Thread: Mentor for Mini lathe/Mill

Greetings members !
I am a lifelong woodworker, retired cabinetmaker. Most of my activity is on the Automata forum here, posting my work on these unusual objects. In order to advance the mechanics and so raise the level of intricacy, I have purchased a tiny, Chinese made combination lathe and mill. My metalworking experience is from high schools days, so not much. Would there be a retired (or not) machinist/hobbyist who might be willing to mentor my metalworking journey, in Sydney ? Learning to use the machine, how tos, advice on any and everything to do with this unfamiliar tool, mostly working with brass and plastics.
I promise to be a willing, committed, and grateful student,

Gus

Welcome to the forum Gus, I'm sure that you will get a helpful local to assist you with your new tools, in fact I'm a bit surprised that no-one has replied so far. Perhaps the weekend will bring someone out who can't get to the computer during the working week.
If time passes and no hands go up to assist, one suggestion would be to look for a Mens Shed nearby. Not all will be into metalwork, but many are and in any case you stand an excellent chance of meeting someone there, experienced in lathe operation, who can help mentor you.
In the meantime here is a list of useful looking websites to do with mini lathes, Lathe Modifications Catalog and various modifications and changes to improve their operation, some maintain that a new mini lathe is best considered a collection of castings and other parts needing some fettling and cleaning before careful reassembly and adjustment. There are stories of casting sand left in and mixed with the oil, and even paint uncured when the oil was added, poor fitting parts and the list goes on, but generally these issues can be put right without much expenditure, with the machine owner gaining lots of knowledge and a much better machine in the end. A google search will point to lots of useful articles, and hopefully a mentor will will pop up and point you in the right direction.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you are getting on.
Rob

Hi Gus, welcome to the Metalwork Forum.

A photo or a link to your machine might be helpful in getting a mentoring response.

When I acquired my Unimat 3 lathe and mill, I just mucked around with it and learned that way. There's no better teacher than hands on.

Ken

Hi Gus,
I found that the Workshop Practice series of books to be very helpful. It'll give you an insight to the machines and what the various levers, knobs etc do, before you find someone to mentor you, saving some time and patience. They're available on EBay at various prices, the ones for starters I'd suggest is The Mini Lathe book number 43, Milling a Complete Course book number 35, and Tool and Cutter Sharpening book number 38, this one I'd probably get first, as you'll need to learn how to sharpen the tooling first. Grab some mild steel bar about 6mm square and learn to sharpen these on a standard bench grinder, instead of wasting good tool steel.
Kryn

Thank you Rob,
Ah ! didn't think of the men's shed ! Very helpful reply,
Regards,
Gus

Than you Ken,
I believe that photos cannot be posted until three posts have been made, migh be close now,
Gus

Thank you Kryn,
I will have a look at those. Have seen many videos on tube, mostly yankee, larger than my micro machine, still, helpful. Already found that it needs a fair bit of tuning, nothing new about this, every machine I have ever purchased needed tlc up front.
Regards,
Gus

A pleasure Gus, glad you found it helpful. I agree with Kryn on the Workshop practice Series of books, lots of good info there, and the cheapest source that I'm aware of is Book Depository in the U.K. They charge about AU$11.50 per volume with free postage, which is about half the normal local price. Delivery is usually about 5-7 days, which is better than the local bookshop here in regional Tasmania would do if I went in and ordered from them. The blokes on this forum are an incredible resource too, there is not much that someone won't be able to help out with if you get a bit stuck, and we would all like to see the fruits of your labours too, I really find Automata quite fascinating, and would like to have a go at making some simple examples myself sometime. (I just need to cut the jobs list by 90% or so first.)
Rob

Also Sydney is a big place so a suburb would also help in locating tuition.

IMG_1008.jpgIMG_1009.jpgIMG_1007.jpgHere are some photos of the machine, very very small thing. Luckily, I will be making very very small parts for the automata. I have already found some limitations with it, but there is no other way I can see doing e.g. brass gimbals to enable eyes to move side to side and up and down without a lathe/mill. There are some fundamental inaccuracies, like the tool post, 8mm is not dead center of the chuck, nor is the tail stock. Can't yet see how this can be addressed. Anyway, getting on with things.
Thanks for the replies gents !
Gus

Sydney is a bit big: suburb is everything. Can YOU travel to someone else's workshop?

Alignment problems: often soluble, with ingenuity.

Cheers
Roger

Where in Sydney are you Gus, there might be help just around the corner if we knew where in Sydney you are????
Bit like people asking for assistance like you, when they state as their location as Australia

Xpro, nice looking machine. I love using my little Unimat, the same machining principles apply as with the larger lathes with far lessor chance of a crash or serious injury.

Have fun, it's a stepping stone to something larger, I can lift mine with one hand, can't do that with the Hercus.

Ken

Originally Posted by rcaffin

Sydney is a bit big: suburb is everything. Can YOU travel to someone else's workshop?

Alignment problems: often soluble, with ingenuity.

Cheers
Roger

Hi Roger,
For picking someone's brains and experience, I sure would !
Gus

Ken,
This weighs 16 kg, but happy to truck it around !
Gus