[Mikeedd]

Hi all, and thanks for the nice site, as 90% of my help came from here.
I bought a thing like the picture, it is an asian copy of emco that made a poorly copy of themself :-)
I have done some pimping, so it can machine 304 steel, and not just plasket..

[Mikeedd]

I used way to much money, as I got some upgrades, and will have to DIY it all over again, but now I do have a small lathe I can use for my spindle build and other things..
It cries out for a drowning in EG, like 50/50 PeterEng and stuffing the turkey, and that will surely take out some chatter.
Im sorry for the missing pictures, I upload, but they dont show up...will try later

[Mikeedd]

Here we go again, why cant I upload my pictures? is there a limit size? it is jpeg, less than 5 Mega

[Mikeedd]

Finally the pics came.
New chuck, toolpost. motor and ball bearings et cetera..
The last pic is to proof, that i am cutting, not just grinding stainless steel. By nature it is only a light cut as motor is 50 watts :-)

[Mikeedd]

Price sofar 250usd, and the quick 30usd toolchange, is far from optimal, but main chatter is from the thin profiles, and the headstock, joined in an awfull way, by me, the big kahuna,
I will brace the headstock, and prefer to make new slides, before "casting it", but as said it calls out for an EG- dampening job, at least, so feel free good folks :-)
Does a bolt on EG-base sound stupid?
And fill the main profile, it is 5x5cm?

[Mikeedd]

Finally had some time and found the culprit, as the tiny hollow spindle is way too soft, and the bearings loose, so I need more than 2 good bearings...
A new headstock, is actually all I need to finish this little thing, that has served me well for a year now, and must be the cheapest entry level lathe, but not the smallest, as the Sherline guy did that years ago, and a lot nicer...
I found a spindle with morse 3 in center of 4" chuck adapter plate, and 20mm bore thru spindle, and the 100 dollars it will cost me is pretty cheap i reckon?
1 pic is a smaller lathe than mine
2 pic is spindle drawing (I found it on ebay with the promising name "Real Bull" )
3rd pic is a flowchart of my brain :-)

[Mikeedd]

The lathe will gain 10kg from the better headstock, and then the rest will be the weak link, and need to be replaced,
I have learned a lot from this micro-lathe, and recommend it, if you want to learn the cheapest way, the basics, plus having fun cutting metals :-)
(it cuts only plastic and maybe light cuts in alu, as the 100usd stock model..)
Remember Integral helmet, as the micro lathe is missing all safety equipp and is dangerous to use, if not enclosed, as the 80mm 3claw will scar your face when it breakes free from the hollow 12mm spindle, and the surgeon tries to rip it out, some painfully hours after... :-)
Even with a 50 watt it is super scary, as there is a lot of inerta in a 3claw 80mm/1.2 Kg rotating at 3600rpm..(the standard is 40mm plastic or pot metal 3claw maybe 200 gram)
My 4" 3 claw came yesterday, so now I am waiting for new spindle and a house for it :-))
The chuck is not Sam or Chulli but wery nice k11-100mm copy i guess and the price under 100usd is very much bang for buck.. I am very happy for my new 2kg chunk of cast iron, looking like steel :-)
As I said, I now am the proud owner of a toy lathe I dressed up like Fredd Kruger, so please dont do this at home, and now you have been warned.

[Mikeedd]

Here is a pic of the new chuck and headstock, plus a mockup of a small cnc-lathe i plan to build, and the complete HStock can be found on epay for aprox 150 usd. Spindle alone is half, and we are in the mini lathe class, but for a very fine price..
The head will temporary be mounted on the microlathe, so I can make a smaller HS housing for it, and plan a proper one for the vertical mill I gots to make at a later point. The lathe is most important now, and the micro is not really up to the job I need to do.
The 400w dc motor is 5 times the size of the 1Kw brushless (pics will come later) but it looks more trustworthy.. Time will tell, but I used the 50w micromotor for a long time now, and I am still surprised what it can do with a single good dimensioned beltdrive gearing, and a tiny belt..
Notice the mandatory multivitamins and pepper grinder, as it will boost your immune system theese troubled times. Stay home and tinker, it might be safe.. All my items came over the years from China, so I hope that I am immune to most of the bad stuff...
A pity they have to kill millions of furry Minks in my country, and we might be the new epicenter of corona, so I buckle up with spareparts, and build in peace, shame and isolation, and I will embed the whole tjubang from lathe to corona in epoxygranite :-)
Again a legal discaimer, as I dont know what I am talking about, and therefore not liable in any matter, I hope..

Bless you all, Mike.

By the way.. is it proper to rebar EG, as I want to cast aluprofiles, and treaded steel in the EG. The expansion is larger for metals than the EG, and might crack, distort it?
I want to use the rebar to stiffen the EG, but Studer did not use rebar as I recall, but maybe their granital was not epoxybased?

[Jim Dawson]

That is a very cool machine ! :cheers:

[Mikeedd]

Thank you Jim. I like the portable concept, so I can do some turning in my car, while waiting for the rush-hours to pass ;-)
I have another thread, where I ask questions and show my progress :

https://www.cnczone.com/forums/bench...468-forum.html

My apologies for sometimes mixing the 2 threads up a bit

Here I will show the finished machines, first the portable microlathe, and later a larger build that will be a cnc mini lathe..
Next post here will be when I finish a new headstock for the microlathe.