What is the ultimate lathe for model engineering

Advert

What is the ultimate lathe for model engineering

Home Forums General Questions What is the ultimate lathe for model engineering

Viewing 19 posts - 51 through 69 (of 69 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #55243
    NJH
    Participant
      @njh
      Hi Brian
       
      Well if I could afford a Schaublin 120VM and a Deckel FP1 I would be a happy man. You must be either rich or fortunate. 
       
      Andrew I think you have not a Myford in your workshop  but my Ford – probably an old Fiesta – as you have spent all your dough, quite rightly, on ME projects.
      My dictonary defines ultimate  as “last” and I guess we all of us get the best compromise on size and performance that we can afford. Hence our last lathe / mill is the ultimate for us. As life goes by maybe a new last / ultimate will arrive and meantime it does no harm to dream.
      Now I have wasted too much time on this thread and need to get back to decorating my wife’s needlework room or all sorts of anti-model engineeing consequences could occur.  – Can anyone recommend the ultimate paint brush Think carefully before you answer I’m in dangerous territory here ! (Note I hate Harris)
       
      Regards to All  Norman

      Edited By NJH on 07/09/2010 13:44:08

      Edited By NJH on 07/09/2010 13:46:00

      Advert
      #55245
      Joseph Ramon
      Participant
        @josephramon28170
        Norman,
         
        By your definition of ultimate, taht would be the undertaker’s makeup brush then…
         
        Joey 
        #55251
        Billy Mills
        Participant
          @billymills
          One of the ways of accessing better equipment is to have a small business -say making a simple tool or a model kit. Advertise via a web site, do a few local shows where the costs are minimal. With a bit of luck you can afford whatever your heart’s desire may be as a perfectly legit cost paid for by sales. Works for a lot of people and can be a lot of fun.
           
          regards,
          Alan.
          #55253
          NJH
          Participant
            @njh
            Hey Joey
            Very Good! Same mindset as me  but I just keep getting sillier. Too many years of sober suits & serious expressions I guess.
             
            Alan
            I fully agree with your first two posts on this thread. I can see the wisdom of the latest but in my case if I don’t concentrate on finishing some of my own projects now I never will and Joey’s brush will get there first!
             
            Oh well tea break over – back to the decorating.
            Norman

            Edited By NJH on 07/09/2010 17:26:20

            Edited By NJH on 07/09/2010 17:32:05

            #55262
            Axel Bentell
            Participant
              @axelbentell
              I´m rather chocked at what some people choose to spend on their machinery, sure I´m a bit envious at times. But I would feel bad about buying a new Myford for example. A good used S7 seems to be £3,000 in the adverts, although I belive one can get below that from private sales sometimes, but still its a handsome sum to take it home!
               
              Like Alan, suggest, some do have their shop as a business, and that is a great way too afford the machinery one wants. But then you acctually work… its not a real hobby! But I guess some get a kick from that too!
               
              L.H. Sparrey shows his workshop on the first page in his book (The Amateurs Lathe), its very modest by todays standards; an ML7, a grinder, hand shaper, two pillar drills. That’s it! And he is now a legend! He was to me a real ME, he made things with his, modest tools most think are not possible. A very talented person indeed, read the book, even a expert toolmaker gets a hint or too two!
              #55265
              Sub Mandrel
              Participant
                @submandrel
                Axel
                 
                You can turn a perfect circle bewteen two dead centres if you have the means to rotate the work and a way of holding a tool steady.
                 
                Anything you do to ‘improve ‘ on this to increase flexibility or convenience introduces errors.
                 
                So by definition every lathe is a compromise, and the cost reflects what’s done to minimise those errors against the gains in usability.
                 
                Simple can be best.
                 
                I think Alans idea is a good one. I have been playing with a few ideas…
                 
                Neil
                #55275
                Anonymous
                  Hi David & John S,
                   
                  Yes, absolutely right, I have a Myford cylindrical grinder. It’s an early MG12, built in 1969 according to Myford. Bought on Ebay years ago, and is quite well equipped with an internal spindle and a swivelling workhead. More unusually I got the original manual with the grinder, tied to the machine by the serial number.
                   
                   
                  David: I’ll put it on the list to write an article about cylindrical grinding on the Myford
                   
                  John S: You’ll have to explain to me the logic of assuming it might be a planer, saw or moped? Obviously something you know and I don’t. By the way I think we have met, although I doubt you remember me.
                   
                  Norman: Very good, hadn’t thought of My Ford! Having been the unfortunate owner of an Austin Princess and Ambassador in the distant past even a Fiesta would be a step up.
                   
                  Best Regards,
                   
                  Andrew
                  #55280
                  John Stevenson 1
                  Participant
                    @johnstevenson1
                    Planer, saw and moped, all made by Myford.
                     
                    They brought out attachments for the wood lathe of a planer and saw table, both came to be stand alone units in their own right but I’m not sure how popular or how many were produced.
                     
                    There is a poor picture of the stand alone planer here self contained planer
                     
                    The moped is a different story and if it wasn’t for one that has survived it could be put down to an old wives tale.
                     
                    Just after WWII when Myfords came off ministry work and before the ML7 was unveiled, petrol was still rationed and that cause a series of assisted cycles to be produced to get people back to work cheaply.
                    Names such as the Trojan Mini Motor and later The Cyclemaster came to be very popular.
                     
                    Myfords development engineer at this time was a Glynn Jones who asked his twin brother Dennis, who had designed and built some home made racing bikes to help with the design.
                     
                    In typical Rolls Royce trained Dennis fashion he could not turn out a cheap cost cutting machine to sell to the masses.
                    Dennis’s design, instead of being a simple two stroke finished up as a 50cc twin cylinder.
                     
                    Talking to Dennis in later years he seems to think 3 or possibly 4 were completed but they were too expensive to produce and compete in those austere times. Only a few years before his death a set of castings and some parts were discovered and machined up to make a working unit.
                     
                    Over a period of years most of Dennis’s bikes have come back under one roof, now owned by a collector, who’s name escapes me.
                    The autocycle engine is also in that collection as is the very first scooter ski which Dennis designed and patented.
                     
                    John S.
                    #55285
                    ady
                    Participant
                      @ady
                      An old guy near me had a Trojan cycle years ago.
                       
                      It made a heck of a racket and produced an awful lot of smoke for what it did.
                       
                      ————————————————-

                      It is better to mix in petrol with the oil in a separate container before pouring into the fuel tank, but when this cannot be done it is important to operate in the following order:

                      1. Turn off the petrol tap under the tank;
                      2. pour in the oil;
                      3. pour in the petrol;
                      4. shake the bicycle thoroughly before turning on the tap again.

                      ————————————————-

                      Edited By ady on 08/09/2010 00:46:13

                      #55286
                      John Stevenson 1
                      Participant
                        @johnstevenson1
                        The later ones had a slotted exhaust and they were a lot better.
                         
                        John S.
                        #55288
                        ady
                        Participant
                          @ady
                          I also remember seeing one which sat on the front of the bike, (about a million years ago).
                           
                          It had a little circular wheel of about 3 inches which lay on the front wheel of the bike to power it along.
                          I bet the poor tyre didn’t last long though.
                          #55307
                          Anonymous
                            Hi John,
                             
                            Thanks for the info, I was pretty sure that I didn’t understand due to a lack of knowledge on my part!
                             
                            Regards,
                             
                            Andrew
                            #55926
                            Jim Nolan
                            Participant
                              @jimnolan76764
                              What you can afford
                              #55932
                              Bogstandard
                              Participant
                                @bogstandard
                                Any machine is only as good as the person operating it.
                                 
                                You could buy the most expensive gizmo available, but if you haven’t a clue how to use it correctly, it may as well be a hammer and chisel.
                                 
                                I personally loathe people who have too much money to spend on machinery, thinking it will make them better machinists.
                                Being a good machinist isn’t reliant on the size of a wallet, you can’t buy experience and the ability to work with what you have to hand.
                                 
                                Bogs
                                #55934
                                Stephen Benson
                                Participant
                                  @stephenbenson75261
                                  Posted by Bogstandard on 19/09/2010 21:22:19:

                                  Any machine is only as good as the person operating it.
                                   
                                  You could buy the most expensive gizmo available, but if you haven’t a clue how to use it correctly, it may as well be a hammer and chisel.
                                   
                                  I personally loathe people who have too much money to spend on machinery, thinking it will make them better machinists.
                                  Being a good machinist isn’t reliant on the size of a wallet, you can’t buy experience and the ability to work with what you have to hand.
                                   
                                  Bogs

                                   Just as driving a top of the range car does not make you a better driver, how ever it does make the driving experience more enjoyable we are supposed to be having fun after all?

                                  #55935
                                  _Paul_
                                  Participant
                                    @_paul_
                                    Posted by ady on 08/09/2010 00:56:00:

                                    I also remember seeing one which sat on the front of the bike, (about a million years ago).
                                     
                                    It had a little circular wheel of about 3 inches which lay on the front wheel of the bike to power it along.
                                    I bet the poor tyre didn’t last long though. 
                                     
                                    Possibly a Velosolex?
                                     
                                     
                                    Still made today in France
                                    #55936
                                    Chris Trice
                                    Participant
                                      @christrice43267
                                      What SB said. Who is to say what is too much money? The simple truth is that given equal skills, a good machinist will produce a better more accurate product on good quality expensive machinery and or produce equally good quality product with greater ease in less time on good quality more expensive equipment. Makes you wonder why we aren’t all using treadle lathes rather than splashing out precious money on motorised machines? An expensive car with traction control is more likely to get you to your destination quicker and more safely than an unreliable heap with lever arm shock absorbers regardless of the skill of the driver. Sometimes spending a bit of cash is justified.  Not everyone revels in the ability to start fires by rubbing two sticks together when you can buy a box of matches. If you don’t have the money or don’t wish to spend it, there is always an alternative way to achieve something but rarely do those alternatives make the job easier or quicker. I’m not rich (I wish) but I do recognise when an investment is worth it.
                                      #55947
                                      ChrisH
                                      Participant
                                        @chrish
                                        This is a bit like, in sailing terms, the discussion often heard in sailing circles of ‘what boat should I buy as an ideal boat’.
                                         
                                        And as Andrew Johnson says with a lathe and a mill, with a boat it’s all to do with what you want to do with a boat.  And again twisting what AJ says, with a boat the best advice was always go buy a suitable boat, go sailing, and then you will discover what  boat you will really like and need for the sailing you plan to do.  No point in buying a deep keel ocean cruiser if all you want to do is potter round the shallow places in the Solent on a weekend.
                                         
                                        Again, as has been said above, think long and hard as to your needs, space and pocket and then: 
                                        Buy the lathe and mill you think will best suit your current needs and circumstances and see how you get on with them.  If they prove unsuitable for your needs, or you needs change, you can change the lathe and/or mill too, by which time you will have a better idea what YOU want, and not what someone else wants for you!
                                        #55954
                                        Axel Bentell
                                        Participant
                                          @axelbentell
                                          When it comes to buying stuff, I allways buy what I want, rather than whats most sensible.
                                           
                                          There is no ideal machine, or anything, its a matter of preference. And it allways takes a few buys before one feels confident with whats needed.
                                        Viewing 19 posts - 51 through 69 (of 69 total)
                                        • Please log in to reply to this topic. Registering is free and easy using the links on the menu at the top of this page.

                                        Advert

                                        Latest Replies

                                        Home Forums General Questions Topics

                                        Viewing 25 topics - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
                                        Viewing 25 topics - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)

                                        View full reply list.

                                        Advert

                                        Newsletter Sign-up