How To Use A Lathe | Most Important Machine In My Shop? | Metal Lathe How To

Hey Everyone! I made this video describing everything that has to do with a lathe and how to use it. I think this is one of the most important machines I have in my shop and has allowed me to lathe and fabricate some of the most important parts on my builds. If you guys want to see any other videos like the lathe how to video just let me know in the comments!
See ya!
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Hope you enjoy it and I'll see you on the next one!
-Steve
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[@darlingdownstransportservi3529]

My late dad left me a Smart & Brown toolroom lathe and a Bridgeport milling machine when he died...I'm 52 and just starting to want to learn the skills he had to build steam locomotives and fabricate anything. Brings back lots of memories, mate

[@oldfarthacks]

Enjoy your inheritance. That you got his tools is great, every time you use them you will understand why he tended to mutter strange curse words and then become happy.

[@deedeeindustrialsuperprecision]

Really old machinist here, I think this is a good video showing what a benefit a lathe is when working on mechanical projects such as the engine work shown. One has to start somewhere, and making simple parts is the beginning of the experience.

[@oldfarthacks]

It's the turning point to a whole new world.

[@raychambers3646]

I was at school and on of the caught his jumper (sweater) in a lathe it was running slow but did pull him in but luckily for him someone hit the emergency stop.Still remember it after 50 years ,scary.

[@oldfarthacks]

Yes, these machine are evil and do want to eat you. Never turn your back on one while it is running.

[@gqp3215]

You can make everything on a lathe and Bridgeport mill

[@fordlav]

Fantastic video Steve grandfather was a master Lathe operator in the navy he had one in the basement and it's now in my shop just wish I could have learned a 3rd of what he truly knew about a lathe. I can run it. Lathe is the only peace that can actually reproduce its self.

[@randybrechbiel9748]

Somewhere a old machinist"s head just exploded watching this

[@TonyD-dz8pt]

you got that right

[@GoldenSim27]

like mine :/

[@gnescom]

My head is fine

[@paulgushue9083]

Haha just a little

[@ypaulbrown]

got that right

[@randytravis3998]

Miss my lathe ,, a year and a half ago we moved got a bigger place ,, the shop is a 30 x 40 pole barn I put tin for the ceiling still need insolation live in NY gets cold here ..but the power is only a 10 gauge wire from the house .. was never wired for a shop .. need a new service installed . then I can run the lathe .. still learning how to use it miss my big air compressor too .. guess I need to save some $ for the electric service ,, great video Steve ..

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Randy, appreciate your comment!

[@hank5655]

I am in the planning stage of my shop and I know you got to know which machine weighs and put the reinforcement in the concrete and how deep it needs to be, I am going to go to Tech school to learn all of the machinist that I can but I'm in my upper 50's So I going back to college, good video

[@spekky9012]

During my apprenticeship a student left the chuck wrench in the chuck and turned it on. The handle penatrated straight through his hand. Jammed it against the ways under the chuck. Shakes you up for a few days. Gotta almost see it to believe it. Never leave the wrench in the chuck.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Holy hell! That would definitely shake you up. Thanks for your comment Spekky.

[@gqp3215]

Never too old to learn. I learned in high school, vo tech. You should take a class at local college. You could do so much more on projects. You do great welding er up

[@snoopu2601]

Oh yeah I've been wanting one for year's. My brother had a wood lathe year's ago we made baseball bats and cool stuff out of wood. I worked in a shop that had a lathe and I made a few thing's but didn't get to spend the time I wanted to use it.

[@oldfarthacks]

Go and grab yourself a cheap Chinese Mini Lathe. They run around $500 to $600 bucks and come with some basic tooling, enough to get you started. Generally they have the ability to put a piece of bar stock through the spindle (the part that spins) that is 3/4th of an inch. Get the longest bed that you can, trust me bed length becomes critical quickly. I myself am playing with a 7"x14" that was sold by Velvor. The 7" measurement is the distance between the center line of the spindle and the bed. So you can put on a bit of metal that is 14 inches in diameter. Of course, you will not be able to actually cut that, the tooling slide does not go back far enough. The 14 inch dimension is the distance between the nose of the spindle without a chuck mounted to the nose of the tailstock. Again, you will not be able to turn something that is 14 inches long, unless it fits through that 3/4 inch bore in the spindle. So on a 14 inch lathe you end up with about 10 inches if you have to use the tailstock to support the far end. With all that said, about 90% of all turned parts can be done on a mini lathe. Now on the extreme end of the lathe, there are vertical lathes that are as much as 100 feet across. In other words, lathes are the most adaptable and have the widest size range of any machine too.

[@toddclark332]

Nobody caught my eye the 57 so badas Steve thanks again for what you share with us bro

[@keithbailey540]

My brother-in-law stared a machine and tool company with a lathe like that. He now has 5 CNC machines.

[@JoeRocket-sf6qs]

20years since I used a lathe but I sure do miss it.i found it to be relaxing almost meditative. 😃

[@keithlane4343]

Hey Steve. Glad you emphasized safety. The young guys and girls look up to an experienced guy like yourself, and it's so important around all machine tools, but a lathe especially. When I was in high school, late 1970's, we had a mad man machine / fabrication teacher Mr. Halverson. If you left a chuck key in a lathe chuck, or Powermatic drill press Jacobs chuck, he would run over and try to turn on the machine. If you couldn't pull the chuck key out before he got there, it would be flying across the shop in a split second. He would come up to it so you were between him and the machine. I've been a machinist for over 40 years, and will never forget to remove a chuck key after Mr. Halverson's reminding technique. I'll add one more thing to your safety tips about no loose clothing. Don't ever wear work gloves when operating machinery. I had a guy on my second shift crew that was graining / deburring parts on an engine lathe like 20 years ago. He was older than me and knew better, but decided to wear work gloves because the parts were getting hot. The tip of the glove on his small finger caught the chuck jaw, and in the blink of an eye, it gloved his finger, hand, and pulled the muscles and tendons out of his arm. Gloved, meaning just the bones remained from his small finger. Ultimately, they Med Flighted him to a hospital in Boston and all the bones that had been gloved were surgically removed. Safety first is not just a slogun. If the tip of your finger touched the moving chuck, it would probably have bounced off, or nicked the skin at the tip of your finger, but with a glove on, the fabric doesn't rip and will pull your hand into the machine. Work safe, take care.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Keith, really appreciate you sharing your story and experiences with all of us. Great advise and warning to us all that you can never be to careful and always safety first. Thanks for the comments!

[@waltercobb4675]

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge I get to learn something new each time I watch one of your videos

[@WelderUpVegas]

Hi Walter, be sure to read the comments coming from master machinists. Their advise is very helpful. They have worked this machine for years and know what they are talking about. Thanks for watching. Appreciate it!

[@jstephenallington8431]

I love your show on TV, I watch it every chance I get! You're just fantastic, I really mean it. I would love to see your shop, do you allow any tours? I'm an old manual machinist myself, and I love that you're taking the time to show your lathe on KZbin. PLEASE do me a favor, clean off the top of your lathe! Having loose metal on the headstock is a very bad day in the shop looking for an opportunity to happen. Just put a small metal cart next to you to keep all of the loose stuff handy and safe. You rock man!

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thank you for your good advise. I'll do that! Thanks for watching.

[@cmanning007]

This was the most fun machine i ever worked on as an engineering student

[@joeestes8114]

I just purchased a Clausing lathe for my shop, we race dirt cars and we are constantly fabricating parts! Great video! Especially the safety aspects!

[@mroptical1982]

Hello Steve great video that lathe looks like the I first used in high school 45 years ago. They are great machines Wishing everyone there at Welder Up well Take Care Sir

[@mtpocketbuilds4286]

This is thing I want for my small shop, but a concrete floor has to come first.

[@Impuritan1]

Did you ever get there?

[@mtpocketbuilds4286]

@@Impuritan1 Not as of yet, hoping for this year. Thank you for asking.

[@matttatts]

Great information and candor thank you!

[@WelderUpVegas]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@onfiregarage8229]

I like to know more about all machines you have in your shop and how it works, awesome job Steve, continue making cool videos for youtube.

[@franksgarage8551]

Love my old south bend. 1947 9” swing. Great for one offs. Made a hub puller for a 27 studebaker. 2-3/8 inside threads was tough, but it worked. Tune in mrpete222 or tubalcain,awesome machining tutorials.

[@burnheretic3950]

I'm guessing he liked your comment in part because 99% chance the lathe he was talking about at home is a Southbend heavy 10. Most common lathe on ships during WWII.

[@Impuritan1]

Love my South Bend. Came out of a tool room of pharmaceutical plant before they shutdown. They had a brand new Bridgeport clone and the maintenance guys had to take it out to the loading dock and bust it into piece and chuck it into the dumpster. Glad the lathe got out alive.

[@flawlesswheelsllc]

I just to be a machinist back in 2010 so I been Detailing since then But I just got me a new lathe and mill to do side work

[@garyparker2969]

You're Forgetting The Lube for Cutting/Drilling. God Bless All.

[@burnheretic3950]

You dont need "the lube" as you call it, with many materials. Its called coolant or tapping fluid. Some materials machine better with coolant some don't really need it.

[@markfryer9880]

ALWAYS take any chuck key out and away from the chuck or bed ways BEFORE you do anything else! Especially when talking to the camera. I counted at least two occasions where you left the 3 Jaw chuck key in the chuck during this video. You could also do with improving the lighting over your lathe.

[@markfryer9880]

Re-reading my comments, I sound a bit hard core safety Nazi, but I am the safety rep at work and I have seen my share of incidents and near misses in 26 years. I would suggest making a holder for the chuck key somewhere highly visible on the headstock and make checking for the chuck key as a part of your operating habits when on the machine. It also makes things easier and faster when it comes time to use the chuck key because it is where it should be and you save rat around time.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Mark, I really appreciate your good advise. Hopefully others will learn caution after reading your comment. Your experience is invaluable and very helpful. Thanks for watching and for your great advise.

[@oldfarthacks]

@@markfryer9880 When it comes to safety around rotating machinery, there are no safety Nasi, only rational people. These machines are deadly if proper care is not taken. I saw a fool once running a high powered mill, a Haas one that had a 40 HO motor. He was doing a drilling operation where the chips that were coming off where a foot or so long, about a half an inch in width and about 100 thousandth thick. They were coming out bright blue. So why was he a fool, simple he left one of the enclosure doors open. The machine threw a couple of those chips out the door which then stuck in the wall next to the machine. He was lucky that no one was there, those were flying swords.

[@worldweeklynewz5818]

Run your toolpost up against a 123 block held against your chuck to square the post 90. Little tiny one is for cutting your angles.

[@worldweeklynewz5818]

P.s. you had thirty thousand 1 inch 4 hundred 30 .

[@roynelson7613]

Hell yeah brother that might be old but nice and you would have to have one of them in the shop for sure I haven't ran 1 Vance High School lots of respect right there bro👍👍👊👊

[@muddshshshark]

guy in our shop had his arm pulled off in a lathe , his glove wrapped around the work piece

[@burnheretic3950]

What a fool. That is one of the most basic rules of machine tool. NEVER wear gloves when running and rotating machinery. Most shops you would literally be fired if they found you running a lathe with gloves. Same as leaving the chuck key in.

[@oldfarthacks]

@@burnheretic3950 Back when I was a young man, you saw men wearing ties while working around those machines. They would tuck them into their shirt at the top of the buttons to keep them out of the way. But yes, no floppy clothing at all. Short sleeves are the best.

[@ypaulbrown]

Well Done...thanks

[@paulmalec6251]

Well Steve I guess some people are just more fortunate than others to have a lathe lucky you

[@stevenmchenry9276]

Pretty cool

[@gqp3215]

Was chop saw gear man, 1 of 3 at black and Decker when it was in md.

[@jdsharp4033]

The metal lathe made it possible to machine a variety of parts and the lathe made it possible to start learning the processes of milling by utilizing the chuck as your tool holder, and using the cross slide with a vertically mounted compound with adjustable screw on top of the cross slide,you can turn your lathe into a small boring mill, and that led to the beginning of the industrial revolution by being able to machine to closer tolerances and being able to hold those tolerances during mass production.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks JD, appreciate your comment.

[@inlangford]

I use milwaukee inkzall pens too! They're great!

[@dustyfrog9147]

Sounds like it needs some machinists oil Thanks for sharing Good video

[@1979gmcummmins]

A lathe, end mill and a iron worker and id be in heaven

[@venicechief9487]

my dad was a master machinist at Boeing. Good Money

[@shanewright6958]

Great job guys 👍👍🇨🇱

[@tkskagen]

If the opportunity came up, I would "almost" kill fornone of these Compact Units!

[@gqp3215]

Lead screw

[@danmay9728]

Thanks for the video. Be safe. Peace.🇺🇸🍻

[@maxfranks7972]

For not knowing much about a lathe you seem to figure out how to make what you need with minimal effort. You could use a parting too to cutoff the exact length but just cutting straight into the part. Nice shop by the way.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Max!

[@rogerholloway8498]

Thanks for the interesting video!

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks for watching!

[@martinkovacs5576]

I studied and loved this profession, but unfortunately they are not paid at home. I worked on old Russian lathes on those arts to bring together the size. But it is not impossible. Oh and you make very good cars just like that.

[@tamiyafrog3220]

Informative vid thanks👌👌

[@MrDragpics]

When I did an apprenticeship if you left a chuck key in the chuck you were dismissed

[@markfryer9880]

13 minutes in and he is guilty of that sin twice.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Yes I was! Thanks guys.

[@rodcognito002]

Trying get 3 phase hooked up at shop. That stuff is cheap and huge.

[@joeynelson4091]

old school anilog micrometers are more accurate than digital stuff its ok for this kind of stuff

[@gqp3215]

Chase threads

[@davidr4332]

I have a 74 model Lathe i bout at a action wouldn't sell it for anything , Then afterwards i bout a milling drill machine . I can do everything with the lathe expects doing thread as i don't know how to do it . About 6 months ago a new next door move in and guess what he a fitted and turner by trade he going to teach me how to make threads you Beauty .. Oh one more thing i never ever let nobody use it for there safety and my concern ..

[@Tv.Charlie]

Can you tell me Which brand is your shoes man . Its so good

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thorogood Work Boots.

[@burnheretic3950]

Hey Bud, As a Precision Machinist by trade I have no issue with how you did things in this video, granted not what I would have done in a few situations. But as you stated, you aren't a machinist and were just making a quick spacer. You would be a kid in a candy store seeing the shop i work in. We build "Battleships" for the US Navy up in New England. Have a shafting lathe with a 75 foot long bed...it is massive. Have a few CNC machines soo big you get in a operator's station like a pilot cockpit and it is attached to the side of the spindle of the machine, operator station travels around with the machine so you can see whats going on. In particular I run live tooling CNC lathes as we as large manual lathes in particular. Just wanted to put it out there from someone in the industry, don't apologize for the way you ran your lathe. Any real machinist is going to appreciate your intrest and basic understanding and ability to do what you need to. Another comment said something about somewhere a old machinist is cringing or something. Not true. Old timers always like seeing people learning the trade. I would recommend buying a part off tool for your lathe (and a holder for your quickchange tool post), your can get them crazy cheap these days on eBay. Get one that takes carbide insert (again crazy cheap these days for the Chinese stuff ,still work awesome for what ur doing). Get one that takes the smaller .125 thick part off insert. I bet you can get all of the above for 50$ and it will serve you well. You can get 5 piece tool holder sets for your quick change, come with left and right hand turning tools, boring bar holder (sometimes bar with carbide inserts also) and part off tool holder. Might as well buy one of these kits, they are cheap like 100-175$ for Chinese stuff (still work great). Then you won't have to angle your tool holder to get the right lead in angle for turning and facing etc. Just setup your toolpost square to the chuck for most operations. Anyway sorry for the rant bud, just couldn't help myself after reading the uninformed comments here. Hold fast.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Pete. I do hope your comments are read by all. I would really enjoy watching you in action, I'm sure I could learn a lot. Just being on a Navy Battleship would be amazing. Very interesting and very informative. I'm getting some good advise. Thanks for watching!

[@mightylaidlow1]

Hard to tell but which direction is the work piece spinning? Counter clock wise?

[@markfryer9880]

97 % of lathe operations are done with the work piece spinning anti-clockwise. The face of the work comes over the top and down towards the cutting edge set on center height at the 9 o'clock position.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Mark!

[@marcthompson5774]

Number one rule number one rule always take your Chuck ribs out of the Chuck don't turn away from it don't do anything take that Chuck wrench out

[@petek210]

You wanna know how to run a lathe? It's simple. Watch Mr Pete.

[@jeremyhanna3852]

Yep i figured he would name drop somebody when he just stood there

[@crbrepairmotorcycles6608]

Heck yeah that's a shop dream machine, make it yourself is better anyways

[@spadaspares]

Coming from a machinist, is the tool central to the work piece, seems a little low!

[@davidpetit3601]

DAVID PETIT LOVE

[@i1baja88]

I would love to spend a half day with you to help you use that lathe properly. I am a professional journeyman machinist, retired..

[@WelderUpVegas]

I would enjoy that as well. Thanks you!

[@358trucking]

I wish I would have gotten that offer! 😀👍

[@joeynelson4091]

hi steve :)

[@WelderUpVegas]

Hi Joe!

[@pauldegano5724]

I’m a machinist and tool maker if want I can come down to Vegas and give you all some lessons just send me a plane ticket

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Paul, I'll remember that!

[@pauldegano5724]

WelderUp hey Steve as soon as they open the borders I’d like to come to Vegas to visit you guys I’m up in Toronto Canada My son and I are big fans we’re building a 52 Chevy pick up Keep on producing those great welder up shows Love that 57 of yours

[@tkskagen]

You don't use Cutting Fluid?...😲

[@ruubguus4321]

💯👍💯

[@johnsonsmywaygarage880]

You forgot the chuck in, never leave the chuck in even when your not using it.

[@WelderUpVegas]

Thanks Mike!

[@thejourneymen7722]

It’s been a while I thought maybe you have done caught the Kung flu

[@oopoopee]

Racist

[@unclesquirrel6951]

Personally I blame squirrels

[@TonyD-dz8pt]

15 years and you still don't know anything about it, does that go for the rest of the things you do to

[@billsmith8238]

Da