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Accurate to an 1/8 of an inch
- Thread starter skippyelwell
- Start date
TorontoBuilder
Sapientia et Doctrina Stabilitas
well you save on needing to buy a dro
But the savings would have to go for a tailstock.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
I always admire peoples ingenuity and ability to build things like that with what they have. it's easy to look at the classifieds now and say just buy one, they're plentiful, but who knows what they had to work with, and where they were when they created that machine.
skippyelwell
Ultra Member
You're absolutely right, not everyone has $3-4k sitting around to spend on a hobby.
Back in the 40's, 50's, even 60's homemade tools and projects were the norm and could quite possibly be when this lathe was constructed.
I use to grind my own telescope mirrors not only because I couldn't afford to buy them but it was a fascinating hobby that taught me the basics of optics, engineering and practical uses for the algebra I struggled through in high school.
Apologies for sounding so dismissive and snarky in the title of the thread. I wish it was closer me too, I'd love to have a look at it.
Back in high school a buddy told me that his uncle had built a metal lathe years prior. At the time, I didn't appreciate what that meant. The old guy is still around & I've never made the time to go see it. I think it's long past time...
You will make his day. Maybe even his year!
I love the old popular mechanics magazines, where they showed how to repair your car motor, or use parts of your old car motor to make shop tools. So much more ingenuity and reusing of existing materials back then. Now it is mostly throw away and buy new.
I've heard strong criticism for a lot of the projects in those sort of mags along the lines of much of it was illustrators coming up with stuff that was never built and wouldn't work with the audience being arm chair mechanics keen on the notions, but who would never build them or use them
I have an early volume of the "Boy Mechanic" series (PM reprints into book form) to which I would amply apply that criticism. A project book whose best use is perusal in a comfy chair beside the fire
I agree its best not throw stones at these projects. Who knows the circumstances, and in the privacy of one's own shop, a keenness to try is justification enough. When I was a lad, there were only high end hobby lathes available (myford, Emco) that cost as much as a small car so many had these thoughts of making machines.
Still, it doesn't seem practical to me unless what is required is extremely unique. Even with time valued at zero, you'll spend more making it than you could buy it for, and without Herculean effort, it won't be as a good.
I wonder when it was made and by who and sometimes why, when I see machines that were “homemade”. There was a time when “time” was not worth much! You worked long hours for very little pay and you dam well worked or you were down the road!
Maybe made by someone that that had a hammer, chisel, file, and a hacksaw, if lucky, a pillar drill mounted on a post or wall, a leg vise, forge and anvil. Made on one day a week off from the job, with the run of a scrape pile of old junk locomotives or trashing machines. Made to do a job where “an 1/8 of an inch” was good. Though some operators possibly could do better.
When time was cheap and money was hard to find! There was a time when horses were pulling cars that could not be be fixed due to no money or no parts.
Depression, war, ??? just no money, lots of time, want or need.
People might have been lined up out the door to get work done, or just to see “ole Bobby joes mo cene”. (Though its got one of them new elect ric engine thingys on it.
Yeah I like them old books and mags too!
“ Just pour off the first 15 tons of iron as its got too much garbage in it, then you get down to the good stuff!!!.”
Maybe made by someone that that had a hammer, chisel, file, and a hacksaw, if lucky, a pillar drill mounted on a post or wall, a leg vise, forge and anvil. Made on one day a week off from the job, with the run of a scrape pile of old junk locomotives or trashing machines. Made to do a job where “an 1/8 of an inch” was good. Though some operators possibly could do better.
When time was cheap and money was hard to find! There was a time when horses were pulling cars that could not be be fixed due to no money or no parts.
Depression, war, ??? just no money, lots of time, want or need.
People might have been lined up out the door to get work done, or just to see “ole Bobby joes mo cene”. (Though its got one of them new elect ric engine thingys on it.
Yeah I like them old books and mags too!
“ Just pour off the first 15 tons of iron as its got too much garbage in it, then you get down to the good stuff!!!.”
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Tom O
Ultra Member
That all changed with 9/11 America was full of free thinkers publishing articles and projects that were interesting and achievable by most people now governed by “ could it be used against us thinking. “ To prove my point the September Popular Science/Mechanics ( I forget which one published it “ How To Build A Pulse Bomb “ that was I believe pulled from the shelf at least I couldn’t find it anywhere. Since then How It’s Made and a lot of shows like it are a joke compared to their former selves.
………………end of rant Or “ The World According To Tom “ …………………..