# My lathe, and turning 1018



## Paulsv (Apr 11, 2010)

By way of introduction, I am a tax lawyer, and have done a lot of woodworking. I was given an Atlas 10F54, which I spent some time (and many dollars) fixing up, as it was in pretty bad shape, with busted gears in the QCGB, as well as on the spindle, a broken large pulley on the countershaft, and an inch thick coating of gunk. I used it for a number of years in making 5 string banjos (turning the rims and shaping the rim / neck joint) and doing some metalworking for basic maintenance and repair on home projects, and maintaining my old John Deere garden tractor. 

Lately, I decided to get into model engineering, and joined this site. I also have a Sherline lathe, which I have used for some basic metalworking, mostly in connection with my wood working. I am pretty much a novice, tho my dad was a tool and die maker (that is his tool box under the lathe in the picture below), and I worked in his shop for a summer when my truck driving job was shut down by a strike. 

here is a picture or two of my lathe:












Obviously, I didn't clean up before taking the shots! Could use a paint job, I guess, but with the amount of oil on it, I'm not worried about rust.

The piece in the chuck is a 2 inch diameter piece of 1018. I was having a heck of a time getting a decent finish on it. I did a lot of reading on this site, and decided I needed to learn to grind HSS tool bits, so I bought this grinder from Harbor freight. With 20% off, it was about $125. Not a Cadillac by any means, but it does the job.






So, I was able to sharpen my el cheapo chinese brazed carbide bits, which was great for roughing cuts, and then ground a HSS shearing bit, based on the threads on this site, to get a finish cut. My photography isn't great, but I was pretty happy for with the finish, for an old Atlas and one of my first hand ground bits:






Next time I will smooth the bit with a fine stone, and use some cutting oil, to see if I can get a smoother finish. It looks pretty good at normal magnification, but under my magnifying lamp, it still looks like a very fine thread on the part.

I have recently started building n ML-17 compression ignition engine from bar stock, and am also interested in making a Webster. I am not going to do a build thread until I get a little confidence that I can do work worthy of a build thread.

Thanks for listening, and please feel free to make any suggestions or comments that occur to you. I have learned a great deal on this site, and I respect the qualifications of so many of you, and your willingness to share your knowledge. And i have a pretty thick skin!


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## GailInNM (Apr 11, 2010)

Welcome to HMEM Paulsv.
 wEc1
With 4 photos in your first post it looks like you will fit right in here.
What ever you build, keep us updated. You don't have to do a build thread, but an occasional photo is always appreciated.
Gail in NM


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## Tin Falcon (Apr 12, 2010)

Paul:
Welcome to the forum, Looks like you ar off to a good start. I am sure youre dad is/ would be proud that you still have and car for his tools. Some steels are difficult to get a good finish on . Hang in there ask qustion and read up on the basics. 
Tin


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## Maryak (Apr 12, 2010)

Paul,

Welcome to our forum. wEc1

Best Regards
Bob


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## Paulsv (Apr 12, 2010)

Tin Falcon  said:
			
		

> Paul:
> Welcome to the forum, Looks like you ar off to a good start. I am sure youre dad is/ would be proud that you still have and car for his tools. Some steels are difficult to get a good finish on . Hang in there ask qustion and read up on the basics.
> Tin



I really regret that dad passed away before I got into this hobby. He probably would have smiled, shook his head, and made a crack about monkeys and typewriters, but he would have loved it, and would have loved teaching me. It was fun to go through his tools. I had the same experience with my grandfather's woodworking tools. He died in 1918, but his tools stayed together until I got them in about 1990, when it was a nice collection of antique hand tools. I kind of got to know him through his tools, and some I use regularly in my woodworking.


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## kuhncw (Apr 12, 2010)

Hello Paulsv,

You'll enjoy the old Atlas and it looks like you are makng good progress. You might want to order up some 12L14 leaded steel to use rather than the 1018. The 12L turns very nicely and will help you get a good finish. The online metal suppliers carry the 12L and you can also find it on Ebay.

Also, hang on to the Sherline. You'll find it's small size a great help on many of the little engine parts you'll be making.

Good luck and welcome.

Regards,

Chuck


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## Blogwitch (Apr 12, 2010)

Paul,

My Atlas 10F served me well for many years, and I did some of my best ever work with it. I missed it badly when it went to it's new owner.

I look forwards to seeing what comes off yours.

If you want good finishes at short notice, put a small rad on the tip of a normal cutting tool, you will find it works wonders.

Bogs


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## Paulsv (Apr 12, 2010)

Thanks, Chuck. I do have a couple of pieces of 12L14 of about the same size, which are waiting to become a spindle mount ER32 collet chuck, but I wanted to see what I could do with 1018 as a way of testing my progress on hand grinding tools. I have spent a lot of time on the Atlas, eliminating vibration, geting it to cut without a taper, getting everything tight, and learning to grind tools, so that I could make parts to a reasonable tolerance. I want to play around with thread cutting yet, and then I'll be ready to take the plunge and start making engine parts.

In grinding tools, I do have a bit of a hard time getting a smooth radius on finishing tools, which is why I was playing around with the shear cutting bit, which seems to work quite well. On HSS tools, I am just making the radius by hand with a stone. Should I be able to do this on the grinder?


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## Tin Falcon (Apr 12, 2010)

Paul you are doing well to put the radius on by hand with a stone. Also stone all the cutting eges it will make a big difference. 
Tin


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