Contemplating a small lathe...

[Davo J]

Nice lathe you have there. The only trouble is, it's addictive and you will now want more machinery. Have you made any chips with it yet?
Davo

 

[precisionworks]

it should not be too big that my wife throws me out of the house with my lathe

Simple ... make sure the lathe cannot be easily lifted by any human, so she will realize that the lathe has to stay even if you are ejected. 1100# (500kg) is a good starting point. After you're gone, she'll get so tired of looking at the lathe that she'll ask you to come back.

A win-win :nana:

 

[will]

One initial purchase for the new lathe - Invest in a quick change post for the tools. I still have the original on mine, it works fine, just slow when when you start to change tools around.

That is a nice looking lathe...

( one other thing I did on mine, I set the compound slide to dead '0' . I checked the setting with a dial indicator. I then took it off the lathe, and drilled a 1/8 inch hole in the degree plate, through to the steel underneath. Now, whenever I have to change the degree setting, getting back to '0' is easy. I just put a 1/8 inch pin in the hole and it is back to dead '0' )
the carriage is moved over about 1 inch to the right, this made the cutting much better, less chatter.

 

[65535]

That's pretty clever, it's commonly done on tools such as radial arms saws and others with mitering capabilities. You may be able to find a pre made plunger than bolts on with a .125" dowel that is on a spring so to retract you pull and it's normally pushed down and automatically engages the hole.

 

[will]

I do some tapered cutting and I was changing the angle a lot. It just makes it easier.