Lathe

[bernie weishapl]

Wow. Didn’t want to jump in to much on the other Small lathe thread. So started a new one.

Went to ebay and did some checking on the Sincere lathe. David prices have went up. If I got the unit with the crossslide, the milling attachment, steady rest, motor (don’t have one), a base (as you have to buy seperately) and shipping it is going to be between $1200 to $1300 depending if he will combine shipping. I also have a friend in California that has one of these lathes and he seems to think I would be disappointed in it especially if I intend on making clock parts with it. He thought I would be better off to find a cross slide for my Boley or get a Taig. The biggest mistake I ever made and still kick myself today was way back when I needed some money fast for medical bills I sold my boley cross slide along with some other accessories to pay the bills. You just do what you have to do. I could have used it many times since.

So now I need to make up my mind if I want to get a cross slide for the lathe I have or if I want to go with the taig. I have a line on a taig with the cross slide, drilling tailstock, motor, pullies, and ER collet adapter with the ER collects for $230 shipped.

David will a Mosley cross slide fit on the boley? I think it will but want to be sure before I shell out the money. I think he told me he would let it go to me for $175. Thanks again to all for all your help. I truly appreciate it.

Bernie

[mahlon]

Bernie, do a google search for Ron Chippeaux’s. He restores ww lathes. He also has a lot of accessories Once you find his web site you can e-mail him to get his phone number. Let him know what you are looking for and he will probably have it. He restores the watch makers lathes and sell them to students from the different watch making schools Mahlon

[bernie weishapl]

Did a search and found him Mahlon. He has one but boy is it pricey. $375 for it plus shipping and insurance. I am still going to e-mail him and see if the Mosley will fit the Boley. I can get it for $175. Thanks for the name though as it will be a good place for lathe parts if needed.

[david pierce]

Bernie,
I have a Levin 3 way crosslide mounted to my Boley and it works fine. As far as I know any crosslide made for a WW 8mm lathe should fit any of them. What will not work is trying to mix Geneva accessories with WW accessories. Also, for clock parts your friend is correct. A Geneva style lathe is too small for a heavier duty application. The Taig or any instrument size lathe is a much more robust and powerful machine and will work better on the larger clock size parts. The ER-16 collets can grip harder and cover a larger range of sizes for each collet. An example would be drilling a hole in a piece of brass for a clock bushing. The Taig will drill right through the brass without having to be feathered or having the lathe stall out. This type of job would be too much for a Geneva 6mm or 8mm lathe. It is a matter of fitting the machine to the task at hand. If a watch pivot is off center by .001 inches, that represents 25% of the pivot diameter, which would cause the staff to wobble and affect the operation of the watch . If a clock pivot is off center by .001 inches it probably will not be noticed and more than likely not affect the performance of the clock. For a watch precision is the most important consideration and power is not a major consideration This brings the decision down to how the cutting tool is going to be fixtured. I cannot in my wildest thoughts imagine using a graver with a Taig lathe. If that is an extremely important consideration then the 8mm WW machine would be the machine of choice. This however means that you will not have as much spindle torque available to turn and drill your parts.
Jan uses a Taig for clock parts and maybe he can throw in some thoughts on this matter. It sounds to me like $230.00 for the Taig is a good deal; expecially if it comes with the motor. It will definately be able to blast through some clock parts.
david

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks David. That helps a lot. I sat down in the shop and thought about it and think the Taig would be the way to go. Use the Boley for smaller jobs and the Taig for bigger jobs. It took forever to turn that big arbor for a mainspring wheel that had the square part almost twisted off. There was no way to straighten it so made a new one. I have had to make a few of those thru the years. The Boley would also be used for it’s indexing so I could file the sqaure on the end for the key. Another one is the big bushings for the mainspring wheels. Thanks again David.

The Taig does come with a motor. I am tickled that it does come with ER collets and adapter. The only thing I think I would order from Taig is a steady rest.

I hope Jan does comment. I would love to know his thoughts.

[david pierce]

Bernie,
If you go to Youtube there are a whole bunch of videos on the Taig lathe making a lot of different clock parts. This includes cutting clock gears on the Taig. If the motor offered is the standard Taig motor it is large and powerful. The drive belt is an industrial quality belt and transmits power much better than the usual belts used on watchmaker size lathes. There is also a Taig user group on the general internet with people showing different projects and machining techniques. Take a look and soak it all in. The machine is sturdy and can take the abuse of a flycutter used to cut gear teeth. If you ever want to sell the machine at a later time you can sell it for more than you paid for it.
david

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks David. I have been spending a lot of time at youtube. lol

[mahlon]

Hey Bernie I have a Taig lathe and am enjoying learning how to use it. Mahlon

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks Mahlon. I may have some questions.

[david pierce]

Bernie,
Go the the internet search engine and type in NICK CARTER’S THE TAIG LATHE AND MILLING MACHINE. Click on that site and bring up the article called THE INDEX PLATE FOR THE TAIG LATHE by KEITH BROOKS.
david

[demewill]

I have a taig lathe and it is a great tool. Well made and accurate. $230 is a very good price assuming that it is in good shape. I don’t think you will be disappointed. At that price you can resell it and probably not loose a dime if you find it doesn’t work out As you thought. Good luck.

Great website to see what can be done with a taig lathe… http://www.jrbentley.com/

Dan

[mahlon]

Bernie, I spent over $600 on my Taig. I bought it a year ago. I had never used a metal lathe before, so I am just leaning how to use it. If you do a google seach for Taig machining projects, you will find that this guy does some pretty cool stuff with the Taig. Mahlon

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks again to all. I have did a lot of searching the last few days and have found some amazing stuff.

[gerene]

Sorry that I did not respond earlier. The Taig is indeed excellent for turning clock parts. The major thing you cannot do with a standard Taig is cutting threads, but I did not miss it up till now. $200 is a real bargain.

Jan

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks Jan.

[Author]

Posts