P M Research Lathe

[Jack]

Here is what the kit comes with in terms of gears, all you have to do is cut to length, drill, tap or make the shaft.

Hope this clears things up a little

Jack

 

[Jack]

Today, I finished up the Face Plate and the dead center for it. Making the tiny T Slots was quite a challenge but I think that it came out OK I had to make a fixture to hold the faceplate and then mount it to my mini rotary table and the make cuts every 45 degrees.

Jack

 

[Twmaster]

Jack, thanks for the photo of the gears. That lathe is looking grand! What a nifty kit.

 

[Maryak]

Jack,

This is a great model lathe. :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[substandard]

Looking good, but you might want to tell Lego man to push his safety glasses back up....safety first and all

Being a dumb newbie I was curious on how you did cut the T slots. I can understand making the first slot with an end mill, but after that ??? Did you have to make a custom cutter or is there a commercial cutter that small?

 

[Jack]

Since Lego man refuses to push up his safety glasses.th_rulze

Management decided to call in his little helper buddy farmer man to help him finish up the headstock back gears.

They turned out well all I (we) have to do now is make the little eccentrics to rotate the back gear shaft in and out of mesh.

The three of us are having fun turning the little castings into something that resembles an old lathe.

Jack

 

[Twmaster]

Paul, could you please take a photo of the back side of the headstock?

This is really coming along nicely.

Thanks!

 

[Jack]

This is a photo of the backside of the headstock, plus the drilling of the eccentric, the shaft hole is offset by .031 so that the shaft rotates in and out of mesh. Two more of the little parts checked off the list.

Jack

 

[substandard]

How did you cut the T-slots on the face plate? The three of you are doing great turning into a very nice looking lathe

 

[Jack]

To cut the bottom of the T-NUT slot I had to make a custom cutting tool that had a shank diameter of 1/16 of an inch with the cutting edge 1/16 of an inch high. I ran it through each slot which was previously cut. This was done during the original set up on the rotary table. I made the cutter out of 1/4 inch drill rod and then heat treated it and the ground the cutting edge. Incidentally, I have to make another cutter to do the T-Slot for the tool post holder. I will try to remember to take photos of that operation.

Jack

 

[substandard]

Jack,

If you do get a chance to take pictures of making the next cutter I would appreciate it.

 

[Twmaster]

Same here. That would be really neat to see.

Thanks for the info Jack. This is an enlightening thread.

 

[Shopguy]

Just plain neat!! :bow:
Ernie J

 

[Jack]

Cutting The T Nut Slot for the Tool Post

I cut the slot for the tool Post and then proceeded to make the Base, Lantern Style tool post, wedge, curved piece and then finally the miniature cutter and then put the entire assembly on the lathe. Now it really is starting to look like a lathe. The entire process took about eight hours, but I work very slow and I only broke one 1/16 inch endmill. The locking set screw on top is a 0-80 socket head cap screw.

Thanks for looking and following along, I would recommend this model to anyone that has patients, a little skill and enjoys a challenge.

Jack

 

[PaulG]

Very nice build Jack, Congratulations very cool :bow:

PAul

 

[substandard]

Amazing work, a person would believe it is a full size lathe without something in the image for size reference.....hmmm maybe you just have extremely large lego blocks

 

[BAH101]

This is a great build :bow:, I have all 4 of their metal tools sitting on a shelf in my basement just waiting for me to get to them. One day, I will...

 

[substandard]

I have looked at the images on the PM website and it shows the lead screw is geared, but it appears to be unthreaded. Does the lead screw actually move the carriage?

 

[Jack]

It will, stay tuned, I should get to those parts next week. I have to cut a square slot .032 wide and .032 deep in the 1/8" lead screw shaft and then make the worm gears inside the carriage. Should be a lot of fun and a little challenging but so has everything else. I still have to make the entire gear train on the end of the lathe, but as they say one thing at a time. I try to make one part a day. Some days I reach my goal, and some days I break things and it takes me three tries to accomplish my scheduled goal. The little toolpost with the 1/16" slot in the middle of a 1/8" shaft took me 3 tries before I got a good one. But I usually don't tell anyone about my failures, you all only get to see the good stuff.

Jack

 

[slick95]

Jack,

Very very nice build. Lots of fun seeing the little lathe coming together

Jeff