MachinistBlog.com » Lathe

Grinding Lathe Tools on a Belt Sander – For the New Guy

Mikey — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:37:22 +0000

I’m a believer. As a new guy I totally sucked at grinding lathe tools. It’s almost painful to admit how many stubby, misshapen, multi-faceted, overheated and just plain ugly lathe tools I made back then. The amazing thing is that some of those tools actually worked as well as the pre-ground tools that

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HSS Indexable Inserts

Rob — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:00:13 +0000

It’s not obvious at first but this video is about the Arthur R. Warner Company’s HSS indexable inserts. After seeing it I’ve decided that I would really like to give them a try. I know you can get a better finish with HSS bits but I don’t like having to stop to

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Snub’s ball turning tool

Rob — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:56:16 +0000

I think this is a brilliant idea. “Snub” made a ball turning tool and used a 4-jaw chuck as the base. He says it works perfectly and leaves an almost perfect finish. I don’t doubt him because of the weight and rigidity of the chuck and the large bearing he used as a

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Free Plans: Ball Turning Tool Post for the 7x Mini-lathe

Rob — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:27:18 +0000

I want to tell you about Ralph Patterson’s free plans for a ball turning tool post that will fit a 7-by-whatever mini-lathe, and show you how he used it to fix a broken shower head. I’ve also included a YouTube video that shows a similar tool post being used to make a

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Free Plans: Quick-Release Lathe Mounted Dial Indicator Holder

Rob — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:19:21 +0000

SwarfRat Enterprises has a set of free plans for a quick-release dial indicator holder that mounts on the front of a mini-lathe. The holder is made from a 5-inch long piece of .875-inch square aluminum stock. It also uses a quick-release lever from a bicycle seat or wheel that can be purchased inexpensively or salvaged

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Use Friction Turning to Make Thin Disks and Flywheels on the Lathe

Rob — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:33:01 +0000

Click for more pictures

This article describes how I made two round disks on my lathe out of sheet metal too thin to be held in a lathe chuck. I also could not use a mandrel because one of the disks was not going to have a hole drilled through its center. The two

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