I am going to extend the distance between centers on my mini lathe to
about 34" by bolting down another lathe bed in line with the first
one. This will allow me to put the tail stock on the end of the second
bed. Being new at this, I would appreciate any hints at:
1) How to accurately line up the beds before bolting them down on the
table?
2) How to match/test centers in head and tail stocks? Given that I can
only do cutting on the first bed. The lead screw and the rack do not
extend to the second bed.
Thanks,
David Heidary
The best way to accomplish the goal you have set out to
achieve is to:
a) raise mini-lathe up about two feet off of bench.
b) translate it to the right about 5 feet.
c) install larger lathe in location previously occupied by
mini-lathe.
Jim
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JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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Why screw around. Just buy a 12X36 and be done with it. You
can make a Gremlin from a Pinto, but....it's still a Pinto,
only worse.
JR
Dweller in the cellar
David Heidary wrote:
Absolutely correct.
Gunner
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty
is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
-- Ben Franklin
Thanks for the comments everyone. I would have followed your advice if
I could fit a 12x36 lathe into the elevator and get it up to my second
floor apartment hopeing that the floor would not give in under the
weight.
Regards,
David Heidary
There are some lighter 12x36 models out there. Generally this is not
considered an asset, but in you instance it might be. I would not
hesitate at all to drag an old atlas into an apartment. Shouldn't
exceed the weight of a bathtub full of water, a refrigerator, or a
piano, for instance. In fact, getting it into your apartment would not
be unlike a piano. I can carry my 10-42 atlas(bed length, not center
to center). You can certainly continue on the path you previsouly
selected, but oddball approaches like thisgenerally do not pay unless
you have a very specific job that you will repeat very often and no
alternatives. You have already identified the issue of carriage
travel. Additionally,once you line everything up, you have the issue
of how to mount the two beds so that their relative positions remain the
same. A wooden bench isn't going to do it, since they will shift
appreciably the first night from moisture or temperature. Never mind,
that even if your building is solid concrete it will move as well. The
best way to counteract this is to build a very substantial steel
support. This steel support would end up giving you pretty much the
same issues as a small 10-36 bench lathe or 12/36 bench lathe. Thus
the answers you have been given to date.
Charles
David Heidary wrote:
In spite of my previous comment, I have to
admit that's some pretty nice work there.
Jim
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JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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is a related
yahoo group, "for those who have stretched their original 7x10
or 7x12 mini-lathe to 7x24, those who already have and those
who are part-way thru it". Not a highly-active group in terms
of messages but you can see additional files and pictures.
-jiw
and click on links. There are a lot of
mini lathe sites, I remember someone had fastened two beds together.
You should be able to find it through the links. Good luck
Paul in Ohio
A 12x36 bench lathe will weigh under 1,000 pounds. There should be
no worries about the floor handling that weight (less than a waterbed).
The machine, minus stand, should be about 2 feet by 5 feet. Should be
easy to stand it up on a refrigerator dolly in any elevator that can handle
4 or 5 people.
Gary
Actually I was gonna say... anyone who would tackle the job
of grafting two lathe beds together (and that one web page
I saw really was nifty) could *certainly* figure out a way
to a) move a larger machine up an elevator and b) shoe-horn
it into a tight space.
And yes, I was the person who had a 9" atlas lathe (four
foot bed) in my kitchen when I lived in MA years ago.
Jim
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JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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I've actually seen a machine shope extend their
turning length capacity by setting two identical
machines in precision alignment with eachother
end for end. These were in the size of 20"x80"
machines. Little bit bigger than the mini lathe.
Same principal though. This was a hydraulic
cylinder shop so I guess the extra length was
neede on occasion.
Anyone with the werewithall to join two lathe beds like that
can figure out how heavy something is. Getting a slightly
larger machine like a 9 or 10 inch atlas, or long bed 9"
model A south bend, would be a better approach IMO.
Jim
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Especially when 6 inch atlas machines are pretty common and
pretty cheap. I saw a couple real nice ones at NAMES the
last 2 times I went. Dick Triemstra might have been the dealer.
A 7x20 myford would be real nice too! Dick has one of those
two. I even have a myford ML7 FS. 1950s vintage in real nice
shape.
chuck
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