audio-talk

ive been contemplating getting a lathe for a while now, a reasonably small one that i can use for turning small parts like delrin bushes, little feet, control knobs ect.
i needed to turn a small bush the other day that was 20mm o/d and 6mm i/d and ended up having to lash up a heath robinson rig using a pillar drill, some threaded rod through the middle of the bush into the chuck, a nut either side to clamp it. using a normal chisel it worked reasonably well but isnt ideal and is probably not a good idea in terms of health and safety
any advice on what to be looking at in terms of machines? most of my other kit is 110v stuff so i can go that way if that is an option, a cheapo new one or a second hand half decent one?
cheers ant

I have a small Hobbymat MD65 with the BF65 milling head - its a good solid small engineering lathe that often appears for sale second hand... They haven't been made for years but are excellent....

i ended up buying an al ko hdm850 which is based on the hobbymat md120 (i.e a straight copy) that is in turn a woodturning variant of the hobbymat md65. only potential issue is that the spindle thread is a 30x 1.5 which is an odd size, meaning that different chucks and faceplates are be more expensive than they otherwise would be. for my use it should be ok and looks much better built than the cheap new ones

I could have helped you out a few years ago i had 3 at one point, a myford ml7& 10 then a bought a late little john
.. then sold the 2 smaller myfords as they where no use
The little john is great for a smaller lathe it came with a capstan and centre lathe set up, revolving 4 way tool post and lots of. Tooling , auto feed inc cross and metric/imperial screw-cutting 10" swing and 36 between centres
It like a mini ward 10 and ward 7's that i used to work as an apprentice.. I used to make a few motor bike parts when i did alot of restoring.

I've been looking out for a smaller milling machine ready for when i retire...

I used to make the chuck adaptor plates, chinese chucks are cheep to buy.. but your better off with a decent older one
What size chuck to you need i have a few...

Well this is the one i bought

Very heavy and reasonably compact, and built like a tank
Before i fired it up i gave it a clean, checked the condition of the nvr wiring and the motor run cap and all was fine.
Checked the bearing and theres no play anywhere.
All i needed to do was go over the rails with some wire wool to get rid of the light surface corrosion. It came with a live centre, drive centre, 3" faceplate and 3" screw chuck so a good for me deal all round..
Not sure what the 2" long cylinder is for though...
Id probably want a 3" chuck for it if you have something adaptable knocking around steve, the spindle is a 30x 1.5 thread so is abit weird

Finally got a chance to use the lathe today, just did abit of playing about with a chunk of 3x3 crap that was on top of the shed. Just to get a feel for the tool more than anything.
I must admit that i approached it with a little trepidation, having never used one before but i shouldnt have, this lathe is a delight to use. Very stable, very accurate and a complete novice managed in the space of half an hours playing with the different chisels and half an hour actually turning something, to produce a........... Thing.
I turned a little candle holder. And for some reason was dead chuffed with it.
What a splendid way to spend an afternoon

Excellent. Soon you'll be on a candle stick makers forum and subscribing to Wood Turners Monthly

Photos!

Greg wrote:Excellent. Soon you'll be on a candle stick makers forum and subscribing to Wood Turners Monthly

i need a much bigger beard and a checked flannelette shirt before i can even subscribe! part of the subscription conditions
got some sticks of nice cherry and some ash to have a go with next

also does anyone know if the drive spindle is hollow, presumably it has an mt to it so that i could use other centres at the drive end? cheers ant

Nice toy !
As I remember, next step up on the training course is to make a 1kHz Le Cleac'h horn from beech

IslandPink wrote:Nice toy !
As I remember, next step up on the training course is to make a 1kHz Le Cleac'h horn from beech

i bet that his plan ....

Finally managed to get hold of a small drill chuck that fits the tailstock on the lathe so i can now have a go at some other stuff like record weights and control knobs.

Its proved pretty much impossible to get a chuck for it, I think it will have to be a custom made backplate and a generic chuck.

Any idea where I can get a backplate made?
It's an odd size, the thread size is m30 x 1.5

Cheers ant

As stated, it's based on a Hobbymat MD65/Prazi SD300...

If so, Stephen Lacey at Essel Engineering was the main spares supplier at http://www.esselengineering.co.uk/Esselengineering.html. I got a 4-jaw chuck from him years ago. If he can't help you directly, he'll know a man who can (or ask on one of the UK model engineering fora).

Got me another toy today, a hobbymat md65. It came up locally at a good price, so I snapped it up. Mi dad helped me out with the cost as it was a snap decision to grab it before someone else did, so thanks go to him for that Almost all original other than a few mods that the previous owner had made to make it easier to use.
Original chuck with both sets of inside and outside jaws, tooling, a hand crank to make it easy to cut threads up to a shoulder, live centre and drill chuck for the tailstock, full set of change gears, and a load of other bits and bobs.
Its also had new bearings fitted and been overhauled. No play anywhere.

The bloke had a garage full of huskies ( bikes not dogs!), and showed me some bits he had made up for the bikes.

Dead chuffed with it

I also have an MD65 with the BFE milling attachment. They're dead nice little lathes. Got mine locally to me about 15 years ago from a model engineering shop where the bloke was retiring.

My only slight gripe is the 4" swing - it'd have been cool if you could drop out a bit of the bed like some other small lathes.

Not done any thread cutting, just turning, knurling and boring. There's a guy in Wales who supplies accessories like 4 jaw independent chucks, blank plates, index tables, quick change tool heads and alternative gear sets etc.

You'll love it - it may be small but it's very flexible.