Anyone else have a Metal Lathe?

chub

Bronze Member
Apr 23, 2017
1,504
2,242
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Minelab Soveriegn XS 2
Nokta pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a 9" Bridgeport lathe from the early 50's. I used to use it quite often years ago to make threads, knurling, drilling, tapers. I don't use it enough to even remember how to use the power feed on it. Now I turn manually.
 

I have a Enco 13"x40" This was an inheritance from a friends passing from a year ago. Hoping to get a small Grizzly mill in the coming months also. Used to have an Shoptask Bridgemill 17x22 3-n-1 machine that I had converted to CNC. Without CNC, Shoptask is a piece of crap in my opinion. With cnc it is a pretty good machine as long as you take light cuts and don't try to hog metal and live with the small size. I removed everything i could reuse or resell from the shoptask and scrapped the rest as scrap iron.
 

I have a Mori Seiki at work. Nothing at the house though.
 

I've got a '46 South Bend Heavy 10, and a Delta Rockwell vertical mill, and a Barker AM model horizontal. Just added a Morse metal saw to the collection. I salute all you guys that spend your money on tools, rather than toys. With enough tools you can build any toy you need....LOL
Jim
 

I have a peerless, Waltham,Boley,and a couple others. Do Jeweler/watch lathes count? :laughing7: I can't make anything big. But I'm pretty good with the small stuff. :laughing7: I also have a couple Pivot Making/polishing machines for watches and small instruments. They are like small lathes with a grinding wheel. I've never really used them They are still wired for 440v AC, I just like to collect the small stuff when I find it.
 

Last edited:
Of coarse Nitric, I for one would love to watch someone turning on a jewelers lathe . im used to working on skidders ,loaders , dozers and old greasy sawmills. getting to see someone mastering the really small stuff would be a treat.
 

Of coarse Nitric, I for one would love to watch someone turning on a jewelers lathe . im used to working on skidders ,loaders , dozers and old greasy sawmills. getting to see someone mastering the really small stuff would be a treat.

It's the same only smaller. Probably actually easier. Just tighter tolerances. A lot of it can be done freehand with a graver. I've watched older guys that did amazing work. The gear cutters and compounds(?) cross slide is just smaller stuff. The biggest problem for me is that now that I'm Middle aged. :laughing7: It's a lot harder to see.

I got into this stuff because I can play with mechanical stuff in the house! I don't have the room or the money for the big stuff! :laughing7:

I'll still bet it's easier other than the measuring and seeing sometimes.

Ohhh! And I'm far from having it mastered! I make more mistakes than one time parts! :laughing7: One watch I wasted 10 pieces of metal before I actually got it right! :laughing7: A ton of trial and error on some complicated parts. but no one ever talks about that. :laughing7:
 

Last edited:
Just a wood lathe. I am currently outfitting a black smith shop at home. I love tools. Looking at building a power hammer at the moment.
 

At the college, I have a full machine shop (many of the machines are old but work great) to play in :headbang:, but at home only a small Grizzly lathe and milling machine.
 

Not to hijack a thread , but you guys have got me when it comes to machining, but sense this is a treasure forum and we are talking machining . my dad has a vintage Barns no.5 with a seat attachment, and you pedal it like a bicycle hows that for antiques.
 

I have a 13x24 Metal lathe in my home garage I use almost daily for small personal projects, gun smithing and speciality ATV tools I make and sell (this really took off on me). I'm looking to add a Mill in the near future, just looking for the right deal :)
 

I have a 13x24 Metal lathe in my home garage I use almost daily for small personal projects, gun smithing and speciality ATV tools I make and sell (this really took off on me). I'm looking to add a Mill in the near future, just looking for the right deal :)

Its always the tooling that adds up...some good eastern European tooling can be found at times for a good price.

Chub
 

Not to hijack a thread , but you guys have got me when it comes to machining, but sense this is a treasure forum and we are talking machining . my dad has a vintage Barns no.5 with a seat attachment, and you pedal it like a bicycle hows that for antiques.

I'm pretty sure it's ok here in the General section. We can't be detecting ALL the time (although many of us try -ha ha)

Chub
 

Ca. zuk , not sure what type your looking for ,but i bought a foreign brand small round column style on a pallet cheap , did some pulley making after cleaning it up and put on a new motor, that little thing is a pretty good outfit ,i have a wells index but i find myself doing alot of work with that smaller one , have did some some very satisfying work with it. o and i better clarify myself this was a mill i was describing, and i was surprised after cleaning it ,the dovetails and ways were scrapped in .
 

Last edited:
I have a Speedway (Sieg) 7x12 mini lathe. I mainly use it for installing ferrules and tips on pool cues. I use it a few times a year for other stuff as well. Handy tool.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top