The Home Machinist!

Wow. That is quite an undertaking. I'd love to see it finished. It seems that the barrel will be the hardest part. Do you have a long lathe and will you be gun drilling it? How are the rifling grooves put in? As for the steel. It would be best to use hot rolled steel as it does not have the stress i...

to the original question, I guess drilling without having that long chuck in there is the best reason for 1/32 increments!

I have a 800# milling machine made by Smithy who makes the 3 in 1 machines and it came in this huge crate. I first welded up a table on casters with the appropriate screw mounting holes. Then I raised the machine from the crate to the table with a 1300# electric hoist from Harbor Freight. I wrapped ...

I guess copper or steel is best, but I put sch. 40 3/4" pvc lines in both shops and have had them run for years without any problems. They run on the ceiling and get no sun exposure...Jim

It depends on how accurate you want the slot to be. If it is just screw clearance, you can drill a hole at each end and then plunge mill from hole to hole to complete the slot with the full size end mill. If it has to be accurate to a length and width, you can still drill the two holes at each end b...

I would recommend a small precision lathe but would avoid a Jet lathe. I had three of them and sold them all as fast as I bought them. The engineering and workmanship left a lot to be desired. After working on a Southbend, I could not use those Jets. If I were in the market for one, I'd seriously lo...

I suppose it can be done but the current system would have to be shifted to neutral before engaging another drive system. I use my metal lathe almost every day and and the drive through gears and the lead screws works just fine and I don't see the real need for it.I like the current feed system real...

I use a spindle stop in the taper of the head stock. It has a bolt head sticking out that can be adjust up and into the jaws of the chuck if necessary. for the accuracy you need, I would use the stop and rough cut the pieces to within .010" of final length, resharpen the tool bit and then cut t...

Look for an old Southbend about 9x30. Get one with power feed and quick change gears. it would probably not cut metric threads in case you need to make them, but it is a great lathe and it is made well compared to new Chinese lathes. I bought 3 Jet metal lathes and got rid of them just as fast as I ...

Just looking at whet you had there, I'd say it would not work because of the width of the knurl tool arm. I always knurl the part first before adding any detail. It takes a lot or pressure to cut a good knurl- with a distinct diamond shape and not just crossed lines like I have seen many people make...

I have been cutting thread for 45 years and learned at Western Electric. I have always cut threads by stopping the cross slide on a zero and advancing the compound until the pitch diameter is reached. I never got a tapered thread and the threads are clean and usable. If you use the little plate with...

I use collets to get good precision, but I always don't have a standard size and the collets only go to 1/2".

For bigger stuff and odd stuff, I use a 4 jaw chuck and indicate the piece in.