Hello all,
About me....
42, male, trucking, mechanic, welder, excavating, construction, electrical, bla, bla, bla, drag racer (weekend warrior)
Several years ago I took 2 "machining technologies" classes at the local tech school mainly to familiarize myself with mill and lathe operations.
Had a great time, learned allot and would now like to add these to my shop.
My interests at this time would be along the lines of making small parts, shafts, pins, bushings, knobs, knurling and so on.....
Thread turning is important to me as well.
I have been looking at used equipment and was hoping to find some practical advise from people far wiser than I.
In no particular order, my questions are,
Are all lathes set up/equipped for thread turning?
For example, I have found many older Southbends for sale but i dont know if all older equipment is designed for thread turning.
In a way, it seems as if the Southbend crowd is similar to the JohnDeere people. Many are not only enthusiasts but collectors as well, not only interested in practical usage but the nostalgia factor as well. (at least it seems that way)
Yes/no ?
Which lathes and mills are more practical/affordable as far as tooling goes?
If i buy a piece of equipment which is set up for 3 phase electric, can i simply replace the motor with the same HP single phase unit?
(I'd rather not use a phase converter if possible on advise from a friend)
I have found several lathes which are far larger than i can ever imagine needing but if i were to purchase a "big one" would that effect the quality of smaller parts being produced?
I believe the lathes at school were all "gear head" (?) design. They were quick and easy to change speeds which i liked allot. I am guessing the belt driven models are much more cumbersome?
Can all lathes and mills be retrofitted with DRO's at a later date?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, probably more to come
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Threaded Mode