Newcomer to machining who wants to make OO gauge locos

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Whatever lathe you buy, it is essential that you become familiar with it, and skilled in operating it.

Failure to do this well result in sadness and disillusion when you try to make complicated p and precision parts.

The fantastic devices that you see on here are the result of skills that have been learned over time.

Howard.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Having zero experience means a long time will be spent on self-training.   Keep it simple at first.  Begineers often grossly underestimate difficulties and over-estimate their skills, perhaps assuming that buying top-end tools will cover for their mistakes.  More realistically:

• Machining isn’t rocket science, but it needs practice.   Many small details to get right.   Some are more talented than others, but we all agree, start by making simple things.  A centre-punch; solid bogie wheels;  axle for bogies; miniature chess pawn; nut and bolt;  jack nut; machinists hammer; then try a simple stationary steam engine.  The latter requires several parts that fit together, which exercises measuring and fitting skills.   Don’t be discouraged by early failures – it may take several attempts for a skill to click into place.
• Old books are great apart from:
  • recommending products that were unaffordable at the time and/or have long since disappeared.  Find the modern equivalents. Very few hobbyists could afford a Schlaublin lathe or a Sixis Mill!
  • not covering modern advances, notably DRO, carbide inserts, CAD, CNC, and 3D-printing.  3D-printing easily produces objects like miniature furniture, figures, and carriage interior.  Also good for curved exteriors that take forever in wood or metal.   DRO is particularly important on a mill, which it transforms.  Driving a mill on the dials opens the door to silly human mistakes – losing count, and forgetting to adjust for backlash.  DROs do metric and imperial equally well.  Highly recommended.  Less useful on a lathe, but fit one if money is no object.
• From what’s been said I think Sherline are a good choice, but:
  • You may need their mill more than their lathe
  • A 3D-printer might also be more useful than a lathe
  • You still need a lathe…
• Sherline’s Deluxe Ultimate DRO Machine Shop has everything needed to make a solid start.  Yours from $3,735.14.   I’d advise looking at the options, upgrades and extras.  A 4-jaw independent chuck is a must have in my workshop, and collets are very useful for small work.
• Learning CAD provides a nice break between hands-on machining sessions. I found CAD useful because it often suggests how best to machine parts – the order of operations often matters, for example, don’t remove metal needed for workholding too soon!
• Choosing a 3D-printer is a new subject!

Dave

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