Need help with 3 in 1 lathe

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delta1

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I just bought a used 3 times lathe. It was sold by The House of Tools under the brand name Force and is model FRV 32-210. I am in need of a Operating Manual for this machine as I know nothing of lathes or mills.
If anyone knows who the manufacturer of this brand of lathe, that would be of help also?
Delta1
 
"...know nothing of..." A manual won't help. Go get some training. Try your local Community College.
The expensive part of machine tools isn't the machines. It's the chucks, etc required.
There's a Force Machinery, Stateside. They're a retailer though. Doubt they have anything to do with your lathe.
 
...or read....

There is LOTS of information on the internet and LOTS of books on machining. People forget that there is a lot of free education available out there in the form of written text.
 
Wally said:
...or read....

There is LOTS of information on the internet and LOTS of books on machining. People forget that there is a lot of free education available out there in the form of written text.
Click to expand...
The only problem is I've seen some of the videos on Youtube and read some of the hobby machinist stuff online. It scares me.

Buy a real book. The internet is full of idiots.
 
There's nothing like hands on experience with a mentor. The local college sounds good but can also be frustrating if you don't know the nomenclature of the lathe parts. That lathe you mention is it a small, 3 in 1 or has it just been used by 3 owners?
There is a lathe on the market, or used to be, call the Smithy. It was advertised as a 3 in 1 unit that could be used as a milling machine, lathe or drill press. Not the most accurate piece of equipment but functional. Machines like this can do many jobs OK and some simple stuff well. Don't expect to do any large jobs with it and take small cuts.

A lot of people just can't pick up stuff out of books. For them, hands on experience is the only learning method that is efficient. Another thing, without a base knowledge of the machine and its functions, you can easily break something, screw up a project or worse yet, hurt yourself. If you can handle the wait time for a perfunctory course and retain the instructions, go for it by all means. Your lathe will be different from the school lathes. It will have a "back gear" system, that you will have to change the gear trains on by removing and reassembling them in the proper order for running speeds. The lathes in schools, mostly have "quick change" gear boxes that operate on the lower left face of the drive end. You can't get as many ratios with it but it is a lot quicker and simpler to use as well as covering 99% of most of the jobs required of them.

There is a big learning curve here. It isn't difficult and the big secret to being good at it is to have patience and do the job right, every time. Sloppy work is quickly evident and there are few if any corners that can be cut without it looking like a buckshee job.
 
The manual that came with the lathe won't help you run it. It'll be good only for ordering parts. That's pretty typical of these machines. Also from your "used 3 times" I'm guessing that you mean a 3 in 1 combo machine?

A lot of the night school "courses" are more along the line of an open shop just for getting access to the machines. There's an "instructor" there but to offer a helping hand but with that style of course there's no structured content. So you'd want to check if this is the case or if it's a structured course for actually learning the basics.

In the meantime a trip to the library or some book buying sure won't hurt.

May I recomend "The Amatuer's Lathe" by L. H. Sparey. It's a fantastic first book to get with sections from machine setup, tool grinding and importance of some of the basics. It covers the most simple turning and facing up to threading and even touches on milling in the lathe. Equally as imporant you'll see examples of both faceplate and turning between centers and it says why such setups are important. A lot of hobby machinists don't realize there's options to the 3 and 4 jaw chucks where special requirements can be met. While you'll need to read between the lines in a few spots to adapt the some of the setups to the milling portion of your machine the basics are still all there. If your local library doesn't have a copy it's well worth buying.

In the meantime go to the link shown below and grab a copy of "How To Run A Lathe" by South Bend Tools. It's the first two options. Further down the list is another good read called "Thread Cutting In The Lathe". And yet another inspirational and educational booklet is "What To Make On The Lathe". It's mostly stuff that's far too advanced for now or requires you to send away for plans that are obviously no longer offered. But look at the pictures of how a lot of the stuff is set up a a guide to some of the machining options that are possible and what is needed to accomplish them.

You've got a mountain of knowledge to learn and skills to develop. But as the old saying goes the longest trip starts with the first step.

Also I hope you realize that the cost of the machine is just the beginning. You've got a lot of tooling and accessories to buy or make ahead of you.

http://www.wewilliams.net/SBLibrary.htm
 
The machine is a 3 in 1 that was used 3 times. It was sold by House of Tools under the brand name Force and is model # FRV 32-210. I am in need of a user manual to get me started.
I am nowhere near a town that has a machinist course or I would take it. So I will take my time,read as much as possible and practice,practice, practice. Any and all help is appreciated.
delta1
 
untergang is right. Machines are thoughtless. They are inanimate, non thinking objects. They perform certain functions. Nothing else. They can and will hurt you if you don't work within safe parameters.
 
.... or classified as restricted and subject to registration at great public expense.... :D

Delta1, again I would suggest that you don't need the machine's manual as much as you need some good general books on lathe and milling machining.

The manual that typically comes with the machine is two pages long and typically has some warnings, a few exploded diagrams and a schematic of the switch gear and a list of part numbers. You really do not need it to get started with machining unless some of the machine is apart or the wiring has been partially removed.

Also these machines are sold under many optional names but are the exact same under the name plate. Post some pictures of the machine and also go looking at other brands online. Either someone here may recognize the actual maker or you may find the exact same machine under another name. If nothing else you will very likely come up with a bigger list of machine names and models to offer in your request for a manual.

Locally House of Tools recently packed it up and the locations were taken over by Summit Tools so I don't know if trying to contact them will aid you at all.
 
Do you live close to a High School that may have a machine shop? If so, talk to the teachers there. I am sure they can get you on the right path. Not to over emphasize my previous point but we had an industrial accident at my company back in 07. what was left of the worker was not pretty. Having seen it once, you want to try and avoid it again. You basically have to treat the machine as you would a loaded firearm....with extreme caution. As well as little things like do not wear rings or watches. No ties or long sleeves. Tie your hair back if it is past your shoulders. Be aware of where your entire body is in relation to moving parts. Do not let yourself be distracted in any way operating it. All these little things need to be LEARNED not read. Please be very, very careful.
 
Untergang raises an excellent point. ALWAYS stop and check before you turn on the machine. Under no circumstance should the lathe chuck key leave your hand while using it on the chuck. If you need to reach for something then it goes with your hand. You only need to forget and see this two pounds of steel fly across the shop once to realize that this sort of self control is a good thing. And there's literally dozens of such things to learn and practice around machine tools in order to stay safe. Just doing a double check every time to ensure everything is tight and that the chuck or work piece is not going to hit the cross slide before turning on the power is a good place to start.
 
Wearing gloves around rotating machinery is my big thing.
I was using a drill press and the shavings caught the back of my glove and sucked my hand into the spindle. Fortunately, it was a little 1/2 HP belt driven hobby unit and the spindle stalled, so I didnt loose body parts.
However it did slap some sence into me. I NEVER wear gloves around rotating equipemnt now. Take a hint.:)
 
Yup, there was a fellow in my shop that felt he just couldn't stand to get his hands dirty and had a bad habit of grabbing the curly chip from the job while the bit was still cutting. He lost his little finger. Pulled it right off at the hand joint. Lots of blood and screaming. Changed a lot of safety attitudes in the shop.
 
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