Metal lathe

A few months back, I bought a Boley metalworking lathe- 1930/40s vintage at a guess. Aside from a couple of grub screws, a chuck key and couple of other minot bits, it is about set up, and these parts are on their way. I also have ordered some hss blanks to grind tooling..

I have never used a metal lathe before, but my plan it to use it for kitless pens, to try and get an element of repeatability in the product, on acrylic and ebonite. Aluminium may feature at some point, but is not my initial plan. The lathe will have an er32 collet chuck on it, which can go onto the wood lathe if needed- so if i need a higher speed for an operation, it is possible to use the wood lathe for that. That part is out of stock until mid feb, so i will have to use the 4 jaw chuck in the meantime.

What is recommended to turn for some practice- is aluminium as good as anything for practice, or delrin, or buy the cheapest acrylic blanks that I can get?

ideas or suggestions?

You can turn most materials Bob, steel, aluminium, brass plastics even hardwood as long as you have the tooling. Just have a go.

A larger lathe than mine which is just a little Cowells ME90 watchmakers lathe which is great fun. Post some photos so we can see what you're playing with.

If your going to do brass build a curved shield depending on the quality of the brass it sprays.If I was wanting to do closed ends turn wood. Learn the cutting angles etc to go with your new tooling.

Above all enjoy.

Peter.

If you're turning aluminium, be aware that you can have problems with the heat generated melting the metal as it passes over the tool, causing a buildup on the tool that will give a poor finish. This can be avoided by using a lubricant - WD40 is popular.

Harry I reckon your right ,cheaper and equal is kerosene.

Peter.

Any chance of a photo of your lathe Mark.:pray:

I've turned both brass and aluminium without lubricant on both my metal and wood lathes without problem, though not turned threads. Many others forum members do the same so I personally don't see an issue as long as speeds are carefully controlled as well as taking fine cuts. Again no issues with swarf, I just make sure I'm wearing a face mask.

Tools used have been standard HSS and carbide tipped, nothing special.

Just using commonsense goes a long way!

i will take a photograph later on.

Is aluminium as good as anything for me to get started on? I dont doubt that the lathe is perfectly capable of turning harder metals, and on a wood lathe you can turn brass. Nobody, however, would recommend to a newcomer that the first thing that they attempt to turn on their wood lathe is a piece of brass.

Bigblackdog said:

i will take a photograph later on.

Is aluminium as good as anything for me to get started on? I dont doubt that the lathe is perfectly capable of turning harder metals, and on a wood lathe you can turn brass. Nobody, however, would recommend to a newcomer that the first thing that they attempt to turn on their wood lathe is a piece of brass.

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You will soon learn which materials will work for you best. Read up on metal lathe forums.

Peter.

This set helps me cutting threads using button dies the top section covers all sizes we will need for external threads and the bottom ones cover all sizes of internal thread cutters square to shaft.

Peter.

Lons said:

Post some photos so we can see what you're playing with.

Click to expand...

now now gentlemen this the wrong forum for that

Sounds like you are making a great start, make sure that compatibility is on both ways metal to wood and wood to metal. Gives the best coverage.

As for turning.,,.Whatever you have in stock that you can afford to chuck in the bin..

That's what you use to turn with first... simple.

You can start with Ali, Brass or any other metals or acrylics, but to be honest nothing is easier than the fact you have a metal lathe..

If it has auto feed then that is when the critical point comes in to play. However, it sounds like you are using it mainly for threads and turning to suit threading.

When tapping and threading I tend to do that on metal lathe than switch it to wood lathe to do the shaping so you are on the right lines as the faster stuff is easier along with versatility of free hand shaping.

let's see if these pictures work...

Thanks for the pics Mark, it looks good considering the age.
What is the length and swing?

I see most of the essentials, looks like a long throw in the tail stock, like the toolholder. Good long bed. Potential for most things a penmaker could use.

Peter.

it was a bit bigger than I had appreciated when I bought it, and a lot heavier but it was the right price and half an hour away from work. It should eat up pens, hopefully and it is nice to have something with a bit of character and soul in the workshop!

The swing over the bed is 4 1/2" I think (or is it measured as 9"?), and there must be nearly 2' between centres. I havent measured that because it was far in excess of a pen barrel.

I believe that the lathe is complete, with the exception of a couple of grub screws, and a couple of keys on gears. These are on their way to me from ebay. It isnt in bad condition- there is a bit of wear here and there, and a washer missing on the cross slide, again which I have ordered something to adapt. Other than that, it is solid enough and there isnt play in the slides and carriage. I also have a set of change wheels with it, should I ever want to do some threading, although initially at least I will just use the taps and dies that I have.

My main concern is whether the top speed will be enough for turning ebonite and acrylic- i havent put a tachograph on it, but it is on plain bronze bearings so that suggests max will be around 2000. I hope that I can at least rough out the straights and tapers, even if i do need to put them on the wood lathe to smooth transitions between sections, finish etc.

It cost a lot less than a new Chinese lathe, and if i need to sell it on, I shouldnt lose much on it.

Alls well that ends well it would appear you found it at the right time mate, well seen.

Peter.