This is getting out of hand

[Alan W]

Different aluminum alloys machine differently. This is a basic chart of common alloys.
Click on the about aluminum near the top.

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[dawson]

They usually have a picture of one wound up with hair in the safety section of shop books.

..You're scaring my mustache!

 

[peccary]

I still need to get a tap and die set for the set screw and a knurler for some traction, but I'm pretty well on my way. This lathe has been a ton of fun.

 

[peccary]

It's been a while since I've update this thread but I figured I might as well in case anyone is interested.

I've basically been teaching myself machining basics this past month or so since I got my hands on this lathe, trying to become competent at the basics of turning, facing, drilling, and parting. I am feeling pretty good about what I'm learning and things are going pretty smoothly.

Oddly enough my neighbor, who is a piano tuner and tech, and his work partner, inherited a workshop from their mentor and have been going through it making space and setting it up for themselves.

The other day he comes by and asks to come check something out, that he brought me something from his new shop.

It turned out to be a pretty nice (and perfectly sized) Grizzly tool box AND ANOTHER MINI LATHE!

Can you believe it? Two machine lathes came my way in about a month. What are the odds?

The tool box he gave me was filled with tools. Mostly it was tooling for a mill. Considering I've spent about $600 on lathe tooling so far I am now eyeing mills since I now have a good amount of tooling for it. It'll be a while I think till I'm there but a small mill would be nice to go along with the lathe and just as fun to learn.

The lathe he gave me has a small collet chuck and had two additional 3 jaw chucks. I was hoping one would be 4jaw but I won't complain

Anyway, my cousin has convinced me to hold on to the lathe for the time being. He thinks I'll want to have it set up with different tooling when I get more competent at additional lathe processes.

Here are some photos of my new setup which prevents me from breaking my back every time I use the lathe as well as a few knobs that I've made. I have been working on a workflow for making four knobs at a time. Right now it takes about five hours but I'm hoping to cut that down with additional practice. Pencil artwork by my daughter

 

[Deperduci]

making me cry NOT orderign a decade ago from this hobby supply company, they had these table top sized mills, best you could do with them was a frame for a 1/48 scale steam loco or an effects box BUT at the time durn things were only $150~200 US... I was care taking my late father back then and he had this habit of turning copper tubes, wood blocks and car antennas in to functional firearms... did NOT want to see wtf he would have made while i was at work ><

 

[cwsquared]

It's been a while since I've update this thread but I figured I might as well in case anyone is interested.

I've basically been teaching myself machining basics this past month or so since I got my hands on this lathe, trying to become competent at the basics of turning, facing, drilling, and parting. I am feeling pretty good about what I'm learning and things are going pretty smoothly.

Oddly enough my neighbor, who is a piano tuner and tech, and his work partner, inherited a workshop from their mentor and have been going through it making space and setting it up for themselves.

The other day he comes by and asks to come check something out, that he brought me something from his new shop.

It turned out to be a pretty nice (and perfectly sized) Grizzly tool box AND ANOTHER MINI LATHE!

Can you believe it? Two machine lathes came my way in about a month. What are the odds?

The tool box he gave me was filled with tools. Mostly it was tooling for a mill. Considering I've spent about $600 on lathe tooling so far I am now eyeing mills since I now have a good amount of tooling for it. It'll be a while I think till I'm there but a small mill would be nice to go along with the lathe and just as fun to learn.

The lathe he gave me has a small collet chuck and had two additional 3 jaw chucks. I was hoping one would be 4jaw but I won't complain

Anyway, my cousin has convinced me to hold on to the lathe for the time being. He thinks I'll want to have it set up with different tooling when I get more competent at additional lathe processes.

Here are some photos of my new setup which prevents me from breaking my back every time I use the lathe as well as a few knobs that I've made. I have been working on a workflow for making four knobs at a time. Right now it takes about five hours but I'm hoping to cut that down with additional practice. Pencil artwork by my daughter

View attachment 29936View attachment 29937View attachment 29938

While it may be "getting out of hand" according to you, it looks to me like you have it well "in hand". Excellent work on them there knobs.

It also appears your daughter and some of my kids are members of the same art movement. Pencil (or pen) on any and all available paper.

 

[peccary]

making me cry NOT orderign a decade ago from this hobby supply company, they had these table top sized mills, best you could do with them was a frame for a 1/48 scale steam loco or an effects box BUT at the time durn things were only $150~200 US... I was care taking my late father back then and he had this habit of turning copper tubes, wood blocks and car antennas in to functional firearms... did NOT want to see wtf he would have made while i was at work ><

Probably for the better, you don't want to come home to a giant, smoking hole in the ground!

 

[peccary]

I'm feeling fairly confident in my knob making abilities. I wish that the knurls were more clean but I think that knurling really pushes the limits of what this machine is comfortable with.

I also found a tooling setup to use the cross slide on my lathe as a broach to cut an indicator line. It works alright but the lack of rigidity in this bitty machine becomes apparent very quickly when doing that, even in aluminum.

Using the lathe to cut threads, though? It works amazingly well. Threads are super neat and tight.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

They're like the brutalest brutalist knobs. Like a ruined steak, well done.

 

[jimilee]

They're like the brutalest brutalist knobs. Like a ruined steak, well done.

There is none more brutal.

 

[Feral Feline]

Do you have enough stock to take orders yet, Peccary?

 

[peccary]

Do you have enough stock to take orders yet, Peccary?

Who do you think I am, Darrin Huff?

 

[peccary]

So not really pedal related at all, but I got some brass stock the other day and turned out some knobs for my P bass. I just love the way that brass feels in your hands and I especially love the way that it patinas over time.

I was able to make these knobs in an afternoon (everything but tapping them which I did the following day) just by roughly following a knob I already had and I felt really good about that. I made these just a smidge taller, though.

Okay, now, I swear that I will be getting on to the sheet metal so that I might actually produce some pedal content... I've just been having way too much fun with my lathe. Come to think of it, some brass saddles might look pretty nice....

 

[Passinwind]

So not really pedal related at all, but I got some brass stock the other day and turned out some knobs for my P bass. I just love the way that brass feels in your hands and I especially love the way that it patinas over time.

If you love brass try silicon aluminum bronze sometime, 642 alloy: https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/product-guide/alloy/642

When I was hand working bass slides it ended up being my clear favorite, and it looks even nicer now that it's aged.

 

[peccary]

If you love brass try silicon aluminum bronze sometime, 642 alloy: https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/product-guide/alloy/642

When I was hand working bass slides it ended up being my clear favorite, and it looks even nicer now that it's aged.

This no-name brass machined so beautifully it's hard to imagine that there's a better machining version out there! I ended up going to a local metal supply place but I've saved the name so next time I go I'll see if they've got it.

The one issue I did have with brass was drilling it - it seemingly hates to be drilled (and *especially* hated a center drill). I later discovered (from my cousin) that brass wants 140 degree drills and all I have are very dull 118 degree bits

Did you notice the 642 drilling easier? I'm not sure that I want to buy an entire set of drills just for brass, but I may get a sharpener and convert my current drills to 140 after getting a proper machine set.

 

[Passinwind]

I didn't have occasion to drill my 642 slide (I actually use bars, not tube style slides) but that vendor would be a great place to ask. I did a slide in free machine brass, 260 alloy I think, at the same time and it was certainly a lot easier to hand work. My ancient one like that has been very easy on strings too. But the bronze one was worth the sweat equity and pretty much everyone I play with prefers that one in A/B testing.

Love where you're going with this stuff, and really wish I had space for a lathe rig myself!

 

[Alan W]

Before you get new bits, I recommend a drill bit countersink as a great hole starting tool, especially for lathe use. Something with a 2 inch shaft (x maybe 1/4 inch) is fine. This is very rigid, and will not “warp” when it starts to hit the metal. When you have a decent small starter hole, you’ll be able to feed SHARP 118s in much easier.

And yeah, if you’re drilling into anything beyond the super soft cast aluminum boxes, get a sharpener—assuming you have a grinding wheel or small disk sander, the $20 ones are easy to use, and give drill bits several lives.

Machinable brass is a delight to work with!

 

[peccary]

Before you get new bits, I recommend a drill bit countersink as a great hole starting tool, especially for lathe use. Something with a 2 inch shaft (x maybe 1/4 inch) is fine. This is very rigid, and will not “warp” when it starts to hit the metal. When you have a decent small starter hole, you’ll be able to feed SHARP 118s in much easier.

And yeah, if you’re drilling into anything beyond the super soft cast aluminum boxes, get a sharpener—assuming you have a grinding wheel or small disk sander, the $20 ones are easy to use, and give drill bits several lives.

Machinable brass is a delight to work with!

That's a great idea, thank you - I've got plenty of countersinks kicking around and will give that a shot. I ended up using a center punch which gave my center drill a little space to start but a countersink will be much easier.

I'm a bit (pun?) ashamed that I don't have a sharpener yet but it's on my short list. I am planning to buy a grinder and belt sander from my neighbor but we haven't had a chance to connect yet, so hopefully those things will be in my garage in the next week or two.

 

[BryGuy]

So not really pedal related at all, but I got some brass stock the other day and turned out some knobs for my P bass. I just love the way that brass feels in your hands and I especially love the way that it patinas over time.

I was able to make these knobs in an afternoon (everything but tapping them which I did the following day) just by roughly following a knob I already had and I felt really good about that. I made these just a smidge taller, though.

Okay, now, I swear that I will be getting on to the sheet metal so that I might actually produce some pedal content... I've just been having way too much fun with my lathe. Come to think of it, some brass saddles might look pretty nice....

View attachment 32381

View attachment 32382

Some mighty fine looking knobs you have there

 

[peccary]

I added a few tools to the garage today. Got myself a pretty nice Craftsman sander along with a little bench grinder and (not pictured) drill sharpener.

Pretty stoked with this, especially with the sander. I'm going to have to get some belts for it but it's going to make finishing and squaring up the sheet metal a heck of a lot easier.

I also spent some time cutting out and laying out the folded part of the enclosure. I got a little carried away with the nibbler and lost nearly 1/4" in my ideal width but there's still pleny of room for what I need. Since this all just references itself for all measurements it doesn't really matter as long as it fits what I need it to, which it does.

I'm going to try to finish the layout and get it bent this week. Once that's done I can move on to the cheeks and bottom housing/cover/whatever you want to call it.