JSR wants a lathe/mill thread -> JSR buys Sherline

[velocity3x]

If you were to recommend a lathe from here or a combo from here is there any one you'd recommend for a beginner?

That store is close to me (120km) and seems fairly cheap.

Personally, I think the best buy is :
AL-54B - Bench Lathe
280 x 750mm
SOLD WITH FAULTY MOTOR *LIMITED STOCK*

Put on a new motor for less that $100 and it would be a great beginner machine!

_________________
A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have....

[Zeus]

Thanks for the advice, I had no idea about the doubtful quality of them, Perhaps I'll go the same way as JSR and look into older secondhand machines.

For the uses I've got planned for a lathe and mill, precision is very important. When I'm dealing with over 40,000PSI, I'd like to know that it's exactly as I planned.

Looks like I've be saving for a while then.

[FighterAce]

over 40,000PSI

Is that for an air chamber or a hand grenade?

[Zeus]

I was making a reference to certain cartridges actually.

Just trying to be mildly discreet.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Read your personal e-mail!
I sent you info about tire valves!

Noted, will compare to the ones I have.

JSR, we talked about the Sherline line, but those Chinese import mini-lathe are a cheaper alternative, sturdier and bigger.
Most of the time they need some adjustments, the quality is not top-notch, or better said the fitting is not that precise out of the box (that's what I've read on the machinists forum, I don't own one). They are a good and cheaper alternative, but for someone that want to invest time in the tool more than the job, at least in the beginning.

I don't think I fall into that category...

The bigger difference Sherline have with a bigger lathe is the lack of power feed. That mean, you can't go automatically from one point to another at a constant feed rate, and more importantly you can't power thread.

Does this interfere with my purposes?

As to the schraders, I'm sure that theseturned down would be a practical economical alternative to cutting your own threads.

The problem I see with a mini-lathe is that you'll forever be limited to mini-work, whereas a larger bench lathe can do larger parts (like barrels) AND mini parts too. It might / will be a very short matter of time until you outgrow the capabilities of the mini-lathe and desire a lathe with more capabilities and power. Have you thought of beginning with a lathe slightly larger than a mini?

Sound advice but unless my situation changes dramatically, I have no personal scope or opportunity to go large, so as I see it now I would rather take my budget and spend it on a good mini lathe and tooling than a mediocre larger one.

When I'm dealing with over 40,000PSI, I'd like to know that it's exactly as I planned.

Toto, I've a feeling we're not talking about spudguns any more...



I'm asking some locals in-the-know where I might browse some lathes in the meantime, will see what I can dig up.

[LovableAirGuns]

This place seems really good and when i get the money im gona buy one from here
http://www.assetplant.com/epages/shop.s ... thes/Bench

Edit: the lathes seem to be a reasonable price to.

[LeMaudit]

The bigger difference Sherline have with a bigger lathe is the lack of power feed. That mean, you can't go automatically from one point to another at a constant feed rate, and more importantly you can't power thread.

Does this interfere with my purposes?

I don't think so. It never bothered me, and I've made a lot of different projects on the tools. As long as you stay within the envelope that the tool can handle, you're good If you start pushing the envelope all the time, you need bigger tools.

The problem I see with a mini-lathe is that you'll forever be limited to mini-work,

That is true... but there's one thing to add to the equation. You can sell back your used & quality mini lathes and mills (like Sherline or Taig) at a very good price on eBay, or on many machinist forums. If you take care of your tools, you can resell them anytime and don't loose much in the process.

[inonickname]

You really do need to spend a lot of money to get good machine tools. I got the 336-D which will run you nearly $4000 for the lathe alone. Add on more for LH/RH turning tools, boring bar, inserts, external/internal threading tool, parting tool, knurling tool, centers, drill chuck, drills, mill slide add on, milling tools, etc. It's a very good tool though and I use it often enough to be worthwhile. Glad I got a larger, better lathe.

[dewey-1]

Also here's a design for a hybrid cartridge using existing pipe instead of a completely machined body, in order to keep lathework to only the essential parts. The machined areas are shown in light grey, and I also intend to use the electrode design dewey-1 had suggested.[/quote]

You could tap the Schrader valve as shown.
This would allow threading for use in pneumatic and also act as a good bondind surface for the epoxy in hybrid cartridge.

A so called "universal" cannon Schrader!

[LeMaudit]

Something like that exist already, TR CH3 tapped both ends. But unfortunately it is also an exotic size.. something like 3/8 NF32 I think.

As for the "outside" barrel that is threaded too, I checked but I can't even find a match of its thread on my gauge

[dewey-1]

I realize they exist but JSR and others may not have easy access to them.

Besides JSR needs some practice on his lathe!

Remember that those of us residing in the US. have a lot of resources and relatively cheap shipping charges!

[LeMaudit]

Remember that those of us residing in the US. have a lot of resources and relatively cheap shipping charges!

I leave in Canada, that's a poor country compared to the US

Besides JSR needs some practice on his lathe!

Ah yes, true!

Seriously, I just went to a shop selling tires at the corner of the street, and asked to check the heavy duty valves. Among a few, I pick this one because I loved the potential
I think they use them for truck and bus. It just cost a few $, no shipping involved.

I'm pretty sure any shop that sell tires would stock those, and sell them for a fair price.

[dewey-1]

The simple question to ask is, which is easier to do and purchase?

A M6x1 tap and die or a 3/8 NF32 I think?

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

You could tap the Schrader valve as shown.
This would allow threading for use in pneumatic and also act as a good bonding surface for the epoxy in hybrid cartridge

One disadvantage in the latter role is that eventually the schrader can come loose, usually if I'm epoxying a threaded surface I want to fix permanently, I make cuts in the thread to prevent rotation.

[Heimo]

The simple question to ask is, which is easier to do and purchase?

A M6x1 tap and die or a 3/8 NF32 I think?

just want to add, if you want to cut threads on a Schrader, use a M6x0.75 die to cut the threads, a M6x1 cuts too deep, and this will weaken the valve enough to cause it to break, this happened to me while I was still busy cutting the threads and it is quite difficult to remove bits of broken Schrader from your tools...