Southbend 9in lathe, what equip do I need?

[cy]

I have this old Southbend 9 in lathe and a duracraft milling machine that been in my garage forever. Would like to set up to mod. What essentials do I need?

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

Well, at the bare minumum you're going to need a good set of cutting tools for the lathe as well as some long boring bars. Depending on how small the parts are you want to make, you may need some very small boring bars.

A knurler with some differnt knurling wheels is nice to have.

Various dial indicators and bases for measuring.

Lots of drill bits.

If you have a lathe with a large enough spindle bore, a 5C collet closer and collet set would be killer. But I don't think the 9" lathes are large enough /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

A rotary table for the mill would be nice for flashlights.

Have I blown your budget yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I like fantasy shopping!

 

[cy]

Chief,

Thanks so much for your feedback. It helps much to find out what top modders are actually using. I saw Mut's 2X CR2 you had made. What a little jewel!!!

Would you be kind enough to post some pics of your tools and/or links.

In particular:

cutting tools
boring bars,large & small
knurling tools
dial indicators w/bases
5C collet closer and collet set
rotary table for milling machine

Yikes... thats almost your whole list. Which book or other source do you recommend for learning lathing technics? Learning how to cut threads and bore holes is on top of my list.

Thanks,
CY

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

No problem. You can check out my lathe page here:

http://www.myrolypoly.com/users/Taig/index.htm

I don't have a lot of stuff posted yet, but there's some.

I bought a set of 3/8" indexable cutters from:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G5639

I find the inserts have sort of a large nose radius for most small stuff so I bought some smaller TCMT 2150.5 inserts from:

http://www.mscdirect.com

I use the AR style for turning and the BL style for facing.

The boring bars I bought on Ebay. Just a cheap set of 3/8" diamerter carbide brazed tools.

I also have a solid carbide 1/4" wide 1/4" shank bar I use for small stuff. Bought that from MSC.

The knurler I bought from:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com

I have the smaller one since the larger was out of stock. I'd buy the larger one if possible.

Dial indicators I have documented on my web page.

You'll have to ask tvodrd or Dan C about the 5C indexer. I only wish I could tell you more about that.

Same with the rotary table. I think Larry had some pics of his up at one time.

I learned what I know from pestering the ususal suspects and destroying lots of parts /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I've heard the machinist handbook is excellent.

http://www.mini-lathe.com

has some tutorials on basic operations.

I'll post a couple things about boring and threading when I get around to taking some pictures, but here's the basics.

Boring:

- Turn and face the part
- center drill
- drill to close to final ID and depth
- bore to final ID
- I've been using endmills in my tailstock for cleaning and flattening the bores.

External single point threading:

- I use a brazed carbide sharp v tool from Mcmaster. Part # 3367A519
- Turn the part to the major diameter minus 0.003" - 0.005" or so.
- set up your lathe to cut the proper threads per inch.
- I don't have a compound so I use a straight infeed of 0.750 * (1 / tpi) for the max thread depth.
- make multiple passes. First infeed, say 3 mils, then 2, then 2, then 1,1,1 until you reach the final depth.
- if you have the mating part, use it to check fit.

Whew. Quick and dirty.

 

[cy]

Thanks Chief, this will keep me busy for awhile...

 

[tvodrd]

Cy,

One of the most important pieces for the lathe is the tool holder. Rocker types really suck! Top of the line is the KDK. With it, you can go from turning to facing in abt 3 seconds- you only set height once for a bit, and that is done with an allen screw. They're very pricey, but are kind of the industry standard. http://www.kdktools.com/standard.html

Larry

 

[cy]

[ QUOTE ]
tvodrd said:
Cy,

One of the most important pieces for the lathe is the tool holder. Rocker types really suck! Top of the line is the KDK. With it, you can go from turning to facing in abt 3 seconds- you only set height once for a bit, and that is done with an allen screw. They're very pricey, but are kind of the industry standard. http://www.kdktools.com/standard.html

Larry

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks tvodrd.... WOW /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif that's pricey. I may have to stick with my rocker type tool holder until I find a deal on one.

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

The mini-lathe type folks like the TS Engineering style posts.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Reviews/TS_QCTP/ts_qctp.htm

I have one and like it pretty well. Not as solid as the KDK, nor as accurate. But I only paid $80 on Ebay and it's a heck of a lot nicer than my shimming post.

 

[cy]

[ QUOTE ]
Chief_Wiggum said:
The mini-lathe type folks like the TS Engineering style posts.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Reviews/TS_QCTP/ts_qctp.htm

I have one and like it pretty well. Not as solid as the KDK, nor as accurate. But I only paid $80 on Ebay and it's a heck of a lot nicer than my shimming post.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks I like the looks of TS engineering's setup. Especially if I can get into one for under $100. vs $600 on the KDK, which I understand is superior.

The main point I'm getting is I need a quick change post, to accurately change cutting tools. And to use replacable tips on cutters. Once the center is adjusted, I will not need to constantly re-adjust.

Thanks again for all these wonderful feedback,
CY