The real rebreather accessory…

Gibbon

I got myself a Sherline mill and lathe, which have proved to be an excellent way of getting upto speed on CNC machining.

For making very small parts they are great, but I can see that in the future I will want a grown up version but for now I am happy working within the size limitations that it imposses.

Indexable tooling has enabled me to work on Stainless with reasonable sucess.

I would not describe them as model engineering scale morelike clock making scale.

I have found the ability to make my own tools has been the biggest
impact - if I dont have the right tool for the job I can make it

SINUS

Just a followup.........Nothing beats the COLCHESTER lathe interm of quality built and robustness.They last for decades if maintained it properly, it does not need servicing at all.
RPM and tool posts change are a breeze......COLCHESTER lathe is my all time favourite.

Cheers

Wei Lan

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"Silence Is Always Beautiful"

Skipbreather

One other option, often overlooked, for a quality used lathe that is light enough for the home shop yet has the capacity for larger parts would be a South Bend 10K, also called a “Light 10”. It is essentially a 9 inch lathe w/ its capacity extended to 10 inches. Probably 90% or more of the wide variety of 9 inch parts & accessories on the market will fit it. It has nowhere near the power of a Heavy 10, making smaller cuts necessary, but is much more easily moved.

Ron’s experience w/ the inexpensive large, 3 phase machine is actually pretty common. Prices on used machine tools tend to drop dramatically when you cross a certain threshold where things are so big that 3 phase is a absolute requirement and/or heavy machinery is needed to move them. Several cases of beer fed to a long list of dive buddies w/ strong backs & weak minds can only go so far……..

Ken

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"Entropy RULES! Enjoy the interim."

Genesis

Yeah, I've considered some JET machinery. Not in the same class as South Bend or Bridgeport, but reasonably priced new, of decent capability, and in a "little diveshop of horrors" environment you'll wear out before they do.

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Dave Sutton

Agreed, nice stuff, but never imported into the USA in any quantity, so US buyers: Don't bother looking for one. They are English machine tools of good quality but were simply not distributed here in quantity. Common enough anyplace in the former British colonies though, or their other areas of economic influence.

South Bend is the "Timex" of lathes for North Amercan buyers. You cannot go wrong with one. Light 10 is a neat lathe, Heavy 10 the deluxe one for the house, and any of the 9's (Model A, B, C) are going to be *just fine* and *cheap* and *highly available*. Model C has quick change gears, making it the one to find if you are going to thread.

Glad I am not the only one who likes the Sherline stuff! And the CNC potential is nice, too.


And there is only *one* "Little Diveshop of Horrors"......



Dave

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jeff h

and the winner is...... a 1920's? Southbend with a 13" swing over bed and 36" (at least) centers. Came wired for 110V (no phase converter needed) and some tooling - 5 quick change holders, boring bar, knurling tool, face plate, drill chuck. $550 for everything.

narked at 90

blimy jeff is that steam powered or stream powered

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jeff h

If it was I would be content putting a stack on the garage and firing it up as is. That cherry picker next to it is what I used to move it out my truck and into place. You know you're jealous, besides southbends are timeless.

I turned my first pcs tonight and I'm quite happy with it. I need to wire it up for reverse and some new cutters might be in order. I see a radial scrubber and and a 9" Nimh scooter body in my very near future. In the meantime I have a shop full of Accublend sticks to machine up.

-Jeff

Skipbreather

Hi Jeff-

You're right, an oldie but goodie. Hope your change gears are a complete set so you can cut the full range of threads. If you can find the serial numbers on it, let me know and I might be able to zero in the vintage. Often they're on the right end of the ways. I've got some references on my laptop re South Bend manufacture dates.

Ken

Attached Images

SB Logo.jpg (30.4 KB, 107 views)

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"Entropy RULES! Enjoy the interim."

nigelh

I'm horrified.
What is this? The 1950s?
Does anybody do metalwork without proper CNC these days?
something we knocked up to open a window

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nigelh