Metal lathe question

1gooseman

1gooseman

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Hey guys
I have been thinking long and hard about purchasing a metal lathe.... I have found one that would suit my needs and about the size that will do what i want and not take up a bunch of room in my shop.
Im going to primarily use it for building barrels i.e.: Thread, cut, crown, true, blueprint..... etc. I am not a machinist by trade and most of my buddies are millwrights so they know a lot about most things but not a lot about one thing.
Im hoping a fellow GunNut can shed a little light on this subject!?

Has any one heard of TWS Lathes? I believe it stands for "Trans World Lathe"
It is a model 1237 and i believe that is code for 12" x 37" deck, I might be wrong but some of these older metal lathes are hard to get info on.
Any lathe suggestions would be an immense help.
Thanks
1Gooseman
 
From another site
You may have seen this already.

"Used TWS metal lathe model BL-1237S same as Jet, Enco, Grizzly, etc. This is a belt drive machine 110volt with reverse. Threading on the quick change 4-112 tpi, and spindle speeds 70-1480 plus 1 3/8" spindle bore. Spindle is D1-3 camlock with 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck plus face plate, quick change toolpost, steady rest, t-slot crossfeed table, carriage stop, thread dial, extra change gear, toolholders, spare jaws, and mounted on metal cabinet with splash guard. It runs good, all functions work as they should including power trave and cross feed with 1/4 turn backlash. Ways look good for the age of the machine. It also has a removable gap to 18" swing. The paint is chipped and stained but still looks decent. "

Trans World Steel, is what I got pounding that into Google. Supposedly Taiwanese Company.

You looking at the one in Albertville? Really have a look at the condition, Then the tooling, then the price. The belt drive lathes run quieter than the gear head ones, and if the belts are on the way out, skip right to installing some of that red Link-Belt replacement belt, it does not require any disassembly.

Camloc spindle is nice. D1-3 is pretty common, and you'd have no troubles finding chucks, etc., for it.

Take a good look at the lowest speed that it will turn at, as this will really (REALLY) affect how stressful threading and turning up to a shoulder will be. Less than 60 rpm is really nice, 30 or so even better. Gives you some reflex time to disengage stuff. Reflex time is good! When you get better at it, you will find you can thread at higher revs, but slow and low are good to get started.

Get some HSS tool blanks from Busy Bee when they come on sale, and track down someone that is not afraid to grind their own tools. Carbide tools rock for removal rate, but the price of good inserts will drive you to the poorhouse. Esp. at the rate a noob will burn through them. You can get HSS inserts, but they cost as well. And once you have dulled them, you are back to having to know how to sharpen them, or waiting for the new ones to come in. May as well go cheap and learn the skill. Once you get comfortable around the lathe, then start ramping up the speeds and feeds into carbide territory, and spending cash on convenience items. There are a LOT of choices available in the world of inserts, but you can accomplish a great deal with a few select shapes and styles, once you get a handle on what you want to do.
Add to all that, that you WILL find yourself backed into corners that your carbide or pre-ground HSS tools cannot get you out of...

Got books?
How To Run A Lathe by South Bend, would be a good start.
An outdated copy of Technology of Machine Tools, by Krar is great. Check Amazon and Ebay for older editions, don't pay much over $20 if you can avoid it.
Skip buying Machinery's Handbook, unless you really want it. It is pretty much the mother of all wall charts, in book form, not a how-to book.

Cheers
Trev
 
Never met a millwright that could machine themselves out of a paper bag, lol. I'm sure that lathe will be fine for you, I'm just spoiled with a cnc lathe in my home shop
 
Don't let the millwrights near the lathe unless its broken. Millwrights only learn a little machining. Just don't let them lick the chuck while its moving. :D
 
there is a nice looking lathe on the crown assets website . the lathe is in Winterpeg. if your on the Prairies. this might be good for you.
 
gaff said:
there is a nice looking lathe on the crown assets website . the lathe is in Winterpeg. if your on the Prairies. this might be good for you.
Click to expand...

I was looking at that one before, it has a broken main gear and I could not source one, or I would have bought it!
 
Cleftwynd said:
I was looking at that one before, it has a broken main gear and I could not source one, or I would have bought it!
Click to expand...

That's the Tida one?
Yeah. Broken parts is pretty much the kiss of death unless you ar looking for a basis for (possibly) a CNC conversion, or you just want a start on some other special tooling, like a welding lathe. Parts can be made, but you gotta get it cheap, for it to be worth going that route.
Unless you already know where a suitable donor is. But that is really slim odds.

Cheers
Trev
 
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