Green behind the ears

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

Hello everyone, my names Richard or Rich, don't really mind what I'm called. I'm new as new can be to ME. Picked up a mini lathe a few months ago, and been loving it ever since. I am practical minded thankfully, and a quick learner. My ambition is to talk the wife into allowing me to purchase a Mill/Drill, so I can start some nice little projects. I will if possible try to sponge up as much info as I can from you guys… Thanks.

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Welcome to the forum Rich, you will probably learn a lot here, I know I do.

Thor

Edited By Thor on 11/09/2016 14:16:27

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

Thanks Thor, yeah eager to learn asap. I'm located in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Anyone nearby????

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Rich,

​Dear old LB was where I spent my childhood days. I now live outside Thirsk in North Yorkshire.

Welcome aboard, there is plenty of help here to get you started.

Regards

Brian

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

Brian, It's certainly changed since I was younger, although I'm only 35, so still a young pup

If anyone has one tip that they wished they knew when starting out, what would it be?

Thanks Guys.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Nice timing. MEX next weekend and the superb St Albans Model Engineering Society show the following weekend.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Richard Dobson on 11/09/2016 18:56:49:

…

If anyone has one tip that they wished they knew when starting out, what would it be?

Thanks Guys.

Find a supplier of brass, aluminium and steel that's intended for machining, either locally or on the web.

When I first had a mini-lathe I fed it with anything that came to hand and the results were often disappointing. Most of the scrap metal in my garage was bad news. Sticky aluminium, gritty steel, tough welded pipe, and work hardening stainless. DIY store metal is mostly horrible too. Cutting decent metal with sharp tools made a huge difference.

Tip two: don't get discouraged when you make mistakes. It's all part of the fun.

Enjoy,

Dave

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Welcome to the forum Richard.

You might be better going to WebMD with those ears…

Neil

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Don't be afraid to ask , Assume nothing and take the chuck key out of the chuck before hitting the on switch – they hurt when they hit you but hurt even more when they plough out a nice big chunk of your previously undamaged lathe bed !

Ian.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Perhaps getting a mini vertical slide for your mini lathe might be a good idea for getting into projects? Depends on how one interprets the 'little' in your post, I suppose.

It's not another 'separate' purchase, only an 'addition' to the lathe, so may not 'need' executive approval. Look on it as 'another lathe tool'?

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

My Tips are, don't buy metal from a scrapyard (see what SillyOldDuffer says).

Lock your vertical axis (and any others you can) when you get a mini mill.

Don't go too small on your mini-mill. I wish I'd got a bigger one (I have a CMD10 /Sieg X1)

Come back to Yorkshire. It's crackin' up here!

Iain

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Welcome Rich, lot's of help on here, just remember that there isn't a 'stupid' question … just one that you haven't got the answer to… yet!

George.

[Anonymous]

Posted by Richard Dobson on 11/09/2016 18:56:49:

If anyone has one tip that they wished they knew when starting out, what would it be?

If I had realised I suffered from OIS and hence how much old iron I would thus acquire I'd have bought a bigger workshop, or at least organised it differently.

There are also two rules to obey, once you've bought proper material of known provenance:

Rule 1 – Never buy cheap cutting tools

Rule 2: See rule 1

Andrew – near Cambridge

OIS = old iron syndrome

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

Thanks everyone, lots of good advice for me to chew on! Has anyone used Chronos ltd in Dunstable for stock and tools. It's only 20 minutes down the road if it's any good?

Thanks again.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Hi Richard!

Welcome. (i am a little further north, just off the A1 and A47)

You will get a lot of advice and knowledge here, (and some leg pulling).

When I first started, I was a Chronos customer, (still am from time to time), but mostly deal with Arc EuroTrade.

Ketan sometimes posts on here. he is a really fair minded bloke, and will help even when there is nothing in it for him as a trader.

Tooltips, I tend to buy from Jenny at J B Cutting Tools. Again, a pleasure to deal with, and is at most of the shows.

Try making a Tangential Tool Holder, it will be time well spent, and cheaper than buying one.

You can make a lot of tools and fixtures for that "one off" job, and save time and temper!

If you are not a member, do find your local M E Club and join. Again, you should get a lot of help and advice.

If you have a problem having someone come round and help, hands on, or saying "Bring it round, and we'll sort it out" is a HUGE help.

Enjoy yourself

Howard

[Anonymous]

Posted by Richard Dobson on 12/09/2016 21:52:59:

Has anyone used Chronos ltd in Dunstable for stock and tools. It's only 20 minutes down the road if it's any good?

Stock never, tooling infrequently in the past, but I had some issues, so I don't use them now. Instead I use commercial tool merchants. Bear in mind though that I have industrial size machines; the Chronos offerings may well be fine for the smaller mini lathe. Others will be more qualified to comment.

Andrew

[Reg RossiterParticipant @regrossiter24538]

Richard,

I've used Chronos, amongst others, regularly over the years and haven't had any issues. If they are only 20 minutes down the road you can see what you are buying and potentially save on a lot of postage charges.

Reg

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello Richard,

​One of my early purchases was a boring head. I had by then built my Dore-Westbury milling machine and it has had a lot of use over the years. It also has uses on the lathe, opening out holes on work clamped to the cross slide and as an offset fitting in the tailstock for setting over the work for shallow tapers without having to realign the tailstock again after the work is done.

There are good designs for home assembly, failing that buy the best you can afford. It may not have everyday use, but there are some jobs that can't be done without it.

Of tool suppliers, I think Arc Eurotrade now lead the way in the kind of equipment aimed at our size of market. I used to buy from Chronos, but like Andrew Johnson I had several disappointments with quality issues and moved away. In fairness to them, there was never any dispute, but time and effort was wasted sending stuff back.

Regards

Brian.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the forum.

– I would direct you to invest in Neil Wyatts book on the Mini-lathe.

– Join a club…probably St.Albans ME club in your case.

– Look up classes at SMEE in London. I think train goes from St.Albans to Loughborough Junction station in London, walking distance to SMEE. You will probably bump into like minded people boarding at St.Albans going to SMEE on first Saturday of each month.

– to be fair, Chronos are a good business and very close to you. You get what you need for the budget you have. This may be good, bad or ugly, and also open to perception/misperception for the price. So do go and pay them a visit. They are good people, just like most of the model engineer suppliers… including ARC, even if I do so so myself.

– Above all, this is a hobby… so enjoy.

Ketan at ARC.

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Richard – welcome

Advice? – old but true :- Measure twice, cut once. .

.. If you don't know just ask.

ENJOY. … it IS a hobby !

Norman

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Chronos only failing is that they only stock material in 12 in lengths not 24.

Milton Keynes may be your nearest club, and Bedford too. Luton has a boat club with interest in steam but not specifically ME.

Edited By Bazyle on 13/09/2016 13:06:29

[Richard DobsonParticipant @richarddobson72762]

Thanks everyone!

Can anyone recommend a Mill/Drill. I often pass Axminster in Wycombe on my travels. Been looking at the Sieg SX2, it's about my price limit I can justify to myself at the moment. Are these machines any good, considering I'm not a machinist and will be using for home machine work and projects.

I've heard decent reviews but thought it better to here from the experts…

Many thanks

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Milton Keynes Metals is just west of MK itself, Little Horwood Farm. Ian will sort you out.

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Hi Rich,

I have an old Sieg X2 milling machine myself, it has not caused any trouble for me. But it is a lightweight milling machine, so I use relatively small cutters, up to 12mm. There are some plastic gears in the head, so I have not pushed it.
A friend of mine has a SX2 with a brushless DC motor, seems to have more torque at low speeds than mine, ARC has a version with longer table than mine have.

Thor

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