How to make money with a small metal lathe

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world, and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts. I've wanted a large CNC lathe for a long time Unfortunately most places that sell these lathes want a large sum The first thing to do was cut a mold and pour the lathe's main form.

A Myford ML7 of my own

The form is a simple shape that could easily be cut with a I started casting the lathe when the weather in the garage was still dropping below freezing the odd night. I decided to cast the concrete in the basement With the weather warmer I was able to finish the carriage casting in the garage. This time I made the forms using the table saw and some scraps After installing the lead screw for the carriage I moved onto building the cross slide.

I have a milling machine so I was able to make a cross Now this would be a pretty poor functioning lathe if it didn't spin. In this step I took an off the shelf shaft, err Once the spindle was able to run under its own power I decided to tackle the tool post. With this built I could now start using the lathe I am very very impressed with the results this machine has been cranking out! I still have to go thru the process of perfectly aligning the ways over Unfortunately most places that sell these lathes want a large sum of money in exchange.

After some searching on the internet it turns out one could build a lathe from scratch using concrete and scraps of steel. This is the process of me building such a machine. This lathe is designed to be built in the most rustic conditions using minimal tools, however I have access to some better fabrication tools so I used them to my advantage. With the said I'm confident that if I had to build this beast with a hacksaw and a hand drill it would certainly be possible!

The final result is a machine that is far more precise then I initially imagined and a great machine to upgrade into my full fledged CNC metal turning monster! It seems the Make Magazine link online was the best repository for information on this lathe but it can be hard to find.

I've downloaded the complete article which was free online to begin with and posted it here to make life easier. I've based my machine largely on the size and scale of these plans my lathe shrinking in length to 42" overall. The form is a simple shape that could easily be cut with a table saw, or a skill saw for that manner but as I have access to a large format CNC machine I decided to design the mold in CAD and cut all the required parts IGES file attached.

With the metal parts embedded into the concrete I installed the main bearing mount as well as the CNC cut pipe holders. Once again this is a part that was going to be simple off cuts of angle iron but access to my little CNC let me get fancy. This is the modification that will allow for continuous adjustment as the concrete slowly shrinks over time.

I've also attached a rough BOM which as approximate costs of things I purchased. I had quite a bit of scrap metal and plastic on hand so I worked the design around what I had.

Concrete Metal Lathe: 7 Steps (with Pictures)

I decided to cast the concrete in the basement and then figure out how to move it after Moving a lbs of concrete up a flight of stairs is NOT easy. However people build spaceships and go to space so I figured I should be able to make this happen. After a few hours, copious use of ropes and pulleys and a few extra nicks in the walls I had the lathe up into the garage.

I added some extra bracing to my work bench in the garage and once again used a combination of bricks, jacks, and car tires to eventually lift the beast up onto its new home. This time I made the forms using the table saw and some scraps of wood. The metal elements were placed into the concrete while everything was still setting up. Brass was bent into crude angles to function as wear strips for the bottom of the heavy carriage.

At this point I could dial in a more accurate alignment of everything and start actual work on making the lathe function.

I have a milling machine so I was able to make a cross slide out of blocks of aluminum, this could easily have been made with a hacksaw, file and drill as I mention in the video I used UHMW for lead screw nuts.

I have used this plastic in the past on an old CNC machine and find they maintain a very low backlash drive for a long long time. I took that black thing and drilled and tapped a couple holes corresponding to the holes in the pulley.

From there I could bolt everything together and have a reliable way to transmit power to the chuck.

I used fancy link belt as I figured I wouldn't be able to bolt a pulley onto a shaft by eye all that accurately but it turns out that I hit spy stock options chain mark perfectly and the pulley runs extremely true. None the less link belt is wonderful stuff if you can tolerate the cost. The pulley ratio gives me RPM at the spindle which suits me well for the screw pitch of this machine.

With this built I could now start using the lathe to help built itself. First I found center on the main shaft, made note of that height and milled up a solid block of aluminum to hold a tool at that height.

Once again there is 's of ways to do this, I built it this way to suits my needs with the material and tools I had on hand. A backing plate was cut, trued up on the spindle and shaped to attach the 3 jaw chuck.

I goofed slightly on this part and ended up over cutting the alignment plate for the spindle. The standard threaded rods I have used on this machine mean the hand wheels feed in and out exactly opposite to what I am used to What is a mini metal lathe and how to use it for metalworking by Customcez. Aluminum Captive Ring on Bar by Nikkio Homemade Ring Turned On Lathe! How to Change Chuck on Jet Lathe by crankyalbatross. Correct Lathe Cutter Setup by macarina. Let your inbox help you discover our best projects, classes, and contests.

Binary options with a minimum deposit ext ysq cxtn will help you learn how to make anything! Concrete Metal Lathe by Confounded Machine in metalworking. What is forex trading south africa Metal Lathe I've wanted a large CNC lathe for a long time The Concrete Form The first thing to do was cut a forex kdy se obchoduje and pour the lathe's main form.

Moving the Beast I started casting the lathe when the weather in the garage was still dropping how to make money with a small metal lathe freezing the odd night. Casting the Carriage With the weather forex card cash withdrawal limit I was able to finish the carriage casting in the garage. Cross Slide Addition After installing the lead screw for the carriage I moved onto building the cross slide.

Pulleys for Turning Now this would be a pretty poor functioning lathe if it didn't spin. Tool Post and 3 Jaw Once the spindle was able to run under its own power I decided to tackle the tool post. Final Thoughts I am very very impressed with the results this machine has been cranking out! Tool Post and 3 Jaw. Hi, first of all I want to say thank you for putting up your awesome project! Unfortunately all that it displays benefits of binary options experts platinum club a whole bunch of numbers, that's all each file shows me is numbers that make no sense.

Any Help accessing these files would be oxford university diploma financial strategy appreciated. I needed this to finish my stock market syria war engine brand.

I'm making my own engines from sand cast aluminum and junkyard pieces. I was gonna have to buy a lathe. Out of thanks, I donate you this immunity cat. The immunity cat saves you from stupid facebook chain letters. They reside on my work computer and I constantly forget to upload when I'm sitting at it.

I'll do my best to get it up before the weekend. I really appreciate it as it will certainly help me get started making this. Do you think you could post the form broken down into pieces either in DXF or PDF or similar format, instead of as a solid model for easier loading into CAM software for milling?

Would this project work if you didn't embed rebar, or how to make money with a small metal lathe it critical for structural integrity?

I'll be sure to upload the dxf files of the cut sheets, its fairly specific to my build but would be a nice starting point for others. Even dropping in some wire mesh, or fiberglass fill would probably work just as well if not better then rebar.

I appreciate how open you are about this project. I'm looking forward to seeing the DXF's. I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work, although I'll probably use styrofoam instead of MDF to make the form. Your build seems to have worked fundamentals of futures and options markets solution manual 6th edition so great, and I've already found suppliers for almost all the important parts.

I'll build it right on the workbench where I plan on leaving it for years to come so moving won't be an issue although I was looking forward to earn extra money envelope stuffing a whole day attempting to move it, just as you did.

Where did you get your motor? I'm trying to find one from the appliance recycling centre from a dryer or something hopefully get it for free.

I need a lathe in the next couple months or so, and this looks like the best option by far, so I'm quite excited to begin toying with the plans I was going to try to aluminum cast a much smaller version, but this appeared out of nowhere right before I was going to get started designing the basic aluminum version I had in mind. Plywood is a smarter choice. I am open about the design because its based on an open source machine: Just remember that if your making your forms from foam you might have an issue with pressures inside the mold, lbs of concrete can exert a decent amount of sideways force, I was worried about my mdf mold breaching during the final tamping.

Be sure you have room to mount the motor in both directions, or are able to reverse the direction it runs I electrically switch the direction of rotation to suit my mounting position. Just noticed you haven't uploaded the dxf files yet It is almost impossible to mix concrete with a stick in large amounts - it is damn hard and takes too much labor. If you had used that, all surfaces would be so much smoother and concrete would be stronger.

I've tossed around the idea of epoxy coating it to make it pretty but its uglyness is growing on me. The cement I found was cheaper than the quickcrete ready mix we have here. I'm very interested in making one of these!

Also could you upload the plate designs the ones milled out of aluminum for holding the ways. What bearings and bearing blocks did you use?

Do you have a parts list available anywhere, and if not, could you make one with the key parts? I'm incredibly excited to try making one of these, but I'd like to ensure I'm prepared and am not going to get too far ahead of myself. Would linear bearings work instead?

I am currently working on a parts list as well as costs to give people an idea what I spent. You could use linear bearings but I was trying to keep the parts cost low and use readily avaiable materials.

Just super to see one being built! I know you are on some of these other sites, but for those who are looking to learn more. All these are great sources of information. That is why it sucked your insert tool in that has a positive rake on top. I have been talking about building one of these for years. You may have motivated me to get off the couch.

I'll probably leave it ragged Super nice work, and the writeup and the videos are so valuable for the rest of the community obviously. Those drawings were so nicely put together, something I took reference to many times in the build to make sure modifications I was introducing wouldn't complicate another element of the design.

Thanks for taking the time to share it. Cutting will induce a lot of sideways forces, and it appears that the gas pipe rails are only supported at the ends and from underneath which would only give downwards bracing along the length, but not sideways or upwards. This seems a shame, as by having 'semi-floating' ways you don't take full advantage of the damping and rigidity of your large mass of concrete.

I guess to do anything permanent you will need to be quite sure you have the ways adjusted nice and parallel and coplanar with the spindle though with your system I guess you could adjust the spindle after the event. I am imagining something a bit more heavy duty than angle iron, extending almost completely up to the gas pipe rails maybe concrete filled steel box?

And if you go the CNC rout, that will take a lot of the tedium out of multiple shallower cuts. Thanks again for sharing. The flat iron rails contact the pipe slightly to the outside to try and help with side loads I also may end up casting the rails in place with non-shrinking grout in 6months time or so My experience has been that a good flow of coolant makes a really big difference to surface finish and tool life esp.

If I get it dialed in enough where I have to worry about temperature swings I'm doing something very right. Thanks for the comment. Because it is not true That is why steel reinforced concrete is so popular as building material Thanks for the share! You might be the first one to finish a concrete lathe from those plans. Can't wait to see it CNC'd.

You want the stones to be in the concrete, it is what holds it together, trust me on this. About This Instructable 54, views favorites. Confounded Machine Confounded Machine Follow I'm a electronic engineering tech with massive love for DIY building, and tools that make tools. More by Confounded Machine: Related What is a mini metal lathe and how to use it for metalworking by Customcez.

Newsletter Let your inbox help you discover our best projects, classes, and contests. About Us Who We Are Advertise Contact Jobs Help. Resources For Teachers Residency Program Gift Premium Account Forums Answers Sitemap.