Buying A Metal lathe Tips from tubalcain via a youtube video. This is part three in series of videos produced by tubalcain. You can see video 1 and video 2 by clicking the links. In this particular video he explains the workings of a small metal lathe he owns the EMCO Unimat 3. In the introduction he explains this little lahte is made in Austria and is expensive. Just how small this lathe is can be seen when he stands his tape measure against the chuck and lathe - really tiny eh! He describes the motor that powers this lathe as similar to a sewing machine motor. His model comes with a milling attachment, milling table and vice.  His came with a variety of tooling and clamps etc.

His purpose of featuring this lathe is to demonstarte you could set this one up in a small space such as a bedroom without the need for a seperate workshop. [Read more...]

Machine Shop Tips Buying A Metal Clausing Lathe Video Advice From Tubalcain. In this video from Tubalcain he demonstrates the features on his Clausing Lathe . This lathe is made with a variable speed spindle. One of his favourite features is the spped control situated on top of the lathe. It works on variable pitch pulleys which gives you almost instant speed changes at the spindle. The benefit with the threaded spindle on this lathe is that it prevents the chuck from spinning off.

Despite its appearance this lathe is very heavy, possibly 4 times as heavy as his Atlas Lathe. The bed alone on this lathe took 4 men to carry down into his basement and in his word "the heavier they are the better they are - its that simple". He makes reference to the even heavier Clausing Colchester lathe made in England. These are extremely expensive even when secondhand. This particular lathe comes with a flame hardened bed with v ways. The parent company of Clausing was Atlas. The good thing about these lathes is that the parts for them are still readily available. [Read more...]

Machine Shop Tips Buying A Metal Lathe video advice from Tubalcain from youtube. If you are considering buying a used metal lathe we have published a used lathe buyers guide for you just click the link. You can also find lots of advice on line. youtube is a great resource for the engineer and one of the best sources of educational videos comes from Tubalcain. [Read more...]

This video sets out to show how to make a jig for cutting keyways on a shaft using a metal lathe.  He starts by using a pice of 2 inch angle iron with a half inch hole it it and then secures it on the lathe with a nut. Next he uses a piece of 1 inch angle iron a quarter inch thick together with a 1 inch diameter shaft material to be chuck in the lathe. He welds the 1 inch angle iron to the larger piece to form the jig as can be seen in the video clip itself. Take note of the tips on plug welding to keep the shape correct. [Read more...]

3D printing as a concept took me a while to get my head around it. On the face of it it seems impossible to comprehend how you can manufacture a 3 dimensional objects using a printer.

If you seem bemused then this video demonstration will leave you asking more questions. The video is a demonstration of the eMAKER Huxley 3D printer. It demonstrates the concept of having an idea to the production of a complete printed part in a very short space of time. The first step was to visit Thingiverse where they down load the design they have chosen to produce. Thingiverse is a website worth visiting  this is a place to share digital designs that can be made into real, physical objects. [Read more...]