Beginner's Exercises & Projects

Hello, well I guess my project is a beginner's project because I am very new to machining and this is my absolute first effort in turning steel. So far I've only turned brass until this project. I turn brass because I repair clocks and the only lathe I have is a watchmaker's (or jeweler's) lathe with a 2.5" swing. Anyway the tailstock to my watchmaker's lathe was non-functioning because of an excessively worn locking cam system. So I used my lathe to fabricate a new replacement cam follower and also a new cam lever. My steel of choice was 1144 stressproof (thanks to Tom my mentor for a lot of advice & help).
So, when I made this project I had a steelcutting bit that I had hand-ground but I'd never tried it out. This took a lot of planning and refusal to move on until I was dead-certain that my next move was the right move. That's why it took me a long time! I was so happy with the results that I made a photo presentation on it.
...Doug

http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/cazboy5525/slideshow/Rivett cam-lever tailstock locking mechanism
 
I would advise this to those with no experience and who want to enjoy the hobby of machining:

1. Find the machine of your choice, have a machinist friend look it over. Then buy it if it's a good deal. Likely, you will overpay for it but you must start somewhere.
2. Start with simple cuts, using scrap material. Practice!...Practice!...Practice! Nothing beats experience.
3. A lot of information can be retrieved from web sites like Hobby-Machinist, Practical Machinist, etc.

I've never had any formal training with machining. I learned from default in my industrial maintenance career of 30+ years. If I can do it...anyone can do it
 
cazclocker said:
Hello, well I guess my project is a beginner's project because I am very new to machining and this is my absolute first effort in turning steel. So far I've only turned brass until this project. I turn brass because I repair clocks and the only lathe I have is a watchmaker's (or jeweler's) lathe with a 2.5" swing. Anyway the tailstock to my watchmaker's lathe was non-functioning because of an excessively worn locking cam system. So I used my lathe to fabricate a new replacement cam follower and also a new cam lever. My steel of choice was 1144 stressproof (thanks to Tom my mentor for a lot of advice & help).
So, when I made this project I had a steelcutting bit that I had hand-ground but I'd never tried it out. This took a lot of planning and refusal to move on until I was dead-certain that my next move was the right move. That's why it took me a long time! I was so happy with the results that I made a photo presentation on it.
...Doug
Click to expand...

Very nice presentation Doug! Thanks for sharing.
 
Thanks - it was fun to make. And I agree with Mark in Indiana, practice, practice, practice! I made 3 or 4 practice handles out of 12L14 before I made my real one out of 1144. Also a side note, when I made the ball end to the handle by eye/hand, a few days later I found out there is such a thing as a ball-turning attachment for the lathe!
...Doug
 
Parting Off

I was working on my race bike one afternoon and had to do my cam timing. Sadly I used this raggedy setup for a few years.
Just a few nuts stacked up.
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Well now I have a lathe, I decided it was about time I used it. One of the skills that really intimidated me was parting off stock. I had not done it and so it was time to learn. I read some posts on this site and got too it.
I took some aluminum stock and using the parting tool learned how to make a good part and how to control that part when it was cut off.
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So after a few tries I made simple stepped spacer and washer, used a rod in the tail stock to control the parts. I ended up with a small but useful little tool to go in my timing kit. But more importantly learned a good skill and gained confidence.
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I might add that this web site is one of the most useful tools I have.
Mark

008.JPG 004.JPG 005.JPG 006.JPG 007.JPG
 
That's very nice! Looks like you have a larger lathe than mine. Most people here do!
 
Thanks to both of you for sharing your projects..
I think that is the best thing about this site, the ideas one gets from watching others who see a "problem" and see a way to resolve the "issue".

Thanks Again!
 
cazclocker said:
Thanks - it was fun to make. And I agree with Mark in Indiana, practice, practice, practice! I made 3 or 4 practice handles out of 12L14 before I made my real one out of 1144. Also a side note, when I made the ball end to the handle by eye/hand, a few days later I found out there is such a thing as a ball-turning attachment for the lathe!
...Doug
Click to expand...


I'm a beginner so I'll be grazing these type threads. My beginner suggestion is after figuring out how to part, thread and so on, start out with a very simple project. If you google Bedair ball turner, you'll find all sorts of ball turners, some very simple and some very complex. For me at least, that was a pretty easy project to do using mostly the lathe. I don't have a bandsaw so I used a metal chopsaw to cut all the parts.

After this photo was taken I took up welding and welded a plate over the top where the HSS tool is to make it even more secure.

I know it looks primitive but I'm a beginner. This photo shows my first ball taking shape.

IMG-20140201-00140.jpg
 
Good work, SE18! I wish I'd know about ball-turning fixtures when I made the ball-end of my project noted above.
...Doug
 
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