A solution for stack turning and more

[up1950s]

Annoyed that there isn't a 1/4 inch chuck for the Dremel , and my desire to turn my own UP stacks I came up with this . A Sears micro wood lathe 180.00 mounted on a Harbor Freight stand 17.00 . You really don't want to know the price of the extras I bought from world wide sources so I have many many options for chucking stuff up . I do my modeling in the den so I mounted it low , and removable in 3 seconds . This way I can store the lathe on top of a cabinet , and the work stand folds fairly flat , 10 inches or so . I did a test stack and the results which is chucked in the lathe are good , and I have better control . Now I can chuck up 4 inch diameter or less in the den .

[wcfn100]

Nice.

Out of curiosity, what make a lathe a 'wood' lathe?

Jason

[up1950s]

http://www.mysears.com/Craftsman-3-Speed-Mini-Lathe-22106-reviews

Not a good lathe , but for my purposes this is much more than adequate to turn plastic .

A metal lathe has a cross compound tool support to which has a mounted cutting tool which can be adjusted as the lathe turns  .

A wood lathe has just a tool rest bar that should only be adjusted when the lathe is off . Chisels are manually adjusted while resting on the tool bar .

[wcfn100]

I knew I should have paid more attention in 10th grade shop.

Thanks Richie.

Jason

[wazzou]

I'm anxious to see ultimately what your per stack cost will be...

[up1950s]

I'm anxious to see ultimately what your per stack cost will be...

Being that I only have one stack planned , the 2-10-2  , the math is easy . Boiler extension will also be needed .  There is no way the math will ever be non scary . Flanged pipe loads are another project . What's the price for fun ? I will have more hands on with this than any of my locos or cars .

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Nice. I wish there was a cheap mill out there. I need to mill out some of the masters for the vehicle line and the Dremel is not cutting it (no pun intended). I want a very accurate cavity that only a mill can provide.

I like the lathe. If I ever get this vehicle line off the ground, I really want to do a forward facing cement mixer and this lathe would be perfect for turning the mixer body.

[Chris333]

So do you just freestyle the taper?

To do a taper on my lathe I need to buy a cross compound slide.
http://www.taigtools.com/c1200.html

Guess i should just buy it already... Pretty much the only thing I don't have for it.

[Sokramiketes]

Nice. I wish there was a cheap mill out there.

The mills are cheap! It's the measuring tools and tool holders and bits and clamps and hold downs and and and... that are expensive!

[up1950s]

So do you just freestyle the taper?

To do a taper on my lathe I need to buy a cross compound slide.
http://www.taigtools.com/c1200.html

Guess i should just buy it already... Pretty much the only thing I don't have for it.

Yeah Chris , I just do it by eye . I have a wide Xacto chisel that 1/2 an inch which covers 95% of my stack lengths . I would rather have a micro metal lathe with a cross compound tool holder , but the cost it more than I was willing to spend . This thing will help me . You though , with your talents should get the best money can buy . Your degree of detail and exactness of dimensions , coupled with your lack of age ( envy ) rightfully deserve nothing less .

Adapting that top half of a cross compound slide to this lathe will require who knows what . If you buy this lathe and adapt that slide let me know how you did it . The worst part of this lathe is the lathe round upper edge guides and the tool rests mounting to it .

[Chris333]

I never tried to use a chisel on my lathe, but I guess on plastic it would work OK. 

I have a Taig micro Lathe. It is far from the best, in fact I bought it because it was cheaper than a Sherline. It came as a kit I had to build and I "found" a motor at work so that saved some money too. It was the same exact motor they sell for it.
http://www.cartertools.com/setup.html

The cross slide and WW collets are about all I still would like for it.

[up1950s]

I never tried to use a chisel on my lathe, but I guess on plastic it would work OK. 

I have a Taig micro Lathe. It is far from the best, in fact I bought it because it was cheaper than a Sherline. It came as a kit I had to build and I "found" a motor at work so that saved some money too. It was the same exact motor they sell for it.
http://www.cartertools.com/setup.html

The cross slide and WW collets are about all I still would like for it.

Now that's a nice lathe .

[Andrew Hutchinson]

I'm not meaning to hijack a very constructive thread but so far as Taigs are concerned (I own 1.75 of them) the compound, though essential, is pretty big let down. A lot of them (all that I have seen) sit up on the locking plate and not on the compound base which means you'll have to support it with shims and mill some clamps to hold it securely in place which in turn can impede angle selection. I am sure there is a reason quite likely beyond the scope of tolerances that is behind this but I haven't contacted  the factory for the reason as of yet. The Sherline compound is also supposedly clumsy but there at least you have the headstock to rotate for cutting centres. Like Chris, I waited forever to get a compound and that was a huge mistake for the work I'd been trying to do. It is very hard to make tools without one or to do a wide range of suedo precision work. The WW headstock is also on my wishlist. While on the topic I  mistakenly ended up with a third one bored straight to .593" from the factory. It has no capacity  to hold a normal collet but it is has proven ever so helpful machining larger stock. I'd say it is worth a look especially if it is the only lathe in a model work shop. They're cheap at sixty bucks (complete with special pulley) and easy to install when needed.

I'd recommend the taig in a heartbeat. I love mine.  Lathes, heck even mills like the horrid little grizz mini mill I own (...should have purchased a Taig or Sherline but that's another story...) greatly expand a modeller's horizons. And while we can't all produce like Chris, Richie or DKS many tasks are made easier, possible or "more interesting" by machine tools. If you're someone who has a variety of tasks to do and you really don't want to spend any more time making tools than you have to, Sherline's (and a few other mfgs) far greater range of accessories puts it square in the eyes of the model railroader. Just something to consider.

Here's a link to John Bentley's site and worth considering when it comes time to add a dog clutch/leadscrew to a taig.
http://www.jrbentley.com/

Andrew Hutchinson