Hey Guys,
Are there any DVD Based or Online courses that I could use to learn the basics of using a Metal Lathe? I'd like to pick up a small lathe, learn some of the basics, and see if "personal" gunsmithing is something that would interest me.
Fred
Unfortunately Fred, much of the information you'll get about how to use a lathe will not apply if you use modern tools. With todays tooling, much of what you read or see may not apply to your lathe. In some cases, even the HSS tools won't act the way they did years ago cause the HSS's have changed (now they're something else).
When you go to buy say, a roughing tool that uses inserts. All those tools will be geared toward use in production machines and are going to give significantly less tool life when used in a lathe like we stick in our garages. It's just a fact of life. It's still the best tool you can get, it's just that you're not going to get the most out of it. Accept that, somewhat. At work, I'd say if I take an 80 deg insert and put it in the CNC, it'll cut 50-100x as much material without needing replaced as it would if I was to use it in the engine lathe. And I'm talking about a medium heavy, decent engine lathe. At proper feed, speed, and with high pressure coolant, these inserts live just about forever. Unfortunately, most engine lathes won't have the capability to do the first two, and you won't want to use the third cause it's such a mess.
If it is at all possible, please, find a person who is willing to stop in and give some advice on how the machine works. Do this with a real human standing around supervising. I'm not saying this for safety sake, though that's a great idea too. I'm saying it cause there are things about machining that seem counterintuitive. The basics really should be learned correctly the first time, not, learned once wrong then re-learned later the hard way. This will pay dividends for you in tools cost by using the tool to its best efficiency with the machine you choose. It's hard enough when todays tools are not intended to be used in toolroom lathes anyhow. It would help to know why that is the case, and use what you learn to your advantage. Get the most out of your tools. They're gonna cost no less than 10 bucks a shot, so tossing them by the box full just from ignorance is senseless. Honestly, a couple hours with someone who is a tool/die maker will be priceless down the road. Especially if that person did work in a production environment also.
