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Summary of Contents for Little Machine Shop Mini Lathe
- Page 1 The premier source of parts and accessories for mini lathes and mini mills. Mini Lathe User’s Guide from LittleMachineShop.com...
- Page 2 All rights reserved. Frank J. Hoose Jr. of Mini-Lathe.com took many of the photographs in this document. Be sure to visit the Mini-Lathe.com Web site, which has a wealth of information about the mini lathe. LittleMachineShop.com http://www.littlemachineshop.com 396 W Washington Blvd #500 • Pasadena CA 91103...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Contents Introduction ................5 Specifications ................5 Safety Considerations ..............5 Features ..................6 Front View ................6 Rear View ................7 Basic Accessories................7 Cleaning ..................7 Mounting Your Lathe ..............7 Operating Controls ................ 8 Motor Controls ................8 High/Low Speed Shifter .............. - Page 4 Grind the Left Side Relief ............20 Grind the Top Rake ..............20 Round the Nose ................ 20 Adjusting Tool Bit Height ............... 20 Turning ..................21 Manual Turning ................ 21 Turning with Power Feed ............22 Facing ..................22 Turning Angles ................
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Page 5: Introduction
Besides the general safety rules for any power tool, the following are specific considerations for the mini lathe. Your mini lathe is just that, a mini, or small lathe. Don’t attempt jobs that are beyond its capacity. -
Page 6: Features
Features Front View 17 18 1. Headstock 12. Tailstock 2. Motor controls 13. Tailstock quill hand wheel 3. 3-jaw chuck 14. Change gear cover 4. Bed ways 15. Lead screw 5. Carriage 16. Carriage hand wheel 6. Tool post 17. Apron 7. -
Page 7: Rear View
Rear View 1. High/low speed shifter 2. Power feed forward/neutral/reverse lever Basic Accessories The following accessories come with most mini lathes. Some mini lathes come with additional accessories. Chuck key for the 3-jaw chuck Outside jaws for the 3-jaw chuck ... -
Page 8: Operating Controls
Note: If your lathe didn’t come with them, adding chip tray braces (LittleMachineShop.com part number 1328) spreads the feet by several inches and makes the lathe much steadier. You can also bolt your lathe to your workbench. The following diagram shows the holes required. -
Page 9: High/Low Speed Shifter
There are several versions of the control panel on the mini lathe, but they all include the same controls. In some cases the power switch is a big red “emergency” switch, and in some cases it is a rocker switch. -
Page 10: Power Feed Forward/Neutral/Reverse Lever
Never move this lever when the lathe is turning. You might need to turn the spindle slightly by hand as you move the high/low speed shifter. Power Feed Forward/Neutral/Reverse Lever The power feed forward/neutral/reverse lever controls the direction of rotation of the lead screw. When this lever is in the forward, or top, position the lead screw moves the carriage toward the headstock. -
Page 11: Compound Rest Feed Handle
Compound Rest Feed Handle The compound rest feed handle advances or retracts the compound rest. Use this handle to advance the tool into the work. The dial on this handle indicates the relative position of the cross slide. The graduated dial can be repositioned for convenience. On some lathes there are 40 divisions on the dial. -
Page 12: Adjustments
Cross Slide Gibs A gib is a strip of metal placed between the bearing surface of two machine parts to ensure a precision fit and provide adjustment for wear. The mini lathe has gibs in several places, including the cross slide. -
Page 13: Cross Slide Nut
Cross Slide Nut The cross slide nut is adjustable to remove free play from the cross slide feed handle. The three screws in the top of the cross slide adjust the cross slide nut. The two outer screws tip the nut off horizontal to reduce the endplay in the threads. -
Page 14: Half Nuts
Half Nuts There are two adjustments for the half nuts. The half nut gibs take the play out of the half nuts. The half nut closing limit stops the half nuts from closing too tightly on the lead screw. To adjust the half nut gibs: ... -
Page 15: Lubrication
We recommend the use of two lubricants on your lathe. Where oil is required, we recommend Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil. Mobil 1 far exceeds the lubrication needs of the mini lathe, and maintains a good surface film between applications. - Page 16 The following points on your lathe require lubrication. Location Lubricant Frequency Notes Lathe ways Daily Apply oil to both the front and back ways on both sides of the carriage. Move the carriage back and forth to spread the oil. Lead screw Daily Clean swarf (chips, shavings, and...
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Page 17: Lubricating The Transmission Gears
Location Lubricant Frequency Notes Tailstock quill Grease Yearly and screw The spindle and countershaft bearings are deep groove ball bearings that are shielded and do not require additional lubrication. Lubricating the Transmission Gears You can lubricate the transmission gears without removing the headstock by using a spray can of lithium grease. -
Page 18: Grinding Tool Bits
The second set of jaws is called the outside jaws because the stepped side of these jaws is designed to clamp on the outside of larger objects. Because of the construction of a 3-jaw chuck, each of the three jaws in a set is different. - Page 19 cutting edge on the side of the tool. Between these cutting edges is a rounded section of cutting edge called the nose. Side Cutting Edge The side cutting edge does most of the cutting. As the too bit moves along the work piece the side cutting edge removes most of the material.
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Page 20: Grinding Tool Bits
Front Relief Front relieve provides clearance for the front cutting edge. Without front relief, the front of the tool bit would hit the work piece and not allow the cutting edge to penetrate the work piece. How to Grind Tool Bits Use a bench grinder to sharpen your tool bits. -
Page 21: Turning
There are several methods for checking the height of the tool bit. Perhaps the simplest way is to place a thin strip of metal, such as a steel rule or feeler gage, between the work piece and the point of the tool bit. If the height is correct, the strip of metal will be held vertical. -
Page 22: Turning With Power Feed
Turning with Power Feed The mini lathe incorporates a power carriage feed that can move the carriage either direction. This same power feed is used for turning and threading. For turning, the change gear train is configured with 20 tooth gears in positions A and C, and 80 tooth gears in positions B and D. -
Page 23: Turning Angles
To face a work piece: 1. Put a tool bit in the tool holder and adjust the cutting edge to center height. 2. Angle the tool so that the side cutting edge forms an acute angle with the face of the work piece. 3. -
Page 24: Threading
Chamfer Taper Threading Much of the mechanism of your lathe is provided to allow you to cut threads. Your lathe can cut a broad range of thread pitches. In fact, with the standard change gears, you can cut many more thread pitches than those shown on the table on the lathe. - Page 25 Changing these gears varies the speed that the lead screw turns in relation to the speed that the spindle turns. This allows you to cut threads with different numbers of threads per inch. The following table shows the gears to use for various common threads per inch.
- Page 26 For normal turning, use the following gears. 20 80 20 80 The change gears are commonly tight on the shaft when new. You might need to use a screwdriver behind them to pry them off. Gear positions B and C are on a hollow shaft that comes off easily when the retaining socket head cap screw is removed.
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Page 27: Threading Dial
12. Use a 14 mm end wrench to tighten the nut on the arc below and behind the gear in position D. 13. Use a 10 mm end wrench to tighten the nut that is on the back end of the shaft in position B-C. -
Page 28: Tool Bit
Threads Dial Threads Dial per inch divisions per inch divisions 1, 5 1, 3, 5, 7 1, 3, 5, 7 1, 5 1, 5 1, 3, 5, 7 1, 5 1, 3, 5, 7 1, 3, 5, 7 Tool Bit For threading, the tool bit is ground to the profile of the thread. -
Page 29: Setting The Cutting Tool
Setting the Cutting Tool Even though the compound rest is set at an angle to the work piece, the thread cutting tool must be set square to the work piece. A center gage makes this setting possible. A center gage has several V-shaped cutouts. They can be used to check the tool bit as you grind it, and to check the angle of the tool with respect to the work piece. -
Page 30: Threading Process
As you might expect, LittleMachineShop.com carries a full selection of accessories. Following are some common accessories used with the mini lathe, a small sampling of the complete LittleMachineShop.com line. -
Page 31: Quick Change Tool Post
But most cut-off blades are ½” tall. This means that they will not fit in the tool post that comes with the mini lathe. The cut-off tool holder shown below fits in the standard tool post and holds a ½”... -
Page 32: Indexable Turning Tools
4-Jaw Chuck The 3-jaw scroll chuck that comes with the mini lathe provides a quick way to clamp round and hexagonal work fairly accurately. A 4-jaw independent chuck provides several advantages over a 3-jaw scroll chuck. -
Page 33: Faceplate
A faceplate allows you to mount work that can’t be held in a chuck. You can bolt odd-shaped workpieces to the faceplate. LittleMachineShop.com part number 1199. Faceplate for the Mini Lathe. The faceplate is 6.25" in diameter and has 8 slots for mounting work. Centers and Dogs A live center goes in the tailstock and is used to support the end of a long work piece;... -
Page 34: Steady Rest And Follower Rest
The dead center is LittleMachineShop.com part number 1188. It has a 3 Morse taper shank. This center fits the headstock of the mini lathe. The center has a 60 degree included point angle. The lathe dog is LittleMachineShop.com part number 1149. -
Page 35: Cleaning
The maintenance you perform most often is cleaning. Keeping swarf (chips, shavings, and debris) off of wearing surfaces is the most important thing you can do to prolong the life of your mini lathe. Use a 1” paintbrush to remove swarf from the ways as you work.
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