what size lathe for turning jugs and pistons?

[Stihl n Wood]

Im building a new shed in the spring, which got me thinking about buying a lathe for doing piston and cylinder work. I saw a few nice ones on CL for reasonable prices. But then again im not sure what exactly im lookin for? Is a 7"x10" mini lathe big enough? Or do I need bigger? Its gonna be for cutting jugs and pistons like I said. I remember seeing a topic on lathes awhile back now, but never checked it out. So maybe a link is all I need? Thanks.

 

[Stihl n Wood]

Anyone? Someones gotta know? Come on, I'll email you a beer? Lol...

 

[Stumpys Customs]

7x10 should be big enough, but you may not have enough clearance for turning some cylinders. I have a 9x20 china made & it's plenty big enough.

 

[pioneerguy600]

This thread;

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/205309.htm

 

[Stihl n Wood]

Thanks I would like to see the smaller 7x10 in person then id get a better idea of how big it is. My grandfather has a really nice older one that's plenty big. He has to teach me how to run one anyways. Lol im just gonnapractice on burnt jugs and pistons until im confident I know what im doing. Thanks for the info..

 

[bikesandcars]

I have a northern industrial lathe-mill that I got years ago. Funny this post came up because I"m just going through the process of looking for tooling to do some chainsaw head milling.

Northern Industrial Lathe Milling and Drilling Machine Combo — 1/2 HP | Lathes| Northern Tool + Equipment

I've enjoyed dealing with little machine shop, got some tooling from them and they have great customer service. Tooling, parts, and accessories for bench top machinists - LittleMachineShop.com

anyway, back to your question... I would prefer a mill to a lathe for this kind of work for a few main reasons... 1) spinning an odly balanced head assembly fast is more dangerous than spinning a tool 2) It's easier to jig and set up a cylinder in a mill using clamps 3) It's quicker to get a head level in a mill.

My lathe portion uses a 3-jaw auto centering 4" chuck, and I would need to upgrade to either a larger 4-jaw independant chuck or a face-plate with clamps to fit a cylinder safely Faceplate, Mini Lathe - LittleMachineShop.com .

Is a 7 x 10 lathe big enough? Yes... but as a heads up you will likely be investing in additional tooling to hold the piece.

I've seen some awesome threads here on Jigs for supporting a cylinder for inside-bore milling, but not so many for base shaving (in a lathe)

 

[Mastermind]

Well Chinese maths are weird. The 7X10 is 4 inches shorter than the 7X12. The 7X10 would be too short for my needs. I use a 7X12 with a 5" 4 way chuck. I've modded the cross slide to allow the toolpost to come back away from the centerline more and have made a boring bar holder that replaces the toolpost for squish band cutting. It takes some tweaking the make the little lathe work accurately but for my needs it's good.

 

[bikesandcars]

Well Chinese maths are weird. The 7X10 is 4 inches shorter than the 7X12. The 7X10 would be too short for my needs. I use a 7X12 with a 5" 4 way chuck. I've modded the cross slide to allow the toolpost to come back away from the centerline more and have made a boring bar holder that replaces the toolpost for squish band cutting. It takes some tweaking the make the little lathe work accurately but for my needs it's good.

If you ever read the instruction manual on chinese products.... man that's some good comedy reading.... doesn't suprise me the math is funny.

Thanks for confirming a 5" 4-way would work, I was thinking of going that way. Debating purchasing the tools I need to make the mill work or the 4-jaw chuck to make the lathe work... might get the mill tooling just to make my combo unit more versitle.

The machines are incredibly small and not long enough for a lot of serious work, but beggers can't be choosers!

 

[johncinco]

Too bad your not closer to Michigan. So many tool and die shops have gone out of business, the machinery usually sells by the pound for scrap prices. Its a little depressing seeing nice machines that turned out such great work headed for the crusher, or to china in a shipping crate.

 

[RiverRat2]

If you ever read the instruction manual on chinese products.... man that's some good comedy reading.... doesn't suprise me the math is funny.

Thanks for confirming a 5" 4-way would work, I was thinking of going that way. Debating purchasing the tools I need to make the mill work or the 4-jaw chuck to make the lathe work... might get the mill tooling just to make my combo unit more versitle.

The machines are incredibly small and not long enough for a lot of serious work, but beggers can't be choosers!

In many cases for machine work with either Lathes or mills the machine cost is only part of the equation,,,, you can spend some jack when it comes to the tooling depending on your application,,,, Quick fast and in a hurry!!!

Well Chinese maths are weird. The 7X10 is 4 inches shorter than the 7X12. The 7X10 would be too short for my needs. I use a 7X12 with a 5" 4 way chuck. I've modded the cross slide to allow the toolpost to come back away from the centerline more and have made a boring bar holder that replaces the toolpost for squish band cutting. It takes some tweaking the make the little lathe work accurately but for my needs it's good.

Ya a 4 jaw chuck is the way to fly!!! JMHO

 

[w8ye]

Just use your Grandpa's lathe?

 

[Mastermind]

In many cases for machine work with either Lathes or mills the machine cost is only part of the equation,,,, you can spend some jack when it comes to the tooling depending on your application,,,, Quick fast and in a hurry!!!



Ya a 4 jaw chuck is the way to fly!!! JMHO

That way you know you will at least be @ centerline...... :msp_wink:

 

[srcarr52]

anyway, back to your question... I would prefer a mill to a lathe for this kind of work for a few main reasons... 1) spinning an odly balanced head assembly fast is more dangerous than spinning a tool 2) It's easier to jig and set up a cylinder in a mill using clamps 3) It's quicker to get a head level in a mill.

I'd like to see how you setup to cut the base of a Husky cylinder that has a skirt extension on a mill. Dial it in on a rotary table? :msp_scared:

 

[bikesandcars]

you can spend some jack when it comes to the tooling depending on your application,,,,

Word! First $ mounting then $ tooling.. not cheap for sure... I like to buy stuff I think I can use again

I'd like to see how you setup to cut the base of a Husky cylinder that has a skirt extension on a mill. Dial it in on a rotary table? :msp_scared:

Sorry, don't have one of them apart on the bench (no Husqvarna's in my small collection) and my inexperience is showing by not knowing what ya mean... but if you had a picture I'd love to see it.

Any pics of the 5" 4-jaw holding the cylinder for base material removal in a lathe? Any pics of a mill setup for ideas? Ya know I'll post some when I get my end figured out.

 

[mdavlee]

You can use a mandrel to hold the cylinder. I've been looking for a mill to do some stuff not on saws. I still want a lathe to do the saw stuff. I'm not in a hurry for either so I plan on getting a lathe in the 10"x20" or bigger so I know I'll be able to do anything I can think of.

 

[Mastermind]

\

 

[dozerdan]

[
anyway, back to your question... I would prefer a mill to a lathe for this kind of work for a few main reasons... 1) spinning an odly balanced head assembly fast is more dangerous than spinning a tool 2) It's easier to jig and set up a cylinder in a mill using clamps 3) It's quicker to get a head level in a mill.


I can set up my lathe in 1/2 the time or less then I can set up my mill to cut the cylinder base. If the cylinder has a removable head, like on a motorcycle I will use the mill.
I have never had a problem with odly balanced cylinders when cutting a cylinder in a lathe. They are small and they don't weigh very much. You don't have to spin it at a million rpms. Do you think that every part that is turned on a lathe is balanced?
Later
Dan

 

[Stihl n Wood]

Yes very true on using my grandfathers, hes a life long mechanic and was a engine builder for a well known race car driver back in the day. Needless to say its where my mechanical background started. So along with him teaching me, im sure I can go use it anytime. He only lives 20 min from me anyways. Only problem is my grandparents live in Florida for the winters. But when may rolls around I will be giving it a shot. I would like to have my own someday though. Its just nice when its yours and you have it right in front of you when in need. I've been porting for a few years now, but I see all this cutting squish bands and making pop ups and so on and I know I could be building better and more powerful saws than I am now. That's just CAD I guess!

 

[craig71]

Sorry guys but I saw JUGS in the title and just had to drop by for a look.:dribble:

 

[Stihl n Wood]

Should have said cylinders and pop up, but we can say jugs and pop outs! If it excites ya...lol..