Help me get over the hump

Lowlyslows

Registered
Registered
Joined
Dec 30, 2018
Messages
18
Hey all,

I am new to machining and could use some opinions.

I am trying to justify purchasing a lathe for my hobbies, mainly building classic cars. But, because of my ignorance with the use of a lathe, I can’t picture what I would use it for other than making spacers, bungs, and parts for creating or fixing tools. Not sure how often I would actually use the lathe.

Looking at the Little Machine Shop 5100 HiTorque 7x16 Lathe and the Precision Matthews 1022v lathe. I have toyed with spending the extra $100 to get the PM 1030v but I don’t know if I will need the extra length.

Anyway, could use some knowledge dropped on me to help me get over the hump on whether to make the purchase or not. Machining is fascinating to me and I know I would enjoy it but only if I actually do it / use it to support my main hobby in any shape or form.

Thanks in advance!
 
As a Hobby, you will never be able to justify it.
You have to be Selfish, self centered, egotistic, mongrel bastard. At least that is what my missus called me the last time.

The point is, if you are concerned about money, PLEASE NOTE, that the lathe or mill, is the cheap bit. All the tooling is the main piece of the pie.

But, Fair Dinkum. Do it, Buy what you can afford. In 38 years, I can not remember having anything over 12" in my lathe. ( 36" centers). But one day it will be too bloody small by 1"!!!!!
Restoring old cars, will not justify the lathe, but shoot it's nice, when you do have a job for it and you actually make something that is practical, usefull and worth while.
Best of Luck to you.
 
[QUOTE="Lowlyslows, post:

I am trying to justify purchasing a lathe for my hobbies, mainly building classic cars. I can’t picture what I would use it for other than making spacers, bungs, and parts for creating or fixing tools.![/QUOTE]


You answered your own question. That’s good enough for me expectially when dealing with classics. I don’t buy anything I think I can make. I fix about 98% of fixable items or modify to some degree. Plastics I toss no fixing but I might replace with a metal. Possibilities are endless with proper tools and imagination. Remember someone made the parts you deal with day in and out so tools,knowledge,ambition your half there.
 
Why not some old american iron? Looks cools, smells good and built like a tank. Most classic cars don't need those metric threads and a good old southbend or logan can be found for far less money than a new lathe. Those leather belts have a great sound and are forgiving of your first crash. Plus you get something else to save and restore without telling the wife you bought another car....

And as a friend of mine said when explaining his military vehicle collection to me, "need has nothing to do with it....."
 
Anyway, could use some knowledge dropped on me to help me get over the hump on whether to make the purchase or not. Machining is fascinating to me and I know I would enjoy it but only if I actually do it / use it to support my main hobby in any shape or form.

Wait, you're coming onto a machining forum and asking us to help you to decide if you should buy a lathe or not ... our opinions might be a bit biased, just so you know. ;)

You say you already know you will enjoy machining. I happen to think you will, too, but as @Mark Needham said, The point is, if you are concerned about money, PLEASE NOTE, that the lathe or mill, is the cheap bit. All the tooling is the main piece of the pie.

I would echo his caution. Buying a lathe or mill is the cheapest part. The tooling required to make full use of these machines can easily exceed the cost for the machines themselves. You have been warned.

With that said, a lathe is one of the most useful machines in any shop. Once you learn to use it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. I have many hobbies - cars, photography, archery, car audio, lawn equipment/small motors, wood working, etc, etc. I got my lathe and mill to support these other hobbies and they did but what happened over the years is that machining became my main hobby! I still make stuff for those other hobbies but I also make stuff for myself and other folks, too.

I tend to be long winded but what I meant to say is yes, buy a lathe if you can afford it. If you intend to use it to make parts for a car then you will be better off with at least a medium sized lathe, something in the 10-12" class. This is assuming you won't be making hardened axles from scratch. Before buying one, research all the features a good lathe should have; you will find that the cheap lathes will not have all these desired features. I would buy a new lathe unless you are into fixing up old machines and dealing with decades of wear and tear.

Before you buy, ask the guys about the machine you're thinking of buying to get first hand knowledge about it. A lathe is a major purchase so do your homework.
 
Welcome to H-M,

Once you have a lathe and start making things.... the more items you will realize you can make/modify for your cars or anything else you touch.

In addition to H-M, Youtube is a great source to see how other people machine items you may be interested making.

In addition to spacers, you can make pulleys, shafts, threaded ends for suspension links, etc. I recently shorten the shafts of a pair of half shafts for a CV conversion on my rear suspension. I've also turned down the treaded shoulder on some struts shafts so they would extend all the way through the spherical bearing in my camber plates.

Another member "bakrch" just posted the custom shift knobs he made on the POTD posting. Really anything that needs to be turned, Concentric or Offset, can be done on the lathe. Some people also add a milling attachment to their lathes and use it for both, though milling is a bit more limited on a lathe than a dedicated mill.

There's a saying "Get the biggest lathe you can afford" (and Fit), for the most part I agree with it. So if you can fit a 10x30 go for it. I have 10x24 and turning the strut shafts was a pushing the length of my lathe. Typically bigger lathes have bigger motors and good low speed torque is always a plus.

Hope this helps.
 
Wait, you're coming onto a machining forum and asking us to help you to decide if you should buy a lathe or not ... our opinions might be a bit biased, just so you know. ;)

I tend to be long winded but what I meant to say is yes, buy a lathe if you can afford it. If you intend to use it to make parts for a car then you will be better off with at least a medium sized lathe, something in the 10-12" class. This is assuming you won't be making hardened axles from scratch. Before buying one, research all the features a good lathe should have; you will find that the cheap lathes will not have all these desired features. I would buy a new lathe unless you are into fixing up old machines and dealing with decades of wear and tear.

Before you buy, ask the guys about the machine you're thinking of buying to get first hand knowledge about it. A lathe is a major purchase so do your homework.

Exactly why I asked on this forum!! Looking for a biased response:)

I can afford $2500 for a lathe right now and I intend to start with HSS blanks and make my own tooling initially, I heard that's a good way to go when learning to machine. The Precision Matthews 1022v fits the class you suggest and has, IMO for what it's worth, lots of features. I never thought of making my own axles, maybe down the road (still unsure how to do the splines!).

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. I have been researching machines for the past month.
 
Back
Top