skin" was machined off, it did, but
not when both sides were faced; turning the outside to finished
diameter was the stress unlocker. Next time, I'll rough machine all
the surfaces before finishing any of them.
The other nuisance was from bolting it directly to the spindle.
Without a face plate to act as a dust shield, the illuminated power
switch collected enough fine, conductive swarf to not turn off! The
lathe would keep running at minimum speed, increasing the speed would
draw enough more current to let it turn off.

Roy
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "John" <moran03@e...> wrote:

Hi Roy,

Thanks for the input. Glad to hear you were able to reach near

the

backplate using overhang without too much chatter. After thinking
about it some more I made the chuck with about 1 inch protruding.

My

thought is that if it doesn't work out this way I'll make the mods
you suggested and re-work the chuck to make it shorter -- I found
making the steep taper was fairly easy and shortening the chuck

just

requires more passes with the boring bar.

I thought your use of a barbell weight for a backplate was very
interesting. I tend to make most things from "found" material and
interestingly the collet chuck is made from the bar of a barbell;

it

had a raised part to which I added a thread with the idea of making

a

large nut to fit this thread for collet chuck extraction. I used

16

threads per inch which, now that I look at it, seems like it may be

a

finer thread than would normally be used for this application.

(This

was my first try at threading and it went surprisingly well.) If it
doesn't work out I'll turn it down a bit and use a coarser thread.

The taper attachment is from a pdf file at mlprojects:

LongTaper.pdf.

I added some pictures and notes about my minilathe adaptation of

it

on my site:

The taper attachment remains a work in progress. I'm watching the
landfill for a better piece of angle iron; once I find that I'll

move

the arms toward the chuck a bit and add braces from the arms to the
lathe legs to make it more rigid. It works but the taper it

produces

isn't perfect because of flexing in the mount so I end up finishing
the tapers with a file to get them to fit properly. This isn't a
fault in the taper fixture design, rather a fault in my
implementation and the materials I used.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "roylowenthal"
<roylowenthal@y...> wrote:

Which taper attachment did you make?
The motor enclosure can be modified to clear the carriage & an
extension shaft made for the handwheel to allow the carriage to
travel closer to the HS. When I made a chuck mounting plate from

a

barbell weight, I bolted it directly to the spindle & used tool
protrusion & the compound to reach. Chatter was less of a

problem

than I'd expected.
For both rigidity & work length, I'd keep collet protrusion as
short as possible. The Loctite should work fine, degrease the
threads thoroughly first; brake cleaner works well. Even if it

comes

loose, it'll be annoying, not catastrophic.

Roy

Hi Roy,

Thanks for the input. Glad to hear you were able to reach near the
backplate using overhang without too much chatter. After thinking
about it some more I made the chuck with about 1 inch protruding. My
thought is that if it doesn't work out this way I'll make the mods
you suggested and re-work the chuck to make it shorter -- I found
making the steep taper was fairly easy and shortening the chuck just
requires more passes with the boring bar.

I thought your use of a barbell weight for a backplate was very
interesting. I tend to make most things from "found" material and
interestingly the collet chuck is made from the bar of a barbell; it
had a raised part to which I added a thread with the idea of making a
large nut to fit this thread for collet chuck extraction. I used 16
threads per inch which, now that I look at it, seems like it may be a
finer thread than would normally be used for this application. (This
was my first try at threading and it went surprisingly well.) If it
doesn't work out I'll turn it down a bit and use a coarser thread.

The taper attachment is from a pdf file at mlprojects: LongTaper.pdf.
I added some pictures and notes about my minilathe adaptation of it
on my site:

The taper attachment remains a work in progress. I'm watching the
landfill for a better piece of angle iron; once I find that I'll move
the arms toward the chuck a bit and add braces from the arms to the
lathe legs to make it more rigid. It works but the taper it produces
isn't perfect because of flexing in the mount so I end up finishing
the tapers with a file to get them to fit properly. This isn't a
fault in the taper fixture design, rather a fault in my
implementation and the materials I used.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "roylowenthal"
<roylowenthal@y...> wrote:

Which taper attachment did you make?
The motor enclosure can be modified to clear the carriage & an
extension shaft made for the handwheel to allow the carriage to
travel closer to the HS. When I made a chuck mounting plate from a
barbell weight, I bolted it directly to the spindle & used tool
protrusion & the compound to reach. Chatter was less of a problem
than I'd expected.
For both rigidity & work length, I'd keep collet protrusion as
short as possible. The Loctite should work fine, degrease the
threads thoroughly first; brake cleaner works well. Even if it

comes

loose, it'll be annoying, not catastrophic.

Roy

Which taper attachment did you make?
The motor enclosure can be modified to clear the carriage & an
extension shaft made for the handwheel to allow the carriage to
travel closer to the HS. When I made a chuck mounting plate from a
barbell weight, I bolted it directly to the spindle & used tool
protrusion & the compound to reach. Chatter was less of a problem
than I'd expected.
For both rigidity & work length, I'd keep collet protrusion as
short as possible. The Loctite should work fine, degrease the
threads thoroughly first; brake cleaner works well. Even if it comes
loose, it'll be annoying, not catastrophic.

Roy
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "John" <moran03@e...> wrote:

In looking for projects which involve my recently completed taper
fixture, I have decided on a 3C collet chuck to fit the MT3 on the
minilathe -- this based on reading pdf files on the net.

As a newbie I immediately began making chips rather than carefully
planning how the chuck would be used. Now that I've made the taper
and have started working on the chuck itself, a number of questions
have arisen.

The pdf articles assume that the tool can be positioned right up to
the chuck backplate. The minilathe seems to expect the chuck to be
used for all workholding; when positioning more toward the

headstock

(as when using the collet chuck) the rear of the carriage contacts
the motor enclosure and the carriage handle contacts the

electronics

enclosure, this when the tool is about an inch from the backplate.
Greater overhang of the compound is one possibility for improvment
but I am concerned that this will increase tool chatter.

Should I make the socket so the end of the collet will be an inch

or

so from the backplate? My understanding of collets is that they

work

well partly because they are closer to the headstock - will this
extended collet chuck make my setup less useful?

For the closer my current plan is to turn and thread a short piece

to

fit the thread on the 3C and then thread/loctite this to a piece of
pipe and add a collar and handle to allow tightening. (The reason

I

don't plan to thread the pipe itself is that I get a poor finish on
some steel so I plan to use steel which takes a good finish for
contact with the collets.) Is this a reasonable plan? Will the
loctite stand up to this use?

John

I have a faceplate I bought with my lathe for just such a thing to
come along.
Many thanks for pointing this out.

Jerry

Follow the link from the mini-lathe.com home page

Frank Hoose

Plex (Methyl Methacrylate) is available in rod and bar. Try Rohm and
Hass acrylic or look for Lexan.

Bill in Boulder "Engineering as an Art Form!"

In looking for projects which involve my recently completed taper
fixture, I have decided on a 3C collet chuck to fit the MT3 on the
minilathe -- this based on reading pdf files on the net.

As a newbie I immediately began making chips rather than carefully
planning how the chuck would be used. Now that I've made the taper
and have started working on the chuck itself, a number of questions
have arisen.

The pdf articles assume that the tool can be positioned right up to
the chuck backplate. The minilathe seems to expect the chuck to be
used for all workholding; when positioning more toward the headstock
(as when using the collet chuck) the rear of the carriage contacts
the motor enclosure and the carriage handle contacts the electronics
enclosure, this when the tool is about an inch from the backplate.
Greater overhang of the compound is one possibility for improvment
but I am concerned that this will increase tool chatter.

Should I make the socket so the end of the collet will be an inch or
so from the backplate? My understanding of collets is that they work
well partly because they are closer to the headstock - will this
extended collet chuck make my setup less useful?

For the closer my current plan is to turn and thread a short piece to
fit the thread on the 3C and then thread/loctite this to a piece of
pipe and add a collar and handle to allow tightening. (The reason I
don't plan to thread the pipe itself is that I get a poor finish on
some steel so I plan to use steel which takes a good finish for
contact with the collets.) Is this a reasonable plan? Will the
loctite stand up to this use?

John

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "bbftx" <bflint@a...> wrote:

Mike,
What kind of engineer were you?
I was a mech e and worked in the oil patch for a while.

I'm not from Milwaukee, but the least expensive place to get raw
material would be a local scrap yard or metal recycling place.

Look

for aluminum, brass, or mild steel you can scratch with a file.

If you there is some specific material you want, there are some
online places you can order small quantities from:
www.metalmart.com
www.onlinemetals.com
They are convenient in that you can get exactly what you want, but
you'll pay more for it.
Good luck
B Flint

I have worked in medical devices and electro optics
I'm still working on a medical device invention in the basement,
hence the need for a lathe and maybe a mill. In addition to AL and
brass, I'm looking for some UV light transmitting material i can
machine. Sheets are easy to find; I need a rod.
mike

Mike,
What kind of engineer were you?
I was a mech e and worked in the oil patch for a while.

I'm not from Milwaukee, but the least expensive place to get raw
material would be a local scrap yard or metal recycling place. Look
for aluminum, brass, or mild steel you can scratch with a file.

If you there is some specific material you want, there are some
online places you can order small quantities from:
www.metalmart.com
www.onlinemetals.com
They are convenient in that you can get exactly what you want, but
you'll pay more for it.
Good luck
B Flint

try LONDON TAP AND DIE COMPANY


DAVID WILLIAMS
BOLTON
ENGLAND
www.smartgroups.com/groups/PRE78BMW
davidalan@...

Rich,
Here's a place that has all sorts of weird taps>


B Flint


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., Richard Kleinhenz
<woodnpen@o...> wrote:

Would anyone know where I can find an M9x0.5 metric tap? I checked

MSC, J&L and Travers, I don't think any of the std places would have
this. Is there someone specializing in out of the ordinary taps liek
this?

--
Regards,
Rich
========================================
Richard Kleinhenz
mailto:woodnpen@o...


========================================

Would anyone know where I can find an M9x0.5 metric tap? I checked MSC, J&L and Travers, I don't think any of the std places would have this. Is there someone specializing in out of the ordinary taps liek this?

--
Regards,
Rich
========================================
Richard Kleinhenz
mailto:woodnpen@...


========================================

Thank you both, looks like I am in the ballpark, in general. Maybe I need to try HSS rather than carbide inserts.
m
--
Regards,
Rich
========================================
Richard Kleinhenz
mailto:woodnpen@...


========================================

Richard,
Definitely try HSS, as an experiment for your own education under your own shop circumstances if nothing else. HSS just seems more forgiving to me, and I get better results since I haven't seemed to crack the "carbide code" yet. HSS will wear faster, but for me, that's a small price to pay for better, more consistent results.

B Flint

I'm a retired engineer in the milwaukee area. Just bought a mini
lathe from Frank who has a booth at 7 mile fair. I think its the
same as the Homeier unit.
I'm new at actually cutting metal, although I've had model makers
build me things for years.
I bought Joe Martin's book on Tabletop Machining. Turning metal to
size is not too hard.
When the tool comes, we'll see if i can cut inside threads.
I'd love to hear from others in the milwaukee area and could use
immediate advice on where to get small amoounts of material to turn
Thanks
mike Aita
414 962 1878

Relative newbie chiming in here. I've had a bunch of experience with
this lately, turning some 1 inch Al down to 0.5 inch in the center of
a shaft. I'm finding that these 7x12s can hog out up to 0.020 inch
with either a HSS or a cemented carbide bit, but the finish is not
very good. I use this for a roughing cut to remove a lot of material
quickly. The speed is about at the 9:30+- position in the LOW range
using a slow and even hand feed on the carraige.

Then, back off the bit and skin off 0.001 or 0.002 on each pass with
the speed dial about 12:00-1:00 until I arrive at my final diameter.
I find I can get a good finish with the carbide bits, a better finish
with a sharpened HSS. Patience is the key. Dry or lubed with TapMagic
seems to make no difference on the Al. Finish it off with emory cloth
(s). Another Yahoo group recommended using polish while the piece is
still on the lathe, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

In general, I'm not too pleased with the commercial carbide bits, but
I think they are cheapy Enco bits. If I buy carbides in the future,
I'm going to buy some top quality ones and see how they do.

Larry
New Orleans

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Ed Paradis" <eparadis@a...>
wrote:

Rich, I wouldn't say that the speeds are totaly inappropriate for

the

7x's, but I would use them as a general guide. For most steels, I
generally run at a lower speed, typically between 9:00 and 11:00 on
the dial (in low range), and with aluminium, I run at higher

speeds,

typically 10:00 to 1:00 on the dial. The finish is more of a
function of how deep you're cutting and the type of toolbit you're
using. I use predominatly carbide (brazed/cemented & inserts) and
get a pretty decent finish. On the roughing cuts, I'll go anywhere
from about .015 to .020 on steel, as much as .050 on Al. I let the
machine tell me when I'm a little too aggressive, usually groans or
chatters if I'm taking too much (or stalls when it hogs in)... For
my finishing cuts, I generally only go .001 - .002 deep and speed

up

the machine (around 11:00 to 01:00 for steel, 01:00 to 05:00 for

Al)

and manually advance the carriage. I always use some form of lube,
usually "tapmagic", applied with a small brush to the rotating

piece

and I'm usually pretty happy with the result. I keep some strips

of

400 grit wet/dry close by to polish a little while rotating also

(be

careful it doesn't pull you in). The finish is generally better

also

if you use a more blunt or rounded radius on the toolbit with light
cuts rather than a sharp pointed one, in my experience.

Ed

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., Richard Kleinhenz
<woodnpen@o...> wrote:

I understand that cutting speeds published in the books are

generally used for large machines, and that they are totally
inappropriate for our 'toys'. (I have a 7x12). We should go by

what

feels right.

I am looking for a little guidance here. Say I machine 3/8" or

1/2" 1018 steel. Where should I be approximately? I have an
inexpensive indexable toolset from LMS. The surfaces I get are
nothing to write home about... Can anyone with some experience

steer

me in the right direction? Should I always apply cutting oil? How
much to remove in a pass? What speed? I am on the low range.

What

dial setting appr.? It seems easier to take a heftier cut than a
small cut... something seems wrong ;-) Is there something like a
lower limit for a lathe cut?

I get by, because I don't need a good finish on these simple

bushings I make, but I sure would like to do it better eventually.

Thanks for any pointers!

--
Regards,
Rich
========================================
Richard Kleinhenz
mailto:woodnpen@o...


========================================

Rich, I wouldn't say that the speeds are totaly inappropriate for the
7x's, but I would use them as a general guide. For most steels, I
generally run at a lower speed, typically between 9:00 and 11:00 on
the dial (in low range), and with aluminium, I run at higher speeds,
typically 10:00 to 1:00 on the dial. The finish is more of a
function of how deep you're cutting and the type of toolbit you're
using. I use predominatly carbide (brazed/cemented & inserts) and
get a pretty decent finish. On the roughing cuts, I'll go anywhere
from about .015 to .020 on steel, as much as .050 on Al. I let the
machine tell me when I'm a little too aggressive, usually groans or
chatters if I'm taking too much (or stalls when it hogs in)... For
my finishing cuts, I generally only go .001 - .002 deep and speed up
the machine (around 11:00 to 01:00 for steel, 01:00 to 05:00 for Al)
and manually advance the carriage. I always use some form of lube,
usually "tapmagic", applied with a small brush to the rotating piece
and I'm usually pretty happy with the result. I keep some strips of
400 grit wet/dry close by to polish a little while rotating also (be
careful it doesn't pull you in). The finish is generally better also
if you use a more blunt or rounded radius on the toolbit with light
cuts rather than a sharp pointed one, in my experience.

Ed

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., Richard Kleinhenz
<woodnpen@o...> wrote:

I understand that cutting speeds published in the books are

generally used for large machines, and that they are totally
inappropriate for our 'toys'. (I have a 7x12). We should go by what
feels right.

I am looking for a little guidance here. Say I machine 3/8" or

1/2" 1018 steel. Where should I be approximately? I have an
inexpensive indexable toolset from LMS. The surfaces I get are
nothing to write home about... Can anyone with some experience steer
me in the right direction? Should I always apply cutting oil? How
much to remove in a pass? What speed? I am on the low range. What
dial setting appr.? It seems easier to take a heftier cut than a
small cut... something seems wrong ;-) Is there something like a
lower limit for a lathe cut?

I get by, because I don't need a good finish on these simple

bushings I make, but I sure would like to do it better eventually.

Thanks for any pointers!

--
Regards,
Rich
========================================
Richard Kleinhenz
mailto:woodnpen@o...


========================================

Larry,
For a drill chuck for the mini lathe tailstock, you can't beat Little
Machine Shop. They have a an arbor and 1/2 drill chuck for $25. The nice
thing about it is that it is a shortened arbor that fits in the mini lathe
tailstock. Most MT2 arbors out there need to be cut off to mount in the
short tailstock.


LMS also has faceplates and chucks. You might be able to find chucks a
couple bucks cheaper elsewhere, but if you're ordering a drill chuck and
arbor, you might as well get it all from one place to minimize shipping
costs.
B Flint

Rich,
I'm getting good results on mild steel like 1018 using HSS tools with no
coolant. What type of inserts are you using? I haven't gotten as good
results with coated carbide inserts no matter what I seem to try. Carbide
generally likes higher speeds and deeper cuts.

The HSS inserts from LMS in indexable tool holders have worked well for me,
as have ground HSS bits.
I'm getting a good finish with relatively light cuts anywhere from .001" up
to about.020". For 1/2" diameter, I'd have the dial on my machine about
halfway on the low range. Assuming that's about 600 rpm, I think we're
talking about 75 feet per minute surface speed, which is well under the
recommended max for turning mild steel.

I'm also getting better results with steel now that I have completed the JWE
compound mods and have a good size QCTP (series 100). It's more massive and
more rigid than the stock mini lathe toolposts. You also have to make sure
you have the gibs on the cross slide and compound snug.
Also, if you're turning a workpiece longer than about 2 or 3x the diameter,
you probably need to have the tailstock end supported by a center.
Otherwise it will deflect and give you a bad finish.

I'm sure other people may use different setups, but that's what has worked
best for me.
B Flint