Small Metal Lathe Basics

When using motorized machinery whether woodworking or metalworking, one thing becomes apparent quickly - The more mass and the more horsepower you have, the more forgiving the machine is.

When using Metalworking machines such as lathes, the type of cutting tool and the configuration of the tool is quite critical. When machining mild steel for instance, a tool bit made of high speed steel with a honed chip breaker will give the best all-round results.

Carbide tool bits tend to require adequate horsepower and heavy feeds combined with high surface speeds to generate a chip. When the operator uses a tool that is not correct it is impossible to get a good finish or achieve the accuracy the machine is capable.

If free cutting materials are available such as ledloy or C12L15 the results on small machines can be quite spectacular with chip removal rates that are very high.

With some experimenting, the operator will in a short time be able to produce some very nice results. Just remember that a machinist must put in several years of work before he or she is considered a professional. Some of you reading this may already be there, but for those starting out, the beauty is that there is wealth of knowledge out there from fellow machinists, the world wide web and at your local Busy Bee Tools. Do not hesitate to ask questions and most importantly, work safe and have fun.