Making an adjustable carriage stop for the Mini Lathe

This is something I missed often while working on the mini lathe: a carriage stop. This little device makes it a lot easier when turning to a shoulder or to a defined point on the part.
I designed this carriage stop with an adjustable spindle with a graduated adjustment knob. One turn of the adjustment knob results in 2mm of travel of the spindle. With this it's possible to adjust the stop very precisely. To hold the spindle firmly in position, I made a little clamping block on the front which gets clamped with a little red adjustable clamping lever.
Plans for the carriage stop are now available on my Patreon-site: www.patreon.com/wecandothatbetter
If you want to support what I do, feel free to sign in. I really do appreciate that.
If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments. I'll read them all and try to reply to everyone.
I hope you enjoy this video. Feel free to comment, like and subscribe to the channel.
Thank you!
Instagram page: / wecandothatbetter
Keep in mind, due to very limited resources, I have to improvise a lot and go unconvenient ways which may upset some of the "real machinists" out here. Hope - with some creativity - in the end come to good resoults anyway.
- Mini Lathe compound angle modification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkoT...
- Mini Lathe tailstock fine adjustements: • Mini Lathe tailstock m...
- Mini Lathe bearings for the compound slide: • Bearings for the mini ...

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

-> Plans for the adjustable carriage stop are now available on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wecandothatbetter

[@morkbov]

No DRO, no milling machine, no QCTP, no electric band saw, not a word. Man, you deserve my utmost respect. You definitely got talent. Certainly beyond many of us do. Congratulation for your creation and thanks for sharing.

[@tinaliebe5118]

I agree very well done you can do wonderful things when you have a bit of knowledge a lathe and some basic tools

[@user-gq9yo2zo1r]

احسنت.شكرن

[@jonnyphenomenon]

Man, watching the stuff you do with limited tools you have makes me ashamed at how little I can do with the comparably limitless equipment at my disposal. You have some serious skill and ingenuity.

[@kryptikzechnok9907]

Good to see this guy blowing up now. Im a new fan myself. Gives me hope that i dont need a whole shop to accomplish a task

[@ahcalori2]

This guy own my respect! The things he've done with limited tools...it's amazing!

[@ColchesterBridgeport]

I'm sorry that I could only hit the like button once. Very well done.

[@rickpalechuk4411]

Nice! Someone get this guy a mill! Cheers

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha :D Thanks my friend!

[@Mattbe72]

I am impressed by the ingenuity you have to compensate for the lack of a milling machine. Just learning so much from your videos. Thanks & Congrats !

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Happy to hear, you like my work.

[@adrianw.1638]

Ich freu mich grad ungeheuerlich diesen Kanal hier gefunden zu haben. So viele tolle, interessante Videos! Vielen Dank!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, vielen Dank für deinen netten Kommentar! Das freut mich sehr, dass dir meine Arbeit gefällt! :)

[@TechnoBillyD]

I really like the different techniques you used in lieu of a Milling machine. I am building a new garage to be used as a workshop to keep my brain learning and have picked out a lathe but cant yet afford a mill. You have shown what can be achieved with a drill press and a lathe (and some cool if not a little bit crude additions and techniques).

[@campbellmorrison8540]

I have been in exactly the same position and only recently was able to obtain a mill. Its fantastic to see how 99% of stuff can be done on a Lathe. They always say buy a lathe first, this is why :)

[@601stROMAD]

I am saving this video for the next whim who tells me he can't do something, because he doesn't have the "right" POWER tools! GREAT JOB

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

haha, thanks a lot ! :D

[@robwalmsley8235]

Outstanding work fella... love the flexible thinking you apply when doing an operation you don't have the proper tool for..... its what makes a person an engineer... much kudos to you friend

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind words!

[@WheatMillington]

Your videos are incredibly inspiring, thanks!

[@larrykent196]

Thanks, you have great ideas and excellent follow thru. You will do better on KZbin if you show the finished item first, not all the parts with the expectation people will blindly watch 18 min of all the work you put into it. Most will jump to the end and see the products then decide if watching you make it is worth the time, you have missed the opportunity. Filming is good, the work is very good you almost got it. Wish you the best and Cheers!

[@jimburnsjr.]

they must have been thinking of this video when they invented the phrase giter done... .subbed.. beautiful example.

[@quadplay2591]

Respect to you sir! You have amazing skill to make that with such minimal tool set. Well done. Subscribed!

[@Francesco.Carpineti]

Very very very pleased to see what kind of job Is possibile to do with basic or simple self made tools. Bravo!!!!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Yeah, it's may take some more time, but you can achieve a lot with those basic machines

[@blackknightcustom]

Wow! That was an amazing job and done with so little. Your video production is top notch and macro focus was tack sharp.

[@bradthayer6782]

Amazing number of hacks and workarounds.

[@HaraldFinster]

Your (ab)use of the lathe as a milling machine is amazing and very creative. I have seen far worse results made by people with far more expensive machines.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha, thank you very much! :D Yes, it's a bit wild but if you have just this litle lathe you have to be creative to compensate the lack of a milling machine :)

[@HaraldFinster]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Yes, I agree. Many, many years ago I built a model of a steam locomotive just with my lathe. I also had to do all the milling on the lathe. Quite a challenge. Yes, you have to be creative, which is fun but also time consuming.

[@trollforge]

Just curious as to how you've decided that milling on a lathe is abuse... Milling attachments for lathes have been around since the 1890s... As a matter of fact, I hope to either build or rig one to my lathe, built in 1894.

[@HaraldFinster]

@@trollforge I wrote "(ab)use" - so I certainly did not "decide" that it was an abuse. And my remarks wasn't meant as a negative critique - on the contrary: I appreciate creative use of machines as I clarified in my follow-up comment.

[@malcolmhodgson7540]

A lathe is a milling machine on it’s side…… hadn’t really thought of that but although not ideal it clearly works for a hobbyist.

[@restholzjunkie]

indeed a great Idea. Adaptable to other projects I think.

[@brianmoore1164]

Beautiful work! I love how you employ your tools working with their strengths and avoiding any weaknesses.

[@marcelodemorais21]

Congratulations! Very good job!

[@Etol1963]

I watched some of your videos this evening and subbed right after. You are a genius in creating solutions. Hats off.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!! I really do appreciate that.

[@Tome4kkkk]

1:45 +5 to respect! I really respect people approaching work rationally. Saving time, saving tooling life, sparing yourself the noise etc. Sometimes you've got to go in dirty.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! :)

[@foogee9971]

great work!👍If you got a lathe, you don't need a milling machine : ) Grüße aus Berlin

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Das stimmt! Danke :)

[@ManicSalamander]

That's super clever. Your work demonstrates that if you only have one machine tool, go with the lathe. I knew this, because it can make all kinds of mundane stuff, like spacers bushings and bearings, even shafts, with no special tooling. Those are things one would often like in exactly the right size. So you get utility right off the bat with a lathe. You: But wait! There's More! :)

[@cyb3rs1n]

printed division scale wow that's a really nice trick haven't seen it before. Thanks for sharing

[@edrowley1]

Subscribed! Thanks for taking the time to share your work/methods. I'll be making your adjustable stop for my lathe!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment and for subscribing! Good luck for your project. It's really a useful little thing.

[@pazzprojects]

great idea, and very useful as well! I'm going to make one as well

[@dannymullane9252]

I'm absolutely new to this .how you done all of this is amazing

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Love this. You have done a great job with this really appreciate the time spent to make such an accurate adjustment dial. Well done !!!

[@laoxidopedia]

Man! What a job!! 👍

[@ronaldcrowder404]

Absolutely awesome I hope I can have the patience to complete one when I get to it !!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! And good luck for your project

[@Golo1949]

Some useful improvisations there, well done.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much my friend! :)

[@MurrayC]

Good to see milling on the lathe

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Yes, with not too rought cuts it works fine :)

[@larrykent196]

You have great ideas and the follow through. Great job. Cheers!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your comment!! I really do appreciate that:)

[@mysomervda]

Love what you manage to do with limited tooling, I'm started to believe you really can build a lathe only using a lathe. I was a little sad you broke down and brought a milling attachment 😀

[@markramsell454]

You do a good job without a milling machine or bandsaw. Add a wide chamfer to end of threads for more clearance at the cross slide.

[@homemadetools]

Good job as always. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks for your comment and thank you for sharing my video! :)

[@guillaumefraser3813]

Seeing you do all these operations with nothing but a hobby lathe and a press drill is awesome... The first time I saw you milling on the drill press table I thought you were a madman, but you've opened my mind about what I can do in my own shop without ever needing to spend the (much needed in my tiny shop) space for a mill. The quality of your videos is good too. I like the format, and you make the clips just long enough for us viewers to understand what the operations and setup are with minimalist explanation. Keep at it. Your channel is inspiring and a testament that when there is a will, there is a way.

[@EricTViking]

Enjoyed the reality of this video, hacksaw and files and bullying metal out with a drill 👍 So many mini-lathe videos where they are like "let's just pop over to the 5 axis CNC to finish off this part" 😂

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Now I have a bandsaw, this makes cutting off material much easier. But no 5 axis cnc planned at the moment ;)

[@wald3mar]

Cool little project. Very nicely done!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! :)

[@hermenegildorodriguez6876]

gracias por tu video . eres un artista¡¡

[@anthonymarino4260]

fun project thanks for sharing

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@kuba9722]

Great job! I like how You improvised with limited reasources and made precise and beautifull tool. I realy enjoyed the video.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! Happy to hear :)

[@goboyz8016]

Excellent work.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@ferrumignis]

Proper old school metalwork, you must be super happy with the way this came out! One change that might be useful is to machine a small recess into the carriage end of the aluminium adjuster knob to take a suitable wavy washer. This would ensure the adjuster and screw is always biased away from the carriage and remove any residual movement (though you did a great job with the fit).

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that. The tip with the washer is good, thanks.

[@toddbrawley4199]

I love to watch your channel

[@joseantonioteixeira7974]

Great job !

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you :)

[@SkillfulMan]

wow , nicely done

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! :)

[@lisag2771]

Very nice work. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you :)

[@fly3209]

great job ! you can drill the center of the threaded rod and loctite there a ball from a ballscrew, solving the issue with the height also

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Oh that's a great idea indeed. Thank you :)

[@jagadeeshn924]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter l

[@jagadeeshn924]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter ll l L) .. .... .

[@jagadeeshn924]

Llllllllll

[@davidkarath6549]

5*s....work of art 👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you for your kind comment :)

[@movax20h]

Nice. Good job.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@ricksweetser1683]

My hat is off to you sir! Great job and I will be incorporating most if not all of the tools shown to utilize the lathe for milling purpose. Oops....just saw that I have already commented.......no biggie.......just reiterating (for the algorithm).

[@stacysimon8864]

Nicely done sir. I really like the design. Just a tip from an old man who has been doing this close to thirty years. Make sure you watch your backlash in adjustments (adjust the dial in the same direction / rotation). Keep up the great work!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your comment! And yes, it has some backlash, you have to keep that in mind, when using it :)

[@bigmotter001]

You think out of the box and have some great tips for us who don't. Thanks for sharing and take care.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind words! Take care too

[@tomlogan2102]

Love this video

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@priority2]

Crazy respect to you man! Subscribed👍🏻

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your comment and for subscribing to my channel! I really do appreciate that :)

[@Peter-od7op]

So fancy iam new at this way beyond me.

[@keithmonarch447]

I will putting this into my project task, along with a bunch great ideas 💡 😀 for my new Lathe, showing up at the end of this month. Have a good weekend now.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Great to hear :) And have fun with your new lathe, you won't regret it:) Nice weekend too!

[@andreyfrolov1532]

Отличное приспособление и исполнение на высоте! Ждём новых проектов (;

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks :)

[@jmtx.]

Awesome construction! Thanks for sharing the build.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@Fur8002]

Wow, so many brilliant machining ideas in one video, food for thought.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@eric802]

I'm a little sad you bought a milling attachment - some of my favorite parts of your videos were the cobbled together work holding solutions to use the lathe as a makeshift mill. As a fellow small lathe owner, I really admire your ingenuity and resourcefulness. I saw the carriage stop in another one of your videos and thought "where'd he get that, that's a lot nicer than the one I have". I should've known you made it.

[@joeybobbie1]

Wow, and all done on the Lathe! That’s Amazing. Very Nice Work.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks for your kind comment! :)

[@jdm2651]

Great. I spent a lot of time yesterday and today making a much more primitive carriage stop, in the end it's not how I wanted it and will have to start again. Your video gives me the inspiration.. to do better! Can you tell where to get the handle? It looks different from the usual black ones.

[@3in1Machining]

Really impressed with what you achieved with limited tools. May I ask was is the blue sticky tape called that you use to protect your work in the lathe jaws. I've never seen that before. Graham

[@ricksweetser1683]

Absolutely brilliant how you were able to utilize the mini lathe to perform many different functions..........I got many ideas from watching you make the carriage stop.......will be incorporating them into my mini lathe. Thank you for the upload.

[@andrewbarney5503]

Great job! Now you just need a DIY power hacksaw or a DIY scroll saw. Both are on my to-do list.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hey thank you very much! I think building a bandsaw is a bit too much with my little machines :)

[@DrewLSsix]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter if you can find a suitable wood band saw you could adapt it to metal cutting. Needs to be fairly robust as wood saws go and a DC motor with speed control will get you the torque and low speed needed. A diy power hacksaw is very doable though, they are kinda considered obsolete these days but they are cool and still useful to a hobbyist.

[@michaelsemenchuk3056]

Very nice! V1.2 update could be a spring loaded ball bearing detent for the dial. You could put the detents in the dial end and drill and tabe a hole in the aluminum body and hide it bed the screw gripper. Load a ball bearing, then a spring and seal it up with a grub screw. This way you could have the tactile feedback of the ball dropping in the detent at every 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20, etc. Regarding te screw sitting too low you could just sharpen it slightly.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi and thanks for your comment! That's a nice idea to consider, yes :)

[@lennarthoek8392]

Absolutely wonderful!! A joy to watch

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! I really do appreciate that :)

[@lcsavi]

Wonderful! Really impressive! Congratulations!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment!

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

Well done my friend. Using the cross slide as a mini shaper...don't see that kind of stuff anymore, and that homemade dividing head. Very nice. Question-do you use CAD or napkin drawings like me? I've been machining for 35+ years and I got more pencil drawings laying around than I care to count! Used to do alot of it by memory but those days are long gone...

[@chazmodius1024]

I love the unconvential innovation. What thread pitch did you use?

[@SUNEELKANDA]

Nice tooling I liked it a lot, Enjoyed every moment of this video, Grab Love from Agra India Suneel Kanda....

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! I really do appreciate that!

[@essebaa3812]

Grandioso è utile, anche con un piccolo tornio si ottengono grandi progetti,una curiosità che cos'è quel liquido che usi per colorare di nero??

[@CRILIKk]

Wow very nice & so enjoyable to watch, thank you for sharing & your truly talented , thanks

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that :)

[@kolbakolba]

One of channels when i give thumbs up before watch the movie. Amazing Job

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate your support!

[@HM-Projects]

Really good result, well done

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks ;)

[@wirefeed3419]

Very nice stop you made, you say it sits a little low, I see it as not yet finished. Instead of remaking what about making a small foot you can attach to the end of the all thread that would offset and match the thickness of the cross slide. Once locktite was used to fix in place it would look intentional and finished. Just tossing an idea that may prevent a do over.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your comment! Yes, that is a good idea. I will try to somehow adapt it to fit in the right height. To redo everything would be too much, that's right :)

[@wirefeed3419]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter You are very welcome, I have a new mini that I am working through some of the build issues. Was impressed when I found some of your fixes, when I saw your too low height comment for the stop my first thought was maybe some kind of version of a left triangle shape could solve the height issue. You have got me wanting to work on my lathe but I am just recovering from back surgery so I need a good 8-10 weeks before I can go into my shop. So lots of time to see what others like yourself have dealt with and done. So far I managed to take apart the chuck clean and grind some of the bad casting, the difference in how much better the jaws function now is unbelievable.

[@jamesaldridge6899]

Awesome, I need to make one of those!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

You should :) Thank you and good luck

[@haihoangvan170]

COOL

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks

[@ZeroaxeSA]

The face on the vernier!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@daniloagostini4156]

Brilliant!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@MLCprojects]

Nice build, Can't find the plans on instagram

[@adamnagy7256]

Hi! Can you please tel me what is the material you are using for cold bluing?

[@tommasobuscetta6173]

0:27 parkside sponsoring? 😂😂 What a genius worker with limited tools. With more tools you could be chuck norris 😎 Wish I would have such amazing skills

[@yodasbff3395]

Nice work 👍👍👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks my friend! :)

[@no1se706]

excellent job

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks :)

[@jamesporter1994]

I have the same milling attachment. How did you set it up parallel to the Chuck?

[@hoernst2762]

Sehr schöne Arbeit!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Herzlichen Dank!

[@scooby8567]

What a beautiful job man😎😎😎

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!!:)

[@probins2299]

Love it!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you :)

[@henrykoenig2099]

Hallo cooles Teil Super gemacht hohes Lob. 👍👍👍 Eine Frage hätte ich dazu , gibt es dafür eine Zeichnung oder zumindest die Maße ? Ich möchte mir das nachbauen bräuchte dazu aber ein paar Daten. Beste Grüße Henry

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, vielen Dank für deinen Kommentar! Freut mich, wenn es gefällt :) Ich versuche einen Plan für das Teil zu erstellen. Wenn du noch etwas Geduld hast, versuch ich das in nächster Zeit zu machen. Bin gerade dabei Plänge für das Rändelfräswerkzeug zu erstellen.

[@henrykoenig2099]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Herzlichen Dank für deine Mühe schon mal im Voraus 👍👍👍 Eine Skitze mit ein paar Maßen würde schon reichen

[@Asdasd-kb9ib]

Good job 👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@Asdasd-kb9ib]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Thanks for your interest💐💐

[@dalejones4186]

Great job. You deserve a lot more sub’s.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! I hope, they'll come :)

[@claeswikberg8958]

well done

[@tluanem]

👍👍👍