I'm advising a friend in Mumbai on the purchase of a tabletop lathe. Because of customs costs, he can only purchase one that is made and sold in India, and Pathak appears to be the only company. The page of info for the machine is attached below, but it appears to me to be a relatively standard Chinese-made 7" mini machine with decent capabilities, including imperial and metric threading and variable speed control. He cannot get to a an actual machine, and practices in India are such that he can't get the name of a machine owner to talk with, or specific and accurate information from the company. So, there are some pretty fundamental unanswered questions that we'll deal with when he has it, including rigidity and solidity at the top of the list. It's important to know that he expects to be using the lathe primarily for soft materials in making and restoring fountain pens: ebonite, delrin and other acrylics, perhaps brass or aluminum for making mandrels and small parts. No expectations for cutting steel.
That said, the biggest question we have is around the toolpost: it apparently comes with a four-corner, which makes sense since most of their work is with industrial, larger scale equipment. We don't know how the four-corner is mounted to the compound, don't know if there is a slot for a t-nut. He asked the company what size tools would be appropriate for it, and was sent an Amazon link to 1/2" toolholders with carbide. Hoping he was going to get a QCTP from LMS, I was planning on grinding 3/8" or 5/16" HSS tools for him, particularly a couple of tools that I've made specifically for cutting ebonite.
So, about four-corner toolposts:
1) what kind of mounts are they on? QCTP-like t-nut? If so, what dimensions, generally?
2) Does a four-corner that takes 1/2" toolholders adjust small enough for 5/16 or 3/8"?
Is there anything else I absolutely need to consider in advance?
Many thanks for the help on this. I've never actually used a benchtop machine, so am fishing in unaccustomed waters here.
Tim
That said, the biggest question we have is around the toolpost: it apparently comes with a four-corner, which makes sense since most of their work is with industrial, larger scale equipment. We don't know how the four-corner is mounted to the compound, don't know if there is a slot for a t-nut. He asked the company what size tools would be appropriate for it, and was sent an Amazon link to 1/2" toolholders with carbide. Hoping he was going to get a QCTP from LMS, I was planning on grinding 3/8" or 5/16" HSS tools for him, particularly a couple of tools that I've made specifically for cutting ebonite.
So, about four-corner toolposts:
1) what kind of mounts are they on? QCTP-like t-nut? If so, what dimensions, generally?
2) Does a four-corner that takes 1/2" toolholders adjust small enough for 5/16 or 3/8"?
Is there anything else I absolutely need to consider in advance?
Many thanks for the help on this. I've never actually used a benchtop machine, so am fishing in unaccustomed waters here.
Tim