zoiDman, I am slimest, not slimmest. Please call me correctly. Thanks in advance.
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Any soft Material would be good to Practice with. And if you have or can get a Material that is Safe to use in contact with e-liquids, more the better.
SS is just a Hard Material to learn with. It has a Small window for Speed and Feed. Outside of that window and it doesn't cut well.
Sorry slimest.
I use Outlook if I am going to type a Long reply so I can use the Speel Check. My Spelling Is Terrible. Then I Copy and aPast to the ECF.
Unfortunately, Outlook wants to Auto Correct words like slimest =>slimmest and I don't Allways check it.
Ok cool. I'll have to check out what other metals are good for e-liquid. I've heard mixed things on Brass, but everything else seems to be Stainless Steel.. Are there no other appropriate metals for this?
Awesome, I wouldn't have known that! Especially because a lot of youtube videos it looks like people are making some gnarly wire
Thanks!
I'm still trying to decide what set of tools to get. This one looks promising but I'm a little iffy on those turning tools.. I have a bench grinder so I could probably get better ones and sharpen or make them myself. Also still looking for a good measurement kit.
Any suggestions? Ideally, I'd love something that could turn stainless steel, and I don't mind having to sharpen my tools regularly.
Thats a ok starter kit in my opinion. Only thing i don't like about it is the quick change stuff is made out of aluminum. I went with a quick change made out of steel. If you plan on cutting stainless steel you really going to have to upgrade some of that tooling a bit. The parting tool is HSS so it will be worthless on SS. carbide and cobalt cutters are pretty much mandatory for SS work.
4jaw chucks are awesome but they are a pain in the .... to learn. You need a magnetic base a dial indicator to get your work piece centered but you can get them much truer then a regular 3 jaw. repeatability on a 3 jaw is not very good unless you got a top end precision chuck
If you going to make tube mods and your getting a 7x ? mini lathe. your going to want to stay away from the 7X10 it will just end up pissing you off cause the beds too short. If you have the money the best 7x mini lathe is sold by micro mark it is 7x16 has the brushless motor true .050 per a turn inch divisions.
I will check out the Micro Mark, but it is almost twice the price of the 7x10 from Harbor Feight.
My main goal is to make rebuildable tank atties, probably nothing over 3-4" long - would the 7x10 still be a pain? I really don't see myself going over 3", definitely not 4" - but who knows.. maybe down the line I will want something longer.. but I just can't really afford a larger one right now, as much as I'd like it.
And yeah, hmm, maybe I will just buy the individual tools then, and get stuff made for stainless steel. I'd rather spend the money now than spend more in the long run.
My main goal is to make rebuildable tank atties, probably nothing over 3-4" long - would the 7x10 still be a pain? I really don't see myself going over 3", definitely not 4" - but who knows.. maybe down the line I will want something longer.. but I just can't really afford a larger one right now, as much as I'd like it.
And yeah, hmm, maybe I will just buy the individual tools then, and get stuff made for stainless steel. I'd rather spend the money now than spend more in the long run.
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I’ve cut Mountains of SS using HHS. Especially when Roughing. Carbide does not like the Vibration / Pounding as well as HHS. But I do agree that M-42 Cobalt is a better Alloy of HHS.
The Biggest Problem that most Hobbyist have when Cutting Harder Alloys is Lack of Coolant. Most people are going to be cutting things Dry and Heat / Friction is what Breaks down the Edge of Any Cutting Tool.
The Big issue when someone say “Brass” is that this is a Family of Alloys.
Just like when someone say “Copper”. Copper is an Element. But most people are referring to a Copper Alloy. Some Copper Alloys are considered safe to use for things like Drinking Water Pipes. And Some are Not.
But All Copper or Brass Alloys are Considered a Poor Choice to be used in contact with Chemicals.
Without a High Degree of Understanding a Metal Alloys Chemical Stability, I would steer clear of “Bare Metal Alloys” with the Exception of Stainless Steel Alloys.
BTW – You probably find that 4xx Series Fully Annealed Low Carbon SS is the Easiest to cut. And it will have More than Enough Hardness for what you want to do with it.
you should be ok with the 7x10 for that short of pieces. You might need to remove the tail stock from the machine for room at times thats what i used to do. You bigger drill bits will be harder to use because they are longer. Might need stubby drill bits for bigger sizes. I ended up getting this kit for my 7x10 to make it a 7x14. LittleMachineShop.com - Bed Extension Kit 14" so much nicer to work on now. I guess you could always upgrade your later if the 7x10 causes you problems and cash permits. Not too hard to slap everything on a new bed basicly just need to drill and tap about 8 holes. Hardest part is adjusting the carriage onto the new bed.
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely check out 4xx Series Fully Annealed Low Carbon SS!
Now debating on trying to get the 7x16 lathe instead of 7x10... but not sure if it'd be overkill if I will only be working on 3-4" long pieces of metal.
edit: woops didn't see that post Java_Az. Awesome, thanks for that link! Maybe one day I will upgrade it if I have to. That is probably the best option here. But yeah, I will be working relatively short most of the time. I don't have a huge interest in making big tube mods right now, mainly just tank/atty stuff
Now debating on trying to get the 7x16 lathe instead of 7x10... but not sure if it'd be overkill if I will only be working on 3-4" long pieces of metal.
edit: woops didn't see that post Java_Az. Awesome, thanks for that link! Maybe one day I will upgrade it if I have to. That is probably the best option here. But yeah, I will be working relatively short most of the time. I don't have a huge interest in making big tube mods right now, mainly just tank/atty stuff
There is No Such thing as Over Kill in my book when it comes to Machine Tools. LOL
More Swing or LOB is just going to let you do Bigger Parts.
But Money is the limiting Factor so make sure you have enough left for for all the Other things you need to do your Project.
True! I'd really love to have a rocking workshop one day. I'm slowly getting there! And yeah, money is definitely the limiting factor here. I could wait and save up, but I really want to get this lathe ASAP and start fleshing out these ideas I have. Once I get my mind on something I obsess about it until I make it haha.
it will still be hard to work on stuff 4" long 7x10 lathe , Really they are 7X8 lathes 12 inch and 14 beds they sell are 4 inches and 6 inches longer then the 7x10 (8). You can do 4 inch work pieces on a 7x10 but it will be cramped. Only reason i got my 7x10 is because i picked it up slightly used off craigs list for 250 bucks. If buying new i would spend 70 bucks more and get this 7x12 one off ebay 7x12 Precision Mini Variable Speed Metal Lathe 400W 110V | eBay or a 110 more for this 7x14 7 x 14 550W Mini Precision Metal Lathe 2500RPM Variable Speed Mini Lathe 3/4HP | eBay they don't have the brushless motors or true inch dials like the micro mark and little machine shop lathes, but well worth the extra work space in my book.
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I'm definitely thinking about it. The big thing for me is that there is a 20% coupon for the 7x10 that will bring it down to $400, and there is a Harbor Freight near me so I won't have to pay shipping, so essentially it will be $400 + tax.
What are the downsides besides the small space? I say 4" the max as a safety for me, most of my plans I don't really want above 3" max, and I will aim to have 2.5" - I mean I don't want to buy a machine that will crap the bed on me, or produce shoddy work, that's for sure. But if I can use it to make something similar to the scubagenV3 or the G-Tank US (it can do threads.. are they good and accurate?) I will be elated. Those are the kinds of things I am basing my designs off of.
I'm hoping it can do good threading, that would be awesome. But will this machine fall apart on me or anything? I've definitely heard good things about it, at least for a hobby lathe.
I would absolutely love to have a larger, more versatile one, but I'm just keeping my wallet in mind here.. but I really don't want to regret buying it.
edit: looking at that one on ebay, it's free shipping... maybe I will get that one afterall... I just need to get my paypal account fixed, not sure if I can use ebay without a paypal or not.
Looks like that seller accepts credit payment over the phone, too. Maybe this one is the lathe for me.
Hmm..
What are the downsides besides the small space? I say 4" the max as a safety for me, most of my plans I don't really want above 3" max, and I will aim to have 2.5" - I mean I don't want to buy a machine that will crap the bed on me, or produce shoddy work, that's for sure. But if I can use it to make something similar to the scubagenV3 or the G-Tank US (it can do threads.. are they good and accurate?) I will be elated. Those are the kinds of things I am basing my designs off of.
I'm hoping it can do good threading, that would be awesome. But will this machine fall apart on me or anything? I've definitely heard good things about it, at least for a hobby lathe.
I would absolutely love to have a larger, more versatile one, but I'm just keeping my wallet in mind here.. but I really don't want to regret buying it.
edit: looking at that one on ebay, it's free shipping... maybe I will get that one afterall... I just need to get my paypal account fixed, not sure if I can use ebay without a paypal or not.
Looks like that seller accepts credit payment over the phone, too. Maybe this one is the lathe for me.
Hmm..
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Ok, so after looking around.. I might go bigger.
This 7x12 looks like the same one you posted but for $569 (it says 400w instead of 500w though) and then I found this 7x14 for less than $620 with shipping.
Are these good lathes? I'm considering getting one of those.
Also, I mentioned the 4 jaw chuck before.. is that needed to drill off-center holes or is there another way? Also, what is a brushless motor?
This 7x12 looks like the same one you posted but for $569 (it says 400w instead of 500w though) and then I found this 7x14 for less than $620 with shipping.
Are these good lathes? I'm considering getting one of those.
Also, I mentioned the 4 jaw chuck before.. is that needed to drill off-center holes or is there another way? Also, what is a brushless motor?
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the harbor freight 7x10 is on sale already for $499 reg price is $599. They are not supposed to give you the 20% off on sale items but sometimes you can get away with it.
just about all the 7x 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 sold here in the USA are made but the same china company SIEG. That 550watt looks good ( thinking it must be a brushless motor to have 550 watts ) if i had a extra 620 bucks i would buy it and sell the one i have now or turn it into a CNC lathe.
You can drill off center holes with a four jaw chuck. Not easy to get the work piece just right but it can be done. One hole would be easy enough but say you needed 3 holes 120 degrees apart you might as well forget about it with a four jaw. You would want to get a indexing table with a lathe chuck attached to it and a decent drill press( ideally a mill ) to do work like that.
just about all the 7x 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 sold here in the USA are made but the same china company SIEG. That 550watt looks good ( thinking it must be a brushless motor to have 550 watts ) if i had a extra 620 bucks i would buy it and sell the one i have now or turn it into a CNC lathe.
You can drill off center holes with a four jaw chuck. Not easy to get the work piece just right but it can be done. One hole would be easy enough but say you needed 3 holes 120 degrees apart you might as well forget about it with a four jaw. You would want to get a indexing table with a lathe chuck attached to it and a decent drill press( ideally a mill ) to do work like that.
Cool, I think I may spring for the 7x14 550w lathe then.
As far as the holes.. I was thinking of being able to have a center hole for the battery connector and 2 smaller holes for positive and negative posts on either side (like most tank atties out there). Would this be doable with the 4 jaw chuck?
As far as the holes.. I was thinking of being able to have a center hole for the battery connector and 2 smaller holes for positive and negative posts on either side (like most tank atties out there). Would this be doable with the 4 jaw chuck?
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Unfortunately not.. I was hoping to accomplish this with a lathe. If it's not possible to do with a lathe maybe I will save up for an inexpensive drill press after I get a lathe.. I'll have to look up how much they are. I'd love to be able to do it on a lathe, though!
edit: ok so a quick search on ebay, they aren't too expensive for a mini drill press. Not sure if it'll be enough for what I need. But if I DO need a drill press, I suppose I don't need to buy the 4 jaw chuck for about $90, I could get a drill press instead, as I would basically be buying them for the same function.
edit: ok so a quick search on ebay, they aren't too expensive for a mini drill press. Not sure if it'll be enough for what I need. But if I DO need a drill press, I suppose I don't need to buy the 4 jaw chuck for about $90, I could get a drill press instead, as I would basically be buying them for the same function.
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For precision work I use Dremel Workstation: dremel workstation | eBay
Very useful and versatile device. Of course you have to have a Dremel
Very useful and versatile device. Of course you have to have a Dremel
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