Thinking of buying a lathe

[ftumch33]

I was thinking of getting a lathe to make survival capsules and flashlight bodies and such. Is it better to get just a lathe or a lathe/milling machine? What is the milling machine for? Does the lathe put the knurling on items? Also, how much noise and mess does a lathe make?

 

[jtice]

A lathe can do kurling, you just need the attachment.

A mill can do none round things,,, like, cutting out squares etc.

Averall a mill would be better,, well a lathe/mill.
But they arent as good as the seperate units.

As far as niose, I can use mine at night in th garage, it tends to whistle alittle some times, but its not HALF as bad as grinding the bits on a bench grinder

 

[James S]

jtice, you don't address the "mess" part of the question /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I've been wondering this myself as cleaning up promptly in the garage is important if they are sharp greasy metal shavings! Especially if you're sharing the space with your cars or you have children or something...

 

[tvodrd]

One cubic inch of aluminum seems to become about 1/4 cubic foot of "chips." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Not much of a "sharp" hazard, unlike stainless steel. You don't need a lot of coolant for light turning/milling and can apply it with a brush when necessary. Most, if not all coolants have relatively low flammability and toxicity. Hope that helps.

 

[jtice]

Opps no I didnt.

I dont see it as a mess. My shop vac took care of it nicely.
As tvo said, the AL isnt as bad as others metals in terms of cutting you. Just run a shop vac after each project and you will be fine.

Be prepared to make a mess though hehe. A small amount of AL will grow when made into little tiny chips. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif