Keyboard Shortcuts
ctrl + shift + ? :
Show all keyboard shortcuts
ctrl + g :
Navigate to a group
ctrl + shift + f :
Find
ctrl + / :
Quick actions
esc to dismiss
Likes
Search
Before buying a 7x12 (wood turning)
|
Hi machinists,
Wonder if turning a PVC cylinder OD= 6", conversely to make plastic or basic aluminum pulleys) could be done on a wood lathe. Know that it will work as spinning lathe (with a heavier motor) but doubting it will does plastic/metalworking of small pieces (up 6") It's an imported WOOD lathe (40" axis length ) If it shouln't be possible, before ordering a 7x12 brand new , alternatives are: 1. To upgrade it for doing 'basic aluminum turning' with a 6" (or greater) chuck (3 selfcenterd or 4 jaws) 2. Adapt a toolpost accessory as long with a toolpost base to get 'parallel' turning Wonder if all needed parts can be got from reliable suppliers i.e. TheLittleMachine /HF/Grizzly/Use-Enco/Homier /Cummins, etc , you named. About labour cost, assume that it's a DIY approach to a minilathe and let's say that that have some cheap time for fun :) Think that a 6" ( 7" or 9") chuck and toolpost will have to cost under $200 otherwise , as floor space is finite, will consider to buy a complete 7x12 just out of the box. BTW googlin' found chucks from China below 100 bucks. I got inspired by an eBAY book that was offered last week. Alledgelly was written by Delta in the 40's, it's publicize tjat some metal work can be done on a wood lathe, built more ruggedly those years. Any comment about metal turning on a wood lathe ? It will be for doing repeatable turning of small pieces , i.e. a small pulley. It will have same diameter every time , so not quick change needed. Comments about pros and cons of modding a wood lathe to do PVC/aluminum turning are welcome. Related hints will be highly appreciated. Veni __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around |
|
Those are some pretty interesting questions.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I have turned a lot of PVC and aluminum in that size range and have sort of a feel for it. You really don't want a flimsy setup or the tool will suddenly dig in pretty drastically. Regarding using a wood lathe. What you are talking about doing is making what is called a "purpose built" machine. You could probably even make such a thing starting with less than a wood lathe so long as you had some sort of powered spindle and some sort of bed (steel or aluminum slab or channel) and then create enough of a toolpost with enough motion to get the job done. About the 7x12: I wouldn't recommend it for turning 6" diameter. You can do it, but a lathe is typically best at turning things about half of its "swing". However, it will do what you want. If something is going to be large, it is best if it is disk-like, and a pulley is disk-like. You will have to find a way to hold your workpiece since you can't put large chucks on the mini-lathe. 5" is the maximum and I think that is pushing it. So you will need to mount to a faceplate or on a mandrel or something. Others have less concern about swinging larger diameters. So part of my opinion is rooted in sizing the machine for the work it will do most of the time. Most that swing something that big on thte 7x12, probably only do it very rarely, or maybe once. When you talk about buying larger chucks (large from t he 7x12 perspective anyway) you are starting to talk money. And then you will probably need to make or buy a toolpost. More money. And at the end of the day you have something that has limitations, no metal lathe type tailstock, no thread cutting ability, no power feed. You may only need to do certain things right now. But things change. And a more general machine will be far more handy when you need to do something different. Plus, you can start using it right away. And you will probably discover what else you can do with it once you have it. So right sized or undersized, I would strongly suggest a real metal lathe. I would urge you to find a 9, 10, or 12 inch used lathe that already had the tooling you need. For your application, the lathe can have some problems and it wouldn't matter much since you will be working in a limited range of the travel. If the bed is bit worn in the middle, so what. I think that by the time you cobble together something else, you could have just bought an old Atlas lathe or a mini-lathe. You mentioned you have a space problem. My first choice would be to try and get a reasonably sized machine in the first place, 7x12 in the second place, and I would skip the idea of making a purpose built machine for a low volume of such a thing unless doing such things was my hobby somehow. Chuck K. Quoting "veniaver2006@..." <veniaver2006@...>: Hi machinists, |
|
Delta used to offer a compound slide attachment for their wood lathe
to allow limited use with metal lathe tooling. I've never seen or used one, it stuck in my memory because it was such an oddity. The 7x12 metal lathe only swings about 4 - 4 1/2" over the carriage, you can face & do peripheral cuts on thin larger pieces. If you mount a large chuck you get limited by the jaws striking the bed. I think you can use a 5" chuck, with a 4" the lathe "looks" right. If you look at the imported wood lathes, you'll find they're not very robust. You might get away with spinning on one, I don't think it would be a fun experience. The one dedicated spinning lathe I ever used was noteworthy for how robust it was; heftier than the old Delta wood lathes. For something the size you're trying to make, you'll need a larger, stiffer machine than either a 7x12 or a cheap Asian wood lathe. Roy --- In 7x12minilathe@..., "veniaver2006@..." <veniaver2006@...> wrote:
|
|
Hi Veni,
If you can cut slabs of your PVC with something other than the lathe (bandsaw?), 6" pulley shapes would be achievable on a 7x using a face plate. You'd need to attach your work to the plate using bolts through the work at staggered radii. The staggered radii would permit removal of some of the bolts for a staged facing operation without dismounting the job from the plate. The standard Sieg face plate is 180mm (6.3"). After facing one side, flip it so that becomes the reference flat for all remaining operations. John --- In 7x12minilathe@..., "roylowenthal" <roylowenthal@...> wrote: lathe to allow limited use with metal lathe tooling. I've never seen orcarriage, you can face & do peripheral cuts on thin larger pieces. If youI think you can use a 5" chuck, with a 4" the lathe "looks" right.very robust. You might get away with spinning on one, I don't think itever used was noteworthy for how robust it was; heftier than the oldDelta wood lathes. For something the size you're trying to make, you'll |
|
Typo correction - the Sieg plate is 160mm!
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "born4something" <ajs@...> wrote: lathe (bandsaw?), 6" pulley shapes would be achievable on a 7x using abolts through the work at staggered radii. The staggered radii wouldor bed.used one, it stuck in my memory because it was such an oddity.carriage, Iitthink you can use a 5" chuck, with a 4" the lathe "looks" right.very you'llwould be a fun experience. The one dedicated spinning lathe Ieverused was noteworthy for how robust it was; heftier than the oldDeltawood lathes. For something the size you're trying to make, Asianneed a larger, stiffer machine than either a 7x12 or a cheap aroundwood lathe. |
to navigate to use esc to dismiss