I 'm not bragging

[Willie B]

To Hell I'm not!
I bought an antique lathe 10 years ago. It wasn't until last fall I bought a motor, built a very involved frame to support a three speed gearbox, jackshaft, etc. to power it. What I know about lathes I could tell in a minute. Wood lathes, I have some level of proficiency.
KD Welding graciously sold me a large sheet metal brake. It had a badly bent pin. Sort of too complex to buy from McMaster Carr. I did not exhaust the possibilities of replacement from manufacturer, but assumed.

I'm not sure if Zap is turning at this time. He was the obvious resource.

I gave it a try!

Reducing cylinder size I'm learning. Threading, I hadn't a clue! My thread clock had laid on a pressure treated sill for years. It wouldn't turn. I had to find it, then free it.

You Tube provided everything else.

Got home tonight, thought what else I could do to prepare. I admitted to myself it was time to push the button.

I feel like I can fly! No, it isn't pretty, barely functional:

[Louie1961]

Nice job Bill!

[ronsii]

Nice Willie!!!!!


Hey, as long as it works better than the one you're replacing you've gained ground!!!!!!!

[Willie B]

I know it'd be an embarrassment for Zap. There is such a desperate shortage of machinists where I live, I had to try. I came up with something ugly but serviceable. I had little faith in myself. I violated rules I always preach; Don't learn on something important!

[Popeye an old miner]

Willie..my hats off to you...things that spin scare the beejesus out of me...and there isn't much that scares me anymore. I saw way to many fellas get wrapped up in stuff that spins...unwrapped one miners arm from around a coal drill in the first underground mine I worked in, I was 16 years old. Saw a well driller got caught up in the drill at the neighbors place one afternoon, I helpd get him out of that, he lost his arm. Saw a machinist get tangled up in some kind of lathe. I know nothing at all about lathes except they can be dangerous. Be safe...like I said there aint much that scares me bees stuff that spins scares me.

[farmshop]

You didn’t violate any rules wille. That piece is just a piece of metal that can be replaced with another if a mistake is made. If we never did things that pushed our limits we’d never learn

[SlowBlues]

Very nice, another weapon in the arsenal! I don't own one or know anything in the way of using them, but I can think of a million instances where having a lathe would have made a job SO much easier/faster/cheaper. I'm sure you'll find plenty of opportunity to hone your skills now that you've taken the plunge, just don't let the word get out (unless you want to) or your friends will show up in hordes needing "just a quick 10 min job" your newfound skills.

[Insaneride]

Nice work Willie. I'm still practicing threads on pvc. I learned a lot here on ww. Mr Twoballcane has helped also. I originally found welding web looking for machinist projects. There's a lot of knowledgeable folks here.

[Willie B]

Willie..my hats off to you...things that spin scare the beejesus out of me...and there isn't much that scares me anymore. I saw way to many fellas get wrapped up in stuff that spins...unwrapped one miners arm from around a coal drill in the first underground mine I worked in, I was 16 years old. Saw a well driller got caught up in the drill at the neighbors place one afternoon, I helpd get him out of that, he lost his arm. Saw a machinist get tangled up in some kind of lathe. I know nothing at all about lathes except they can be dangerous. Be safe...like I said there aint much that scares me bees stuff that spins scares me.

A lathe is about the scariest machine I've owned. It occurs to me any other machine would have many guards. A lathe wouldn't be very functional with them.

[scsmith42]

Looks good Bill!

[TJS]

Nice job. Pretty soon you are going to be getting all the fun jobs.

[MinnesotaDave]

Excellent - lathes are awesome

I find that Mr Pete 222, aka tubalcain, is an excellent YouTube resource

[N2 Welding]

Nice job Willie B. I’ve been wanting a lathe and then I hear caution from Popeye to the safety aspect of turning machines. Has me wondering if there are any safety videos on YouTube or if there are at minimum local community colleges that dive into lathe turning and safety for what to and not to do’s.

[ronsii]

I have a few lathes and unless you're doing something some really large horsepower cuts and the long chips reach out and grab ya' you have to be doing something you shouldn't be to get wrapped up in your work... Follow the safety recommendations in the owners manual and it's safer than a car.... Well I guess that's a bad comparison with the thousands

[Willie B]

I'm thinking no loose clothing. In my case I don't own jewelry. And don't get close to the moving parts.

I've been around machinery, and guns since birth, I'm an electrician with some machine inclusive pastimes. 62 years of old tractors, Jeeps, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, guns, and the list goes on and on.

Staying alert, using caution, I have ten fingers eleven toes. I did have a mishap when a wood splitter spit out a chunk, tore my nose off, and gave me six cracks in my skull.

A person can't be too careful. I try to be careful enough.

[Popeye an old miner]

It just Ive been around and seen too much crazy and downright ugly stuff happen, and helped with the rescue if you could call it that. Conveyors in coal breakers, stuff with motors turning, coal drills hand drills drill presses lathes. Its crazy and most of it was stuff that spins. I consider myself either very lucky or very blessed to be still alive.

Take care and be safe

[Willie B]

It just Ive been around and seen too much crazy and downright ugly stuff happen, and helped with the rescue if you could call it that. Conveyors in coal breakers, stuff with motors turning, coal drills hand drills drill presses lathes. Its crazy and most of it was stuff that spins. I consider myself either very lucky or very blessed to be still alive.

Take care and be safe

Agreed, thank you, I'll make every effort to be safe.

[ronsii]

Ten fingers!!! wow!!!! you must have a good grip along with the thumbs

heh heh heh

You can get guards to put over the chuck and anything else you want but the main thing is keep yourself away from the spinning object!!! A metal lathe is a bit different form a wood lathe in that your hands should not be close to the big spinning wheel of death unless you do like me and grab some emery ribbon and like to polish your surfaces at high speed once you've done the cuts....

[Larrysmachine]

Nice job you done there, looks good. As stated above, it's only a piece of steel, give it your best shot and if you make a booboo chunk it in the scrap bin and start over!

[Willie B]

Ten fingers!!! wow!!!! you must have a good grip along with the thumbs

heh heh heh

You can get guards to put over the chuck and anything else you want but the main thing is keep yourself away from the spinning object!!! A metal lathe is a bit different form a wood lathe in that your hands should not be close to the big spinning wheel of death unless you do like me and grab some emery ribbon and like to polish your surfaces at high speed once you've done the cuts....

Extreme care.

[Hobbytime]

[farmersammm]

I'm thinking no loose clothing. In my case I don't own jewelry. And don't get close to the moving parts.

I've been around machinery, and guns since birth, I'm an electrician with some machine inclusive pastimes. 62 years of old tractors, Jeeps, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, guns, and the list goes on and on.

Staying alert, using caution, I have ten fingers eleven toes. I did have a mishap when a wood splitter spit out a chunk, tore my nose off, and gave me six cracks in my skull.

A person can't be too careful. I try to be careful enough.

Most neglected bit of clothing is shirt tails. You're standing in front of a turning leadscrew that's at waist level. Not to mention the longitudinal feed hand wheel.

[Willie B]

Locally we had a story of a none too bright teenager working at a local farm. They had a blower filling a tall silo. A 100 HP farm tractor was supplying PTO power. These silos usually have the blower chute on the outside of the ladder tunnel. I can't say why they put this one inside.
Something went wrong, so the kid was climbing the ladder with the blower running, (I said he wasn't very bright). His ragged blue jeans got snagged on the PTO shaft. In a fraction of a second he was naked. He wasn't hurt!

One of the billionaires in my area left part of his fortune to establish a working farm. It is a haven for college types some still in college, others fresh graduated. Some of these people are pretty inexperienced. Their safety record is AWFUL.

My son does a comedy routine of a radio conversation where an employee calls the boss: "Ken, come in Ken"........."Yeah". "We were wondering if there is another job you'd like us to do this afternoon?" "Why?" "I know you wanted us to split wood. We left the tractor out of gear. It rolled down the hill, smashed the outhouse, killed your horse, and at present it's upside down in the brook on fire............So we won't be able to use it to split wood. Is there something else you'd like us to do instead?"

This "think tank" hired a super expert to run the maple syrup operation. He disappeared one Sunday afternoon in March. The director went in search of him. He found him caught in the PTO shaft of a vacuum pump. The "expert" lost an arm. The director got fired along with several other employees.

Spinning machinery is something to be avoided. I've used a wood lathe forever. It is a common thing to do to sand, or apply finish with the lathe spinning. Extreme care must be exercised to avoid plumber's cloth or burnishing rag catching. You use a special grip to let it yank out of your fingers, not pull your hand into it.

[N2 Welding]

Man I have a brand new appreciation for turning machine danger. Thank you Hobby. That's a crazy video. Do we know if he lived. Looks like possibly not.

[Hobbytime]

Man I have a brand new appreciation for turning machine danger. Thank you Hobby. That's a crazy video. Do we know if he lived. Looks like possibly not.

there are many more videos that you definitely know they didnt live, unknown with this one.....