7 Mods and Improvements for a Metal Lathe

Here's a little collection of the various modifications and improvements I've done for my import metal lathe over the years.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:14 Improved control panel
01:34 Improved carriage handwheel
02:14 Tailstock DRO
04:21 Tool Shelf
06:04 Steel Headstock Covers
07:53 Solid Toolpost
14:43 Way covers
17:01 Chip shield

[@nataliepotter3635]

well it's a lathe kzbin.infoUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.

[@matthewf1979]

That shield is ingenious!

[@michelhv]

Machinists never cease to amaze me with their ability at using a machine to actually improve said machine. I think only programmers can really do that also, but they’re not working out of chunks of metal.

[@David-hm9ic]

It's been said that the lathe is the only machine that can be used to make a copy of itself. Certainly if they're not too badly damages they can make their own replacement parts.

[@johnathonmontie2234]

Dude, love the video and hope you do more of these improvement videos!

[@CafeRacerGarage]

This was awesome brother thank you :)

[@nealepitts]

One of the best ( if not the best) videos explaining issues and problem solving in a fact packed package..... no waffling on, no umms and errs ! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@clarenceedrusnell7187]

Hello Phil. It is so nice to watch your view of the improvements you posted. I have to tell you I like your sense of humor even more. Your high degree of skill really shines.

[@GiacoWhatever]

Congrats on the new shop man!

[@AlexanderGibbonsAudio]

That shield on an arm is genius! Great video Phil, thanks for posting this.

[@nilslemann4903]

Sehr schön. Deine Ideen sind immer der Hammer. Und auch die Sorgfalt mit der Du die Dinge umsetzt. Einfach genial.

[@budzab]

1:34 You should do handwheel with 2 step ratio (push to slow fine ratio - pull it out for larger ratio for quick reposition )

[@Felipe.Portugal]

Love the video man, I didn't realize you could customize a lathe that way. Btw the videos with commentary are much more engaging than the previous one with music and text. Keep up the great work!!

[@rickguyevans]

Thank you for an excellent, well produced video with lots of great ideas for mods! Cheers from Canada

[@bostedtap8399]

Excellent modifications and upgrades. Thanks for sharing.

[@bcwrangler]

Great additions....that solid tool post made a huge difference!

[@ardemus]

Great stuff, thanks for the insights, and congrats on the new shop.

[@MProper]

That's the kind of video I am looking for ... No "talking face" (I wanna see the stuff, not the storyteller!). No useless redundancy of information. No begging for likes and subscribes. Great video! Thanks!

[@PhilVandelay]

That's the idea! Glad to hear people notice

[@Wezly]

Great mods! - Looking forward to seeing the new shop in use.

[@AlADrake]

This video and the lathe video series of TechTom are the best starter tips for beginners. I appreciate that! Dont stop making such nice content.

[@TheMadMagician87]

Hope you are enjoying the new shop! Thanks for the ideas on the lathe :-)

[@danielstewart3507]

Great content Phil. Always love it when you upload.

[@HepcatHarley]

I've given up trying to part off on my Sieg SC3, now I know why, great modification, Thanks :)

[@ScottTurnerformeindustrious]

Great Improvements Phil! I need to do the Cross Slide Mod for the same reason. Cheers!

[@ignaciop9592]

Love this type of contenten Phil. Cheers from Argentina

[@jmtx.]

Thanks for sharing your awesome mods! That super adjustable cover is a great idea!

[@joell439]

Phil, Great to see you’re doing well. Thanks for sharing 👍👍😎👍👍

[@henrypostulart]

Congratulations on your shop upgrade!

[@Dave.Wilson]

That chip shield is genius, I know what I'll be making soon. Thanks for sharing. As for the videos and content, go for quality rather than quantity.

[@hanslang3764]

Great job, love your work and humour :-D

[@kevinmurphy5506]

Been missing your videos but this is definitely worth the wait thank you.

[@bigmotter001]

Very nice mods Phil. I will be incorporating some of them over the next few months! Thanks for posting and take care!

[@mxcollin95]

Great video! Really love videos like this were people make practical upgrades in ways I might not of thought of. 👍

[@joewhitney4097]

Great video, great solutions and upgrades. Thank you.

[@Laura-wc5xt]

Dear Phil, you Sir , are a true craftsman and great narrator.....thank you for sharing your great ideas and work.....cheers from the USA, Paul

[@aimanapril24]

Oooo Congrats on the new space !

[@keithammleter3824]

This is a really nice presentation by Phil. Good clear video, good clear voice, and some really good ideas clearly explained.

[@dariushmilani6760]

Isn't it strange that today I thought that it's been a while I ve seen a video from you and I missed watching the Grinder build. After finished watching part 3 latest video appeared. Don't leave it too long between builds. Its so enjoyable.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello Phil, Congratulations on the new workshop... some nice modifications to your lathe... Take care. Paul,,

[@courtneyfaas1266]

This is one of the greatest lathe videos I have ever seen.

[@joels7605]

Beautiful work. Well done, sir.

[@davidangelo8902]

I've been thinking about fabing a chip shield & tool holder shelf for my lathe. Your solution is good & gives me a visual concept to work from. Thanks!!!

[@johnmcclain3887]

Hi, twenty years ago, I was low budget, getting my machines, and there was a guy "Metal Lathe Accessories", might be still around, but he made and sold casting kits for tool posts, milling fixtures for a lathe, all kinds of attachments, with plans. The castings were almost all done in Amish foundry's, and the castings were consistently fine grained, clean machining, both iron and bronze, quite useful in my shop. You could likely find some in the UK, at least thirty, forty years ago in my youth. Thanks for a good bit of work, fine improvement.

[@jusrobington]

Those are some awesome upgrades. Simple & effective 👍🏾

[@Bmklral]

Thank you for sharing. Great improvements. Many of which I will try. Great job.

[@luciogonzalez5029]

Super enjoyed your video! & happy for your new shop as well!

[@BenMitro]

Loved that you used a mag base tool post to mount the shield. Tool posts sit idle most of the but suddenly, its used every time the lathe and the mill are used and can still be used for the dial gauge. Ingenious!

[@lcsavi]

Great improvements! Congratulations!!! And I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one with an OCD about plastics on lathes.

[@MrHuntnfish]

Thanks Phil, Professional as usual, several great ideas, please never stop thinking of new tool toys. Regards Dave,

[@j.hankinson7803]

Many great ideas. Thanks for posting.

[@MeechJacobs]

Take your time bro, I'll wait!

[@dannywilsher4165]

Nice mods and improvements, thanks for sharing!!

[@oletrenner]

I'm really enjoying your videos! Thanks for sharing, cheers!

[@SuffolkFarmer]

Thanks Phil 👍 Look forward to more videos

[@davidgillies620]

Yes please, more of these.

[@ussweeneyd]

Some bloody brilliant ideas ! Tak.

[@aimanapril24]

that shelf turned out soo good ! Love you videos

[@xDrDeath78x]

Really enjoyed this one mate. Thank you

[@bikeridernz6169]

Superb as usual

[@Ryan-dz3jo]

Nice video, new shop looks great.

[@forthrightnight]

Very nice. Congrats on the new shop. That heat thing sure is a luxury.

[@CrimFerret]

This is a great video! Great solutions to the issues you were having and I'll take functional, ugly, and cheap. It's a tool, not a showpiece. That is a nice lathe. I've looked at that same line. When I get a place that has the room for one, I may well get one. That's about the perfect size for anything I'd be doing. As nice as the old Monarchs look, once again it's not about looks.

[@LarsGoldbachDP]

you're just the best!!!! ordered merch

[@hogan6216]

I am glad to see some one else besides my self doing all kinds of mods to your shop tools.After watching your vid i looked around my shop and i counted up all the mods i have done and it came to 17 total...To be honest the labor and mat was well worth it and would do it again.Nice job....

[@mJlReplicanT001]

Congratulations on the new workshop …. 🙏🏻 much deserved. (Late on this I know ha)

[@gallupcustomknives2293]

Love seeing the improvements! I have a very old (1940-ish) 10"x32" lathe that I use quite a bit, been making improvements to it since I bought it, I like your chip shield though for sure! I need to build a chip pan and tool shelf for mine next.

[@yurtgedik8251]

Finally !!! Missed you man

[@PowerRepublic]

Love the new Tool Post upgrade Phil, very Beefy !!

[@jamesdepaul3410]

Well done mods. Like the shop and machines.

[@Spodokamono]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

[@andyreadman]

Very neat. Great work Sir!

[@cjb1kcb1]

Great content. Great narration. More. More. More! Please!

[@inactive67]

Nice new shop and the upgrades were pretty slick

[@brandonshudy789]

I Resently found your channel! I love it! I plan to watch some of your older videos when I have time. Thank you for your continuation!

[@elduderino1329]

Great improvements. My favorite is the handwheel gearbox.

[@davekimbler2308]

Very nice and handy mods ! I like the cross slide and shield the most !

[@petersmith5277]

Many thanks for excellent improvements of lathe - will be improving my own

[@QuebecoisSti]

Pretty neat mods! Greets from Eastern Canada! ✌

[@clayz1]

Even your bandsaw cuts straight. Not bad. I like your improvised stereo too. I am a machinist, I don’t know why some machining videos are so much fun to watch. Thanks.

[@macsmachine2609]

Good stuff. Really like the chip shield.

[@cowdogg3085]

Until I watched this video I was on the fence about looking into purchasing one of these lathes. Now I think I will look into them, great mods by the way!👍👍

[@raymondj8768]

great video dude !!!!!

[@hartiaacres]

Very nice set-up. Lots of creative out of the box thinking. Nice to see the belt grinder being used. That is a work of art. I had to buy the plans for that machine. Be a winter project next year if all goes well.

[@drjwrg]

Enjoyed the video, many thanks. I have commented on others replacing the compound with a metal block and conclude that in most cases they go over the top in increasing stiffness. If you consider that what is being done is to equivalently increase the stiffness of the compound slide arrangement. Consider what stiffness combination does the cutting tool see. A very simple model would be the stiffness of the compound slide, the stiffness of the cross slide and the stiffness of the carriage. These all act in series so that the overall stiffness will always be less than the least stiff of the combination. So increasing the stiffness of the equivalent compound way beyond the others will eventually provide very marginal improvement. Attempting to put some numbers to the problem, consider the stiffness of the compound to be K, the stiffness of the cross slide to be say 5K and the carriage stiffness to be say 10K. Place these in a series combination to find the overall stiffness and watch what happens as the compound stiffness gradually increases beyond K towards rigidity. I would suggest that a steel or cast iron block no greater than the footprint of the tool post is all that is required.

[@traitorouskin7492]

I agree with the other comments. Some great improvements. Thanks man.

[@HGNeese3rd1]

Keep making these videos I learn alot

[@gurudansingh7209]

Awesome improvements👍👍🥂

[@PhotogNT]

What a timely video I have been considering this exact lathe for myself.. Thanks😇🇦🇺

[@motari6249]

awesome job i am definitely using some of these upgrades thanks a lot.

[@markphillips3250]

I enjoyed your video very much. So much that I subscribed to your channel. Thank you, keep up the the good work.

[@Jayjam209]

Love your channel, I always get some ingenious ideas watching your videos. Thanks, also Congrats on the new shop! Working in a cold shop always sucks. Plants growing inside is a first for me. Haha. Cheers.

[@anthonymarino4260]

GREAT MODS THANKS FOR SHARING

[@bustednuckles2]

Very nice work. Congratulations on moving to a better work space also. That last one looked like a misery pit if I ever saw one. Looking forward to more videos.

[@sambonefarmer9139]

Congrats on the new shop; you did a good job of hiding the deficiencies of the old shop...kitchen table > makeshift shop -> proper shop - progress is good...so is heat!

[@MrHarvard88]

I really enjoyed your video. Very nicely done!

[@jyothikumar811]

Enjoyed your video, Nice keep it up looking for more, great job

[@DunderOz]

Love your work 😃

[@drewstools1770]

If all the utube machinists got together they could make the finest most practical lathes in the world.

[@TrPrecisionMachining]

Very good mods,,thanks for your time

[@nunosantiago2273]

You're an artist!

[@tomspeed2000]

You have a grate skills.. Absolutely fantastic jobs