LAthe Advice?

South Bend heavy 10 gives a 1.375 through hole, takes a 5C collet in the spindle. This is considerable advantage for working on old motorcycle parts, believe me.

I think the Logan with that spindle is an 11 or 13 inch swing machine.

Jim

Reply to
jim rozen
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SORRY, Ontario CANADA

Reply to
HotRod

If it's Ontario Canada, pick up a TriAd buy and sell paper - lots of ads for machines and dealers.

Brian

Reply to
Brian

looking at?

1: A lathe is more accurate and more practical than a mill for round things (this because some people have suggested a mill and you seem confused). 2: Have a look at
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for enlightement. You don't have to buy that specific lathe (although it will fit the job), but you will learn what you can do on a small lathe.
Reply to
jerry_tig2003

I'm far from a machining expert, but come from a automotive racing background and over the last year or so have gotten into metalworking after a number of years of futzing with other people's equipment. I have a couple of thoughts.

I use my mill way more than my lathe for making race car and street car bits. Without knowing what you want to make, I'm not suggesting you get a mill first, but just giving you my experience. If you're serious about making stuff for cars and bikes, you will want and need both and should plan on it. You certainly have enough space (note the jealousy - I've got an 11' by 17' garage into which I put my metalworking stuff and my current project car).

Although I didn't know a tremendous amount about machine tools, I did know what I wanted to make, and had enough experience to figure out for me which should come first. In order for you to figure this out and get some idea of where you'd like to head, I suggest you go to some machining/model engineering/custom car or bike club meetings and talk to some folks that are making stuff similar to what you'd like to make and get their take. If you have a friend or acquaintance at a fab shop, I would suggest you take them out to lunch and pick their brain. Maybe a library or Amazon would be a good place to spend some time.

Regards,

Peter

Reply to
Peter Grey

jerry snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:>

A lathe is more accurate... (this depends on the operator/machinist) and more practical than a mill for round things.... (yes, this is true) This because some people have suggested a mill and you seem confused.... (He asked, can you make round things with a mill? Yes you can)

The mini-lathe would be a great machine to learn how with. He has stated he wanted machines he could grow with. The mini-lathe has it's limits on size of parts that can be made.

In a post earier from Peter, he mentions that he also makes auto parts and uses his mill alot more then a lathe. But since the OP has a huge shop he should get both.

Bridgeport mill or clone and a 16x? lathe

That's my take, Jack

Reply to
jackK

Cheap crap lathes are _much_ more accurate than cheap mills.

It's intrinisc in the design of a lathe that it can turn something that's more accurate than the lathe itself. OTOH, a mill can't make anything more accurate than itself, and usually rather worse owing to vibration. So a "bottom end" lathe might be a useful tool, whilst a similar quality mill is just an exercise in frustration.

It's rarely done these days, but in the glory days of steam engine building on Myford 7s, a lot of milling was done on the cross slide. Myford even fitted it with T slots specially. You can also achieve a lot of flat surface machining by turning a non-round piece bolted to the faceplate.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

a 12-14" lathe will do 99.999% of the sort of work this fellow will likely ever do.

Anything over that..and tis simply too big, too heavy and doesnt turn fast enough for his sort of work.

Gunner, Machine tool repair tech, broker for machine tools

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli

Reply to
Gunner

Logan 11", 12" and most 14" had 1-3/8" spindle bore. Logan 14" Model

6565 and 6530 had a 1-5/8" bore.
Reply to
Scott S. Logan

A Logan 11 is an good machine for the average home shop. One in good condition anyways.

Gunner

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli

Reply to
Gunner

There is still a vertical crossslide adapter that fits in said T slots. Works a treat, on jobs roughly 3" x 3".

Steve

Reply to
Steve Taylor

I would suggest a 9 x 20 Lathe about a grand and a very good size to learn on. Well tooled out with DRO doable for about $2,000. Excellent for one off and learning lathe operation with still enough size for many projects. Check Enco and Grizzley for pricing. This lathe can also be converted too CNC at a later date fairly cheaply.

Join yahoo Group 9 x 20 Lathe group resources and information are excellent. As usual for Chinese it is an assembled kit some work and you can have an excellent machine!

Ken

Reply to
Kenneth A. Emmert

Hum. Not sure I would agree with that. I know two guys that started with 9x20s. One guy upgraded to a rockwell 11x24 and is so much happier. Its a lot more lathe for about the same cost. The other guy upgraded to a myford super 7. Pretty much the same size, but has a real QC gear box and a nice QC toolpost too for 2k.

Reply to
Chuck Sherwood

On the other hand, I have a South Bend milling attachment that I adapted to my Logan 9" lathe, and I have given up on using it. I had two problems with the setup. First, the adapter mounts to a circular dovetail on the cross-slide, and while my adapter seems to be stable, the setscrews that clamp onto the dovetail like to slip at inopportune times drawing the work into the cutter and causing a crash. The second is that my saddle is designed to take load down, bearing on the ways, but has maybe .010" play if something wants to lift the saddle. Again this play has caused a crash or two if its own.

Funny how pieces seem to move gently away from a milling cutter but, if they are going to move into the cutter, they always seem to jump. Must be a positive feedback loop.

Some lathe designs seem to tolerate milling much better than mine. I gave up on mine and now have a Clausing mill to go with the lathe. Not too many crashes on the Clausing with the 3" Kurt vise.

Reply to
kbm

I've never understood Myfords. Sure, they're nice enough, but they're _tiny_ (esp. through the headstock) and the prices are insane. Fetish objects for the model engineering duffers.

Give me a Colchester or a Triumph any day.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Have you ever used one? I have owed three. I presently have a nice minty green one that feels like new. It is very pleasant to use and can do serious work for a small lathe.

I have a VERY nice rockwell 11x24 that has 5C collets and just about every accessory you could want, but I still use the Myford S7 for lots of things, particulary small things when I need high RPM.

I think a Colchester would be too big and slow for many things I do. However I could probably be pursuaded to trade my myford in on a Hardinge HLV!

chuck

Reply to
Chuck Sherwood

I have both

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Gunner

"Veterans, and anyone sensible, take cover when there's incoming. A cloud of testosterone makes a piss poor flack shield."

Reply to
Gunner

buy who painted it with a spray can? I'm refering to that big red 20!

Reply to
Chuck Sherwood

Great pictures, thanks....

xman

Reply to
xmradio

Get a Colchester Chipmaster - variable speed 30-3000 rpm. 5" centre height, 20" centres and a far, far better lathe than a myford. Later model Colchester Student would be another good home shop choice. Geoff

Reply to
geoff m

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