Metal Lathe: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Main_lathe.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Trever Talbert]]'s main lathe]] [[Image:Jack_logan.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Jack Howell]]'s beautfilly restored Logan]]For the sake of pipe making, I would call any lathe 9"x20" or larger to be full sized. This first number refers to the swing over the bed (or sometimes the tool carriage). This means it is possible for a 9" diameter work piece to swing over the bed, so the actual distance between the chuck center and the bed is actually slightly more than 4.5". The second number is the length of material that will fit between the chuck in the headstock, and the center in the tail stock. Many established pipe makers look for older lathes, such as those made by Atlas, Clausen, some older Sears models (these were all made by Clausen), Logan, Ward, and South Bend. The UK and the rest of Europe have many fine old lathes kicking around too (a little help here on desirable makes would be appreciated).

'''An excellent resource for information on the Chinese 9"x2" lathes can be found on Yahoo groups'''. The file sections include entire manuals, as well as thorough cleaning procedure, and various modifications and improvements:

[[Image:minilathe.jpg|thumb|left|200px|right|7x12 Mini Metal Lathe]]Like it's larger counter parts, the Chinese made mine-lathes are all made in the same factory. Many are importing them under various names, but aside from length of the bed, color, nameplate, and tooling included, they are all about the same. They work very well once they are carefully cleaned up and re-assembled, sometimes with new hardware. The readily available 7"x12" size seems to be an excellent size for stem work. The 7"x10" can be just a little too short, but it is also possible to get extended beds for many of these lathes. Pictured bellow is the 7"x12" set up for stem work, with a three jaw, self centering chuck that most of them came with, and a Jacobs chuck that comes with some, and is an option with others.