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Another new toy

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 9:50 am
by Nefarious
Image

It's a 1948 Denham. Ex-MOD. Lots of new bits in it.
It's around a ton altogether, including the legs and motor- moving it nigh-on broke me!

It's a serious piece of kit, far more capable than me. I'm going to have to edumacate myself and up my game!

Picked it up for a bargain price, along with a bandsaw, a horizonal saw and a few other bits from an estate sale.
I'm more excited than a grown man has any right to be over a tool ;-)

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 9:54 am
by mik
Ooh - a lathe is an awesume addition to any garage 8-)

Std 240 (230) volt supply?

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:03 am
by DaveE
Things I will never have a need of... :)

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:26 am
by dinny_g
My Dad learned how to turn wood at his local Men's Shed (Re-quote at will).

He loves it - he's slowly making a fence for around a picnic table / area in his garden, one baluster at a time :lol:

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:29 am
by Nefarious
mik wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 9:54 am Ooh - a lathe is an awesume addition to any garage 8-)

Std 240 (230) volt supply?
Yes, at some point it's motor has been replaced with a relatively modern 1.1kW 240V job.

ETA - it's visible in the picture just by the rear leg of the crane

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2025 2:09 am
by KiwiDave
The amount of stuff you can make with a semi decent lathe and milling machine is almost endless. Glossing over the endless metal splinters and rampant skin issues from the coolants, I don't think there's a day gone by since I left engineering where I haven't wanted both in a shed somewhere.

Top bloking.

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2025 7:23 am
by Jobbo
Excellent. Since the photo isn’t showing on my phone, until I read Mik’s post I thought it might be a massive gun and wondered what on earth you’d use it for 😄

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2025 7:46 am
by Nefarious
Jobbo wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 7:23 am Excellent. Since the photo isn’t showing on my phone, until I read Mik’s post I thought it might be a massive gun and wondered what on earth you’d use it for 😄
Funnily enough, my variation for practical went in yesterday.
On the current trajectory, some time around next February, expect a post announcing the purchase of one of these:
Image

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2025 7:47 am
by Nefarious
Probably still lighter and easier to move than that bloody lathe!

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2025 11:14 am
by Jimmy Choo
Nefarious wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 7:47 am Probably still lighter and easier to move than that bloody lathe!
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 12:10 pm
by Nefarious
What's better than owning a decent full size lathe? 2 decent full size lathes, obviously!
Image

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 6:47 pm
by nuttinnew
:!: :lol:

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 7:33 pm
by DeskJockey
I predict Nef will now put effort into being able to operate both simultaneously, devising a one-handed method.

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 10:57 pm
by IanF
I used to love using the lathe at school (and not just because that was the only female teacher I had and she was quite hot!) I’d whittle things down, trying to get the surface super smooth on many an alu or wood block.. always loved the smell - oil, metallic and wood… mmmmh!

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 11:04 pm
by dinny_g
DeskJockey wrote: Sun May 18, 2025 7:33 pm I predict Nef will now put effort into being able to operate both simultaneously, devising a one-handed method.
Yep - the Jean Michele Jare of metal turning… :lol:

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 11:30 pm
by Carlos
My son who is doing an engineering apprenticeship is terrified of them as he's been shown shit loads of videos of people being caught in them!

The newer stuff is largely computerised with guards and multiple safety stops but his colleague recently still lost a couple of fingers trying lube a part rather than turn it off when picking up :(

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 5:57 am
by Nefarious
dinny_g wrote: Sun May 18, 2025 11:04 pm
DeskJockey wrote: Sun May 18, 2025 7:33 pm I predict Nef will now put effort into being able to operate both simultaneously, devising a one-handed method.
Yep - the Jean Michele Jare of metal turning… :lol:
Now that would be an interesting trick!

The real reason I've bought a second one is for the extra tooling, and a few spares. As I'm sure you can imagine, OEM spares for a 1948 lathe are a bit thin on the ground, and my lathe no.1 is missing its changewheels (needed for cutting different thread pitches). Also, lots of the tooling is insanely expensive - a single reamer and tap in one particular size is £450 *if* I have a friend bring it back from the US for me :shock:
So, by fluke, a friend put me in touch with a retiring gunsmith with exactly the same lathe as me, but with a ton of tools. We have provisionally agreed for me to buy the whole shooting match as a single package.
If I possibly can, I'm going to try and arrange the sale of the second lathe *before* I collect it, and hopefully have the new owner collect directly, rather than me having to lug it around!

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 11:31 am
by V8Granite
Nefarious wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 7:46 am
Jobbo wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 7:23 am Excellent. Since the photo isn’t showing on my phone, until I read Mik’s post I thought it might be a massive gun and wondered what on earth you’d use it for 😄
Funnily enough, my variation for practical went in yesterday.
On the current trajectory, some time around next February, expect a post announcing the purchase of one of these:
Image
I have a Boche Buster in the loft so if you have a good set of calipers you are halfway there 😂

Image

Dave!

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 8:18 am
by Nefarious
V8Granite wrote: Mon May 19, 2025 11:31 am I have a Boche Buster in the loft
Your loft has some seriously impressive joists

Re: Another new toy

Posted: Tue May 20, 2025 8:34 am
by Jobbo
Are you going to be cutting a lot of imperial threads, or does the thread cutting stuff allow you to cut metric too?