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Thanks for pointing me to the Hobby Machinist site petertha. I found the ENCO subforum and two members had recently posted about their experience with the new enco 12x36. Thanks for sharing your experience Philipintexas. I've been patiently waiting and looking at craigslist every day...

I've been in the market for a lathe upgrade from my 7x12 for a few months and am thinking about pulling the trigger on one of the new ENCO 12x36 lathes with the curved face on the head. I have not been able to find much on the new model of this lathe. Does any one here know of any experiences...

Chuck, Your write up inspired me to take a look at my import vise I haven't used because I was so disgusted with its quality. I ran a dial test indicator against the fixed jaw and found it changed .015. The movable jaw changed .010. I machined the cast behind the jaws and have it holding parts...

I thought I remember coming across a electric safety carriage stop for the mini lathe. The idea is to put a micro switch on an adjustable stop which will come in contact with the carriage if the lead screw is not disengaged. Once the switch is tripped the power to the lathe is cutoff. I've had...

Thanks for the reply guys. It sounds like I should avoid the "shaft steel" because it will probably corrode quickly being heated all the time. Looks like I better order some SS. Does anyone have a recommendation for a Stainless alloy that turns well on a mini lathe?

I'm surprised no one has chimed in. Did I post to the wrong site? Perhaps I will try turning the hot cylinder out of a piece of sharp cheddar.

This is what I use for the faceplate on my lathe. http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2644&category= Click "Chris' Tips" for an idea of how they are used.

A friend of mine called and offered me some 2.5 inch round steel stock. He said it's shaft steel, not mild steel. Anyone know what shaft steel is or could be?

I'm considering the use of aluminum for the hot cylinder on a alpha Stirling engine. I plan on using graphite for the piston. Does anyone see a problem with using an aluminum cylinder? I noticed many of you seem to use stainless on your hot caps for gammas. I just happen to have plenty of...

Stan, Thanks for the info on the belt angles. What handbook are you looking at? I might have to get it. I ended up grinding my tool to 33 degrees instead of making one at 32 and the other at 34. I hope that doesn't cause an issue for me in the future. I can always make a new pulley if it...

I started on the small pulley yesterday. For the most part things went pretty well. Cutting the groves in the large pulley seemed kinda hard on my little machine. I decided to cut the groves on this pulley before removing any other material to maintain rigidity. I had some pretty good...

I finally finished the large pulley. To cut the keyway I ground down a tool blank as pictured below. This worked pretty well, except every once in a while, the tool would dig in pretty bad. I would be forced knock the chip out with a punch, back up 20 thou and try again. The other problem I...

Made a little progress today. I also borrowed my wife's camera which is taking much better pictures. To cut the grooves i ground up a 38 degree HSS blank. This cutting tool seemed to work very well on a slow speed and feed. I used my parting tool to bulk out some of the material. That lathe...

Is the paper under the piece to keep the part from sipping? Is that something that should be done to the vice as well?

Was it a press fit? How hard is it to remove after you are done? I might have to think about doing that.

Made a bunch of chips yesterday. Here is the pulley still on the 4 jaw with one half turned to spec. My plan is to turn it around, and mount it on the three jaw to finish cutting the belt side of the pulley. Here is the pulley, turned down and ready to cut the groves for the belt. I...

I finally got going on this project. I imagine this is going to be a pretty slow project. My wife and I are expecting a little baby girl any day now so shop time is going to be hard to find. This is probably going to be boring to many. I'm writing this up for people who have a similar lack of...

Check out this link. http://www.jeffree.co.uk/pages/tailstock.html Under locking knobs this guys says the socket cap screws are 10-32

Thanks for the kind words guys. I haven't started on a new engine in months. I've been busy making tools, and improving my machines, to make tools to improve my machines, to make more tools........ Does it ever end? Kel, I bought the knurls from LMS a couple years ago before I had purchased a...

As things started to come together I stopped remembering to take pictures. This always seems to happen to me. Here is the piece that mounts in the tool holder. Here is the tool holder mounted to the bar that supports the arms. The two pieces are connected together by a tight slot and a 3/4...