New in town

[Bill Shields]

if all you want is a lathe to drill and tap and maybe-cutoff, you can probably do it on a most any 'cast off' that has other problems.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=M ... rchPg=Main

in reality, if you purchase the blanks already cut to length, all you need is a chuck and tailstock for drills and the tap...

more so than anything else, consider this:

WHY STAINLESS????

if all it is intended for is a weight and going to live 'inside' a wood knob....you will find the economy of 12L14 steel and the ease with which it can be drilled and tapped to be a major advantage.

304 stainless is listed at 8 g/cm3 while 12L14 is listed as 7.87 g/cm3 => so the weight difference is negligible

not knowing how many of these bushings you are going to need, I can imagine that if you find a CNC shop willing to make a few 100 at a reasonable price, you will be $$$ ahead to just have them made as opposed to the cost of getting 'tooled up' to do it yourself.

The cost of 12L14 is about on par with the cost of 304 stainless rod...but the cost of manufacture of the 12L14 will be much lower.

[tornitore45]

One thing to consider is that 12L14 rusts practically overnight.

[Lew Hartswick]

I was thinking the same thing. If the "magic" word is "Stainless" just use some other BS terms like the alloy words and numbers to confuse the silly consumers. Then there is always the magic word "Billet".
...lew...

[Bill Shields]

One thing to consider is that 12L14 rusts practically overnight.

iron oxide thread locker...

[pete]

A 7"x whatever" wont do what in stainless????? I built a 2" x 12" long stainless cannon barrel on a little Emco compact 5 lathe. Yes that was it's absolute maximum it could do between centers and I had to cheat a bit to even turn that length. And yes it takes awhile, but even a little Shereline 3" swing lathe has been shown cutting Inconel and Titanium. And some or even better a lot of experience helps as well as not trying for more than the machine is capable of. I'll also freely admit those cheap 7" swing off shore lathes are no more than a poorly machined and assembled kit of parts and basic user improvements plus more experience than an entry level person will generally have will wring a lot more out of them. But they'll certainly turn stainless. Step drilling and well sharpened and honed high speed steel tools will also help. As for a wood turner thinking of trying metal machining? For the most part forget everything you already know. Little of that will transfer from wood to metal. With those little 7" lathes every single thing you can do to increase your tool, part and machine rigidity can only help. But if more wood turners experienced just once how much easier it is to machine any wood species parallel, bore precision and straight holes to size and depth on even one of those crappy 7" lathes more would start to understand even the most expensive traditional type of wood lathe today is no more than an antique design joke. Maybe I'd give them a 1930's design at best since they would have an electric motor and aren't line shaft driven. Pattern making shops that haven't yet gone to cnc will all use only slightly modified for there purposes lathes and mills that vary little from the same used for machining metal for multiple good reasons.

Some car guys will believe just about any of the latest line of B.S. that's intended to separate them from a few bucks I guess. Even more so if it's got that "military grade" "aircraft grade" "billet" etc in the sentence as Lew aptly mentioned. Funny, one common recommendation that was once deemed good practice was to not even use the shift knob as a hand rest when not actually shifting since that extra weight helped add wear to the transmissions internal components. I believe the U.S. military and maybe others even forbade the practice when training new drivers on there trucks. After a few million miles on the hwy and from what I've seen first hand about 50%-60% of the people out there should stay home after dark and the roads are anything other than dead straight, dry and 4 lanes wide. As already mentioned buying the best high speed steel taps you can afford will be light years ahead of anything cheap. Greenfield, OSG, Guhing brands are just 3, but there's many others. And there high price is a direct indicator of how good they are. Unfortunately there's more than a few different thread pitches used between all the car models that still offer a standard transmission option and isn't already paddle shifted. I'd also be sure to buy stainless that doesn't have the 304 alloy designation though. Above the lathe requirement you'd also better have at the minimum one of the cheap 4"x6" horizontal bandsaws. Using a hand hacksaw gets real old real fast.

[Bill Shields]

oy...someone is on a soapbox....

[Harold_V]

Then there is always the magic word "Billet".
...lew...

Chuckle! Yep, one of the *buzz* words that is way tired these days. The term that better reflects the material is *bar stock*, which is made from billet.
*Buzz* words
Lite
Organic
Sea salt
bacon

All used with the idea of separating folks from their money.

H

[spro]

Cue ball, solid metal chromed ball meant for stick shifts. My car was three on the tree. Interesting when you push the clutch pedal , it automatically shifted from 2nd to 3rd. Reverse to first , required attention

[whateg0]

I completely understand the marketability of something with heavy mass. People tend to associate quality with mass. (Barring things like carbon fiber, etc.) If presented with two items of otherwise similar design and appearance, most people will generally choose the one with more heft. It's just the way it is.

I hate when people say that a small machine won't do a job just because of its weight. You can dig a house foundation with just a shovel if you're patient enough. I've always been impressed with the with that guy on YouTube does with his stable of Sherline machines, taking small bites.

[whateg0]

I'm not sure what items equipment the op has, but with a good slow drill press, and some way to hold the work, a lot can be accomplished. I'm guessing since the shop is probably equipped with more woodworking stuff and this a too-fast drill press.

[Glenn Brooks]

Have you thought about making the inserts from silica bronze? Or even mild steel round stock, then chromed? Denser material and Much easier to work with a small machine

Also check out the mini lathes sold by Little Machine Shop or similar vendors.

Glenn

[Bill Shields]

very true on silicon bronze machinability but $$$$$ is sky high these days