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Old 11th Jan 2011, 5:46 pm   #61
Alan Stepney
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Default Re: Which lathe?

I am pleased to say that Myford are still with us and made in Nottingham.
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Old 11th Jan 2011, 8:11 pm   #62
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Hi,

One accessory I would not do without is my cheap £15 digital vernier caliper; it reads both imperial and metric at the touch of a button and the readout is instant unlike using micrometers which are very slow by comparison. It also replaces a number of micrometers as it reads up to 6". Mine being cheap is not perfectly accurate it reads 0.002" out across the range compared to my accurate micrometers but for general use I find it invaluable.

Of all the lathes I've owned my Colchester Triumph was without doubt the best; it was equipped with a matrix clutch which by the way a clutch is a wonderful accessory; it had full screw cutting via a gearbox and it was full power feed. The main motor was 5HP and was the industrial kind of lathe capable of pulling an arm off in low gear. It was fitted with suds pump which I never used having drained the tank as it was located in the garage directly below our bedroom and I don't find the smell of suds appealing.

In all the time I owned the Triumph I never used the screw cutting facility in fact I've not used lathe screw cutting since my apprentice days; I usually find it works for me to drill and tap then screw in threaded rod.

I also owned a huge Dominion woodturning lathe that would turn up to 6 feet diameter easily outboard although I never tried this; it was about 9 feet long and had a compound slide; it was made of substantial cast iron and was a joy to own.

The problem with both these lathes was size; they occupied a very large footprint in the garage and together with my other industrial machinery I got absolutely fed up of bumping into things so in the end was deeply saddened to part with both of them. I then bought the Myford MF 36" and also retained my lovely Record Power DML24"; the DML was bought new for me as a Christmas present from Bronwyn and it must be well over 15 years old; it is a very basic lathe but well built and runs sweet as a nut.

I miss the power feed and clutch of the Triumph but apart from that I manage with the lathes I now have although when I officially retire in 2012 I might part with the Myford and buy a lathe with a clutch as we can treat my old age pension as disposable income allowing us both to indulge in our hobbies.

Neck ties have already been mentioned regarding safety and I would like to add loose clothing especially sleeves and wonder how safe many of the younger generation would actually be trying to use a powerful lathe whilst they have all kinds of metal sticking out of their bodies; rings are bad enough worn on fingers and should not be worn whilst working machinery; but now we see people with rings sticking out of their noses; lips; cheeks and eyebrows together with all manner of other metal ornaments regarded as fashion; I believe in live and let live but it would be interesting to watch a person with a ring through their nose get up close and personal to a lathe in motion sporting a very heavy chuck that would take a bit of stopping with a nose.

Kind regards, Col.
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 11:01 am   #63
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Default Re: Which lathe?

Tony

I use a Unimat 3 for all the small stuff, and find it excellent. They are better than the later Unimats made in the Far East; I have a milling spindle with it and use that mainly for cutting teeth for clock wheels.

I also have a 1947 Myford ML7 including a stand, for all the bigger things.

I also have a milling machine made in the Far East; it is fine, but needed a lot of adjustment before using. A lot of the oriental machine tools are far better than they used to be.

Something to watch if you are looking for a lathe of this size is if it's been used in industry (worn out) or in a college or school (damaged).

As I know you come to the Harrogate show occasionally, might be worth chatting to some of the ME folk there? 13-14 May and I'll be there on one of the days.
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 12:31 pm   #64
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Regarding safety, I think the greatest tragedy of our time is that school metalwork and woodwork shops were closed and kids were forbidden to operate machinery until they were 16! This over zealous Elf 'n Safety culture means they never gain a respect for danger! Worse, they now get 60% of their 'Resistive Materials Technology project' marks by asking me how they can design and make a piece of wooden furniture - that's 55% for initiative, 5% for effort!

My general purpose wood lathe is a hardly used ex-school's Harrison Jubliee, with 4ft bed - I wish I had ordered one with a powered saddle for long turnings! Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Dominion made some superb machinery and a lovely Universal; our local wheelwright still uses a Dominion wheel-spoke copy lathe (as also used for rifle stocks). But the largest lathe I saw was a Churchill - over 20ft long, about 4ft wide and quite shallow. God knows what it was used for, which is probably why it was being broken up for scrap about 30 years ago!

Barry
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 12:48 pm   #65
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Default Re: Which lathe?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Phelan View Post
Something to watch if you are looking for a lathe of this size is if it's been used in industry (worn out) or in a college or school (damaged).
Beware of gib strips have been loosened to conceal wear from one end to the other end of a slide.

John
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 1:59 pm   #66
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I have noted your comment Alan and if I am lucky enough to get the Pittler I will pass on some pictures. I have no doubt that this lathe will be in pristine condition as Tom, my old friend is a true engineer and an ex marine engineer at that. Very much a perfectionist. I did not want to seem too pushy to get my hands on the Pittler. Tom may have got the wrong idea about me. I really have to play this one ever so gently but the end result will be the preservation of a fine piece of machinery. One thing I did learn is of the huge number of accessories that were available for the lathe. It seems that you could do just about anything except make a cup of tea as long as the correct accessory was at hand.
At a rough estimate, the amount of lathe parts to go with this Pittler under this one workbench area would more than fill a 6' X 4' box trailer.
I say my prayers every night and I am trying so hard to be a good boy.
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 5:02 pm   #67
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Default Re: Which lathe?

Thanks to the comments on this thread I now have a good idea of what to look for. I quite like the Peatol range, but there are other small lathes that shouldn't stretch the finances to breaking point - but it will have to wait as there are other more pressing and expensive things to consider (family, not vintage radio!).
Once again, thinks to all who replied both the first time around and second time, too, to this unaccountably self-revived thread. Much useful info and well-founded opinion here.
-Tony
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 6:18 pm   #68
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Default Re: Which lathe?

I have a 5" smart and brown - needs lots of attention, and a Colchester Student (roundhead), along with a Unimat 3

The student is set up in my workshop (not at home sadly) and isn't too bad - there was a ton of wear in the cross slide nut - once I had replaced that things are a lot better, the only real downside to this machine is availability of replacement chucks. L0 taper chucks are not common, and etremely expensive when they do appear! I gave £250 for the Student, and that came with a load of tooling and chucks, a heavy machine, not really something to have at home unless you have good access to where it will live!
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 6:24 pm   #69
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Of all the lathes I've owned my Colchester Triumph was without doubt the best;

Kind regards, Col.
Yes I used one of these at college, a huge green thing that I set a four jaw chuck up to turn an odd shaped piece of work. One of my favourites was the little Bantam which used cutting oil cooling, and horrible soap water for the Harrison which was another nice machine. But my all time favourite was the Cincinnati Milling machine.
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Old 12th Jan 2011, 7:09 pm   #70
Alan Stepney
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I am fortunate in having been able to "play " with many superb machines.

A Hardinge HVLH being one of my favourites. (For those who know lathes, imagine A SUGGESTION that perhaps screw cutting should be limited to 1,000 rpm!)
Dean Smith & Grace are the Rolls Royce of lathes, and deservedly so.

All the Colchesters are good, (my preference being the Mastiff) although some are better than others.

However, a pal, now sadly deceased, used an old Victorian lathe that had no dials, more wear than one can imagine, and was closer to scrap metal than is most stuff in the junk yards.
With it he made several award winning models, and one of his creations is now in the Smithsonian Museum.

Even with the best of the lathes mentioned above, I cant hope to get near his quality of work.

So, pick the best you can afford, but the machine isnt everything.
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 1:56 pm   #71
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"So, pick the best you can afford, but the machine isnt everything!"

I couldn't agree more - which raises the question which lathe tools?!

My Colchester Triumph is flat out at 360rpm and I have always used HSS tool bits but everyone now seems to be using cemented carbide tipped or disposable, Indexable ceramic/carbide cutters.

HSS sets (if you can still get them easily) can be modified for brass etc, but what are the advantages of using cemented carbide tipped (apart from less sharpening and deeper cuts) or indexable bits (which you throw away when worn!) - and are Indexable tips a universal fit or unique to the tool carrier?

I can understand indexable tips in an industrial environment, but on an old Triumph doing odd maintenance jobs? And, given the maxim 'you pays yer money' - are budget indexable tools a poor investment over horrendously expensives industrial tool bits?

Should I stick to HSS?

Barry
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 2:46 pm   #72
Alan Stepney
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Yours must be an early Triumph.

I can only say what I use, and although the ML7 has a maximum speed of 760rpm, I have a home-brew variable drive enabling me to run faster than that.

However, as "we" are not in production, speed is less important than accuracy or breaking something at the crucial moment.
Hence I often use "slow" or even "slower".

(It is like applying volts to something; you rarely get problems with applying lower volts or less speed and usually get less of a bang (there are exceptions though).

I use HSS for most tasks and even have some Lark brand carbon steel tools from the 30's that are ideal for some jobs.

But, I also have a few, very few, carbide tipped tools, and even a couple of indexable/disposable tip tools that I use sometimes.

Basically, for 90+% of jobs, HSS is ideal. Obviously, some practice at sharpening them is worthwhile. For hard spots on castings, or some steels that ar exceptionally hard, carbide can be the opnly way to carve through them.

Indexable tips are of numerous shapes and sizes, that only fit specific tools, and even so, there are various grades for each, making it a problem for "us" to select one to keep in stock that will suit any task. Sadly, there isnt a universal tool shape and grade.

And, yes, they are darned expensive!
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 2:48 pm   #73
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Default Re: Which lathe?

The main problem with inserts is that it's dead easy to chip them when the cut is intermittent. For example when turning a round end on a square bar.

I use both HSS and inserts depending on the job.
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 3:07 pm   #74
brenellic2000
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Thanks lads - that's ruled out indexable tips! Looks like I'll stick to HSS with a spare set of cemented carbide tools for those cussed cast iron horrors!

Right, where can I get cheap 1" HSS tool set!

Alan, its a 1947 Triumph 6-speed with 'fast and loose' pulley drive! I've just double checked and mine is 'Turbocharged' - 390rpm max. (20rpm slow)

Cast-steel blades - ooooh! I'm drooling!! I wish they still made 1930s cast-steel wood-
chisels!

Barry
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 4:38 pm   #75
Alan Stepney
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Quote:
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Right, where can I get cheap 1" HSS tool set!

...

I wish they still made 1930s cast-steel wood-
chisels!

Barry
At https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=63945 there are usually some exhibitors with stocks of ex-industry tooling often in the larger sizes. Or, Tracy Tools, who will most likely be there.


I still have Victorian and earlier woodworking tools, inherited from an uncle who was the last of three generations of cabinet makers.
They really do take an edge!
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Old 13th Jan 2011, 7:58 pm   #76
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I use mainly tipped tools, and like to turn as fast as possible - this means about 1200RPM (i need to adjust the main drive belt) - high speed, and low feed - gives good surface finish.

I'm not quite as mad as a good friend of mine - he has no fear of speed, runs Herbert capstan lathes amongst others, and does nearly everything at 2500rpm - its great watching huge mountains of swarf flying off 1/2" cuts! As for CNC stuff he has, 10,000rpm is the norm on the mill, not sure what the new lathe does though!
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