Newbie needs help please

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

Hi everyone So I am a newbie Just thought I would introduce myself My name is Jim I have Just purchased a Lathe but have had no experience so will be needing some help I hope I have landed in the right place

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Welcome Jim. Ask away.

Roy

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

Thanks Roy

I'm looking for anyone that might be in the lincolnshire area that could possibly help out with my lathe ie set it up and guide us in the right direction as to what tools I may need and fit

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Hi Jim,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations with your new lathe. Getting someone with experience to help you out is a good idea. I assume your lathe came with a self centring 3-jaw chuck and possibly a tailstock drill-chuck, so you will need some cutting tools (if you don't already have cutting tools). HSS tools work well on small lathes, you will need a bench grinder to sharpen HSS tools – see here. Tools with carbide inserts – especially those intended for Aluminium and its alloys also work well on mild steel. On some steels it is difficult to get a good finish so try and get some free-cutting steel like EN1A.

Thor

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Welcome!

Always help and advice available on here.

1 Where are you located?

2 What lathe have you got?

3 What tooling and measuring instruments do you have?.

As a newbie, it would be a help to buy some reading matter.

A set of Zeus Charts will mbe a constantly uswed reference, min a small format. (Still using mine, bought in 1958! )

"The Amateurs Workshop" by Ian Bradley, covers more than just lathes (How to level a lathe, and why; grinding tools and fitting work, among the contents.

"The Amateurs lathe" by L H Sparey. Considered by many to the "bible", but Ian Bradley covers some things that Sparey does not. Never the less, a VERY useful book.

David Clark, Dave Fenner, and Neil Wyatt have all written books on the mini lathe.

Neil Wyatt , and Harold Hall have both written books on "Lathework".

For more specific topics, there is almost certain to be a book on that subject in the "Workshop Practice Series"

Some of these books will give information, so that, if you wish, you can make rather than buy some of the tools that will need. And you will learn and gain experience and confidence in the process.

Ultimately, practice makes perfect. You read, and put some, or all, into practice and gain knowledge and confidence.

Find a local Model Engineering Club, join and learn, face to face, from the other members.

Howard

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

Thanks everyone for your replies most helpful

I have a Clarke CL430 we have a three jaw chuck and tail stop pointers I dont have any tools for it yet and near skegness

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

By "pointers" you presumably mean Centres?

Have you the Clark Operators manual, or the Spares book for your CL430?

If "NO", they can be downloaded from Google. You would be advised so to do.

Buying a lathe is the start of purchasing equipment to allow the lathe to be used.

You will need measuring equipment. probably as a first, a Digital calliper. It can be £10 cheapie from Lidl or Aldi, or a better one such as the Moore and Wright one from Machine DRO at £24.

It depends on your budget, but as you gain skill and confidence, your needs for extra accessories will increase to match your expanding capabilities and aspirations.

You would be well advised, as a newbie to buy a book such as Ian Bradfley's "The Amateurs Workshop"

This will tell you how to set up a lathe, to grind HSS tools, Align the Tailstock, and a host of other workshop techniques, such as how to use hand tools..

There are lots of others, such ones in "The Workshop Practice Series", which tend to deal with specific techniques in greater detail.

Buy a set of Zeus charts. You will find them useful as a reference for a number of things, particularly a variety of threads.. Mine are grubby having been used since 1958!

The operator manual is NOT a course on turning. It will merely tell you which lever to move for a particular purpose, or how to set up a gear train for screwcutting (When you graduate to that operation ) or setting a feed rate

You will do well to learn how to feed at a steady rate, so that you can achieve good finish when facing. It will also be a useful skill when turning tapers by off setting the Top Slide.

The 4 jaw chuck from Clark is expensive, I believe, but if you want to fit one others are available more cheaply although you will, need to make a backplate to adapt the chuck to the lathe.

That in itself will be a useful learning experience.

If you are in any doubt:

A 3 jaw chuck, although self centering, will not hold work absolutely concentric,. there will be small ,(We hope small ) run out.

A 4 jaw independent chuck will allow you to clock work to run as concentric as you wish, will hold irregular work, or can set work deliberately off centre, if that is what you need..

For accuracy, you will need at least one Dial Test Indicator (Preferably two; a ,plunger type for external use, and a "finger" type for internal use- although it can be used externally so might the one to buy ) and a magnetic Base.

Both these items will find uses elsewhere in the workshop and around the lathe (Aligning the Tailstock springs to mind as one such task ).

You are about to learn a new range of skills.

You can gain useful experience and skills by making simple tools which will be useful later on.

As you gain experience, and confidence, they will stand you in good stead for all sorts of jobs that you once thought were impossible, and open up the possibilities of doing jobs of which you had never thought…

End of Volume 1

You are not alone. We all had to start from Zero knowledge at some time. Just learn the basics on how to walk. Sprinting comes later.

Howard

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

Many thanks for your advice

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Welcome to the forum

H

[JIM Johnson 2Participant @jimjohnson2]

Thanks Harry

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