New Pm 1030v Lathe

Wow thanks shooter! This super helpful. I have had really good luck with my import tools. I sacrificed a shars XL tool holder and got to use my fancy mixed geometry positive rake Kennametal tool holder. The inserts were more than the price of two good sets of import cutters and that's after getting them for 1/4 of the cost that Kennametal quoted me. And it really stinks compared to my import and I burned two tips on aluminum immediately. I'm gonna assume operator error. Sorry for the rant but I'm just happy someone has been having some good luck with relatively cheap tooling :D

Since you mentioned threading inserts I have had some good luck with this one in steel and aluminum.

https://www.banggood.com/SER1010H11...p-1081769.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CN

and internal boring bar this one, granted it s a little small so you have to do light cuts it has worked fine for all the aluminum work I have done.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SNR0008k11...h-T8-Wrench-/222867537468?hash=item33e3f0be3c
 
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I tried something new with the lathe. Soft jaws! I got the 6" vise specifically because it had 2 piece jaws that would allow me to use soft jaws on it. I made the jaws on my PM25 and used them to make tool holders for the mill. The results worked pretty well. Everything was under .001" concentricity about 2 inches from the jaw face and they hold very securely. It is also a breeze being able to chuck them up and have the part centered immediately. I left a little extra material on the top half of the jaws thinking it might give me some more contact area for larger parts, but it probably won't make any difference. They are also reversible so once I cut away one side too far, I can just flip them. I made them with scrap aluminum so cost was minimal. The soft jaws overhang the hardened jaw portion so I can stick something inside against the hard jaws to bore the soft jaws. I used a socket and socket extension to get it in and out.

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This machine is pumping these out left and right with the jaws. I would highly recommend trying some soft jaws if you haven't already.

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I also used the machine to make an air cylinder for the mill. It required removing a ton of material to hollow out the inside of the cylinder. I was running the machine hard, removing 5 cuin/min at the highest point. It was just dropping the chips right out in a little pile too. I am coming up on the 3 year mark with this machine and it keeps on running for me.

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It also did a wonderful job parting 3" pistons.
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To make this contraption. That works by the way!
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I also made some pulleys.
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I did some math, and tried to recall all the parts I have made with the machine so far and the number I came up with is 192, not include various small pins here and there.

My only complaint about the machine at the moment is the gears. The gear system has gotten a little worn and it is loud now. I plan to come up with a new way to hold the gears in place so they are held tightly without rubbing against each other. It is probably coming time soon to pull the machine apart to clean and adjust everything.
 
I used to lathe to help make parts for the mill again. I get a smile on my face every time I use this machine.

I am making an automatic tool changer for the mill, and one of the things it needs is a round platter that will hold the fingers that hold the tools. It is a little bit big to cut on the mill, so I did the first parts on the mill, and cut it to size with the lathe. It just cleared the ways when it spun, I think it was about 9.5" diagonally. I stuck a boring bar in the tool post upside down and ran the machine in reverse to round it off. Once I got it down to 6", I used another tool to face it. Watching a tool face aluminum with a deep cut and making a ton of chips is one of the most satisfying operations to watch. I got a few new tools to use, including a CCGT-0602 holder which has been awesome. I have a homemade one, but the screw sticks out and catches chips which jams it up. The factory one does not catch the chips which lets me take deep aggressive cuts while forming a nice chip.

As you can see, not a lot of clearance.
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Upside down boring bar.
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Made a circle.
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Faced it a few times. That made a whole lotta chips.
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I also got tired of switching tools out of the tool holders and resetting the heights all the time, so I ordered 5 more tool holders. I hope that will be enough for now (Though I know it won't).

I am thinking:
1. Aluminum turning and facing
2. Steel turning and facing
3. Insert boring bar
4. Insert threading tool
5. Insert grooving tool
6. Cut off tool
7. Negative rake roughing tool

That leaves me with the boring bar tool holder which at the moment doesn't fit my boring bars, the knurling tool holder (I don't knurl stuff often), and one spare for the other tools I rarely use.

I am thinking about getting rid of the gears for turning, and only use them when I need to thread. I want to add a stepper motor to the leadscrew and go with an electronic lead screw. I think I can do it relatively cheap, and it will give me some more flexibility and smoother operation. It would use an arduino to control it, a simple control box I would make on the mill, a Nema 23 motor should be enough, an extra driver I have from the mill, and a new power supply. It would free up some power for the spindle motor if all it has to do is turn the spindle, rather than turn the spindle and drive the carriage, I would have a wider range of feeds instead of .005", .0025", and .00125" per rev. I could step it up if I am trying to get a chip to break, or step it down if I want a finer finish. I could also make a jog function to quickly move the carriage out of the way or give it a set distance to go and return to zero after. And most importantly, it would be much quieter and I wouldn't need to deal with the gears unless I was threading.
 
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