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A friend gave me a bucket full of 5 to 1 water & molasses that he learned of on a hot rod forum. Seems to work ok. Takes a week or two and an immediate water rinse and oiling to prevent flash rust. Cheap. Turns the metal black. Worth a try.

It may be a little late, but I only bought B.A. taps for mine because it came with bolts. All other threads are Imperial ( packing gland, eccentric shafts, int. & ex. ports). If I had to buy/make hardware, they would all be American # sizes.

Superb! I can almost smell the elbow grease from here!

Almost as pretty as mine! Kidding, beautiful work! It's good to see another one. I'm working on a pic.

I'm about to drill some 5/8 to mount my lathe. I will lay them out, and start them with a smaller drill ,but only about 1/2" or less deep. Drill through your mounting holes if at all possible. (I can't) You will hit hard spots if your concrete has any kind of stone filler. I've removed more...

I miss the power-feed surface grinders Literally singing to me .005 at a time in the die shop.

I second replace the hardware. Get the new ones long enough that if you crack a hex to the o.d.(the import ones WILL crack), it won't be down in the threaded hole. SHCSs are a good rplacement. Grind or turn the last few threads off of the setscrews at the bottom end. They will mushroom from...

Doesn't a pair of Sherlines hit a grand? Lathe first. Get to know tour faceplate & 4jaw, you'll impress yourself. Attatchments compromise rigidity. You can build some first rate engines on a lathe & drill press as long as you stick to basic engine designs. Multi-bank radials cost more. Needed...

Don't be bored, this is an introduction. The PMR boiler was a pleasure to build. Good fit and well instructed like an old Monogram model kit. It needs a base to hide a Coleman converision, and a tree of PMR's 3/16 fittings to run the 10V. I'm accepting opinions on condensers, tanks & feedwater...

Thanks again! I'm still educating myself (with help) on this photo/ pc/ intraweb thing.Will post pics asap. Put 4 on Phtobkt, I'm probably the only machinerguy if you want to look. So I"ll try to help you visualise with my 4000 words. Elmer's twin has a brass block, valve, & eccentric strap...

I put the feeds in neutral when I start too, but...once, after finishing a 5-40 that was cut by "palm power" without disengaging the half-nut, I wound the tool back, tore off a piece of Scotch-Brite, and hit the power for a quick polish. I swear that carriage did a wheelie when it headed for the...

Size matters. You can have a pretty nice desktop setup for 1k with sights on CNC. Anything bigger, a used American lathe will serve you WAY better than a new cheapo import.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. It's 1 a.m. and I just edited the shop floorplan physically. I guess all that jazz about a level lathe just hiccuped! It won't be long. I've been itchin' bad but organization is key. I don't get pc time everyday, but if my pics don't post next time I try...

I tried. Site says 500kb max. my pics start at 1.1mb. ??? I now have a photobucket acct.,but it doesn't seem to help. C'mon, really?

trying to load pics. No luck.

Here's an old skill. LAY IT OUT! Lightly the first time, then, after checking, scratch those lines deep enough that you'll be able to see them after lots of handling. Before you saw out the chunks, tap a series of center punch marks exactly on the lines to which you will file. File half of the...

Agreed. Files take a learned skill (practice) and the right file. If you're not sure, file down some scrap until your confidence is satisfactory. Don't buy Chineese files! I used my lathe to make a rectangular 2 cyl. engine block from round bar using facing setups with the 4-jaw. I did the...

I caught a link from hsm & joined right up. I'm Mike from Pittsburgh (formerly Steeltown) and my stepson gave me my net name. I have been making chips at least 25 years, currently big stainless ones for one of the big corporations. I moved about six months ago and finally leveled my old South...