The Home Machinist!

I've been away from the Forum for some time. All I can say is life got in the way. I use to have a Jet 12 36 P(Y) about 10 years ago. Mine was a 1981 but don't remember for sure what year. OK I know it is messy. Lathe-1236_w.jpg I have the original manual so maybe I can clear up a few things. The ne...

Sounds to me like you need to post that picture! Here is a picture of Ben's Goodway and one of his follower rest mounted on the carriage. As I mentioned, Ben is in Australia. Notice the reversed controlls on the carriage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/walnut_charlie/Goodway%201440/11122009...

I had a 1981 Jet 1236 for years. I got it with the steady rest but no follower. I upgraded to a 1983 GoodWay 1440 gearhead a few years ago which also came with the steady rest but no follower rest. I didn't even know how one mounted to my lathe. I corresponded with a guy in Australia with a GoodWay....

I am a home hobby machinist but have used lathes and mills in various jobs, over the years and my lathe journey may give you some insight into what is right for you. I have used LeBlonde, Hardinge, Sharps (Hardinge copy) at work. I have owned Logan, Atlas, Sheldon, Prentise Brothers, Jet and now Goo...

Here is a little geometry trick I use. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/walnut_charlie/Machinist%20Web/6-BoltCircle.jpg Scribe an ACCURATE mark on the backing plate, the diameter of the bolt circle. Set a compass to the radius of the bolt circle. Center punch a start mark on the circle. Place ...

Off-topic (sort-of): How do you get ON one of those things ?? If you mean the bike, you straddle the back wheel and there is a small step just above it on the frame. You give it a roll and use the step to hop up onto the seat. You can reverse the process to get back down. Not as young as I use to b...

Charlie, How did you decide on the distance between your two fixed roll dies? How did you decided on the diameter of those same dies? Your work is extremely nice and I would have never guessed the builder to be only 18. WOW. I didn't take a very technical approach to building the bender. I found 2 ...

Your question is a little like when someone ask " how big is big enough"? It is difficult to answer without a lot more information. Bending can be accomplished many different ways and the answer is dependent on many factors. About 40 years ago I built several, old fashion, High-Wheel bikes...

I have owned a vintage Logan 10", 3 vintage 10 &12" Atlas, 1, 1940's 11" Sheldon, and a 1981 Taiwanese Jet 12x36, all back gear belt drive lathes. I have to say that the Jet was heavierand had more features than the slightly smaller vintage American lathes. The fit and finish wasn...

There have been numerous discussions on static converters on many forums. Here is what I found and why I would NOT use one. I bought my 1960's bridgeport about 10 years ago. It was apart in a man's home garage. He had used it in some sort of repair shop, he owned, before he retired. He ran it off of...

The lead screw should be keyed to the dog between the 2 bevel gears. When the dog is slid to the left, the input shaft turns the left gear, the left gear turns the dog, the dog turns the lead screw. When the dog is slid to the right, the input shaft turns the left gear, the left gear turns the cente...

I use to have a 1981 Jet 1236. The switch contacts on it would stick about once a year. I remover it from the guard it was mounted in and cleaned the contacts with some abrasive paper. It was ready to go again. Obviously, yo disconnect it from power before doing that. Aother nice option is to buy th...