New Lathe

Thanks for posting that. He had conditioned responses around that bow lathe like Norm Abrams on his table saw or Hans Solo flipping switches to go to light speed.
 
Thanks for posting that. He had conditioned responses around that bow lathe like Norm Abrams on his table saw or Hans Solo flipping switches to go to light speed.
I'm just saying, that there are a lot of people that ask what lathe & never really get a answer. Is that to say there really is not a quality machine out there that will handle barrel fitting without having to work on it to use it.
I asked this same question earlier on this thread and got a responce about used lathes.
 
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All the work I had to do with the 2009 12x36 Precision Matthews I got in 2009 was to built a spider and mill out of a quick change tool post base.
Then I was cutting chambers and threads.

The 1967 12x36 Clausing I got in 2002, I had to build a spider, covert from 440V to 220V, get some 3 phase power from the mill, rebuild the hydraulic variable speed, fix the power switch, mill the bottom of the steady rest, rebuild the tail stock, ignore the broken brake, ignore the missing threading speeds, rebuild the cross feed, etc.
 
I understand about the old used machines, thats why I asked about a new one. EWW1350 mentioned the Jet, but I cant believe that is the best choice out there.
I didn't know about Precision Mathews when I bought mine, I here one of them is just like the Clausing/Harrison 300 that MSC has been advertising for $10999.00 but only for half price.
I'll make mine do what I want for now but I'm gonna keep up on whats out there so I can make a more educated decision when the time comes.
 
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If you are interested in the pix of the VFD I will get them on here soon.

Yes...I would like very much to see your set-up...I think more than just a few of us 4003G owners will have great interest in the resolution of the low speed thread chatter...
 
I got the thread pictures on here, some where south of here.
I'll have to try again later on the VFD, it has to many bytes or something, it wont upload.
 
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I got this email two hours ago from a bunch of out of work engineers that network.

Ken Holmes
to Zach, Wayne, Van, Syed, Skip, Shiu, Roseanne, Ron, Rod, Rob, Nima, Mike, Michael, Michael, Martin, Mark, Leonard, Kim, John, Jim, Jennifer, Jeff, Isaac, Gordon, Gill, George

show details 8:05 PM (2 hours ago)

Jim Mettler advises that he has several AC, variable voltage, variable frequency, motor drives, and also several AC Motors. Some are 3-phase. All are in the Everett area, ready for pickup.

The price is right - - - FREE!!

The motor drives have many large power handling components, such as Bi-polar Transistor 'bricks', large capacitors, large heatsinks, fans, possibly some IGBT 'bricks'. The motor drives could be easily converted into a do-it-yourself power inverter, which operates at 60 Hz.

Give me a call or an email before Tuesday evening, & I'll pass the info along to Jim. Or call Jim directly at 951-306-2119. After Tuesday, the units will no longer be available.

Ken
360-793-9723
 
No Thread Chatter

This is the first threads I've cut since the modification.
 

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Thread Chatter

A couple examples of what a junk single phase motor can do to your work.
These were done when it was at its best.
The motor shop I delt with had some single phase motors that were rated for farm duty that would have been an improvement over the OEM motor but I am fed up with the noise.
 

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Jay, are you becoming a full time gunsmith? or is this your personal stuff? Thought about doing this but I can pay to chamber a lot of barrels for what a lathe costs. It is still on my list for the moment.
 
A couple examples of what a junk single phase motor can do to your work.
These were done when it was at its best.
The motor shop I delt with had some single phase motors that were rated for farm duty that would have been an improvement over the OEM motor but I am fed up with the noise.
Keep in mind also that some faceting like what is shown in the left photo can be caused by using Carbide threading tools at speeds well below what they are intended.
 
Jay, are you becoming a full time gunsmith? or is this your personal stuff? Thought about doing this but I can pay to chamber a lot of barrels for what a lathe costs. It is still on my list for the moment.
I'm not full time at anything these days. This lathe (& BR) is a good outlet for me. It keeps me in touch with a lot of good people and gives me something positive to do with all my spare time.
I have done a few barrels for other people & they were happy with the results.
 
Gents,

The cause of the faceting on the threads has been well covered and I understand it. But other than the threads being a bit unsightly, is there any ill effect mechanically or accuracy wise as a result?

Please don't read that I'm saying the faceting on the threads is acceptable, trying to justify improper technique, etc., because I'm not. But I'm curious as to their effects, if any. I don't know, so I ask.

Justin
 
You musta missed posts 22 through 29.
Yhea, I don't read every post in great detail.

Too much other fun stuff to do. Like right now I am getting my stuff together to go to Weikert and I am also dealing with a machinery dealer in Baltimore on a South Bend lathe for a friend in Virginia.

But remember, the faceted threads don't gall as bad since those voids hold grease.
 
Keep in mind also that some faceting like what is shown in the left photo can be caused by using Carbide threading tools at speeds well below what they are intended.
I'm not a machinist, I just have a lathe in my garage, so I cant argue to much about what is & is not, but, the first picture is the threads I cut with the same carbide tool & at the same speed but with a new motor that doesn't vibrate or make any noise other than a little whistle or "Frequency Whine" and the chatter is gone. Its also a pleasure to operate. Now if I can get all the gear box noise out of it I will like it even more.
 
Yes...I would like very much to see your set-up...I think more than just a few of us 4003G owners will have great interest in the resolution of the low speed thread chatter...
The motor I used is a WEG#00218EP3E145T this is a type F1 motor that I modified to make work. You can see in the photos the junction box ("Pecker Head") has been removed and replaced by a plate with a flexible conduit fitting to get the clearance needed for install on this lathe. The ideal motor would have been the same as this one but a type F3 wich will put the junction box on the top of the motor when looking at the shaft, they had this in stock and all it took was a $2 plate and a half hour to make a replacement for a 5" box that wouldnt clear the lathe.
The Variable Frequency Drive/Phase Converter is a WEG#CFW08073BDN1A1Z.
To check availability of the Type F3 motor or to order the parts call Gregg Sutliff at:
Wabash Valley Motor & Machine
3909 N. Fruitridge Ave.
Terre Haute In. 47803
(812)466-7400
I have had several PM's wanting information about my conversion, I hope this helps...Jay
BTW: You will have to change to a 7/8" pulley and a new belt both available from Gaits, I will post the part numbers soon.
You have to keep chips out of the VFD and you cant restrict airflow so I fabricated a "Pilecap" out of an air conditioner filter for a window mount A/C unit and 1" wide sticky back velcro, use the course side it will stick to the filter material.
The belt is a Gaits Hi Power II A 31 and the pulley is a Gaits AK 32 X 7/8".
 

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If you had to buy a new pulley anyway, why did you buy a single drive pulley instead of one that uses two belts like the original?
 
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