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If you have one of these Harbor Freight Mini Lathes I have found a few cheap upgrades



first we have a quick change tool post with 4 tool holders



here is a turning facing tool in a toolholder, its small but perfect size for this little lathe





next we have a cheap DRO thats digital readout



this shows the scale part I mounted to my cross slide, the scale comes in all kinds of lengths and can be cut



the readout can be zeroed anyplace has inch or mm a nice big numbers, it has a magnet on the back for holding it

The quick change tool post and holders was about $70 and the 2 scales with readout was $60 for both
I still need to mount the other slide, more info as I use them and see how they repeat

I have not used it a lot, with these new toys it will be easier to use, the old toolholder was hard to get centered

It cuts nice, the finish is great

I use the same goodies on my Cummins mini-lathe, and it makes a huge difference. I'm not a machinist like Jon, but I do get busy on it from time to time.

I bought one of those a few years ago and have never used it. Matter of fact it has never been plugged in. I guess I'm afraid of messing it up, and wasn't really sure what to do to use it. At least I have some idea what to do to improve it. Thanks Jon. :)

Look on Amazon. There are a lot of great instructional books for machinist stuff. If you can work that wild machine at work, this is not tough to learn at all.

plug that sucker in, I have a Sherline lathe and end mill like Rob I'm no machinist but man these open up so many possibilities and more than hobby related. I have made many parts with these including tool holders for the machines themselves and last week my son and I made a new barrel for the lock on his truck cap. My biggest problem is repeatability( wheels ) but I'm getting better!

Ive been looking for the mill attachment for mine, Its a Busy Bee, but pretty much the same as the Harbour Freight.
MicroMark sell one for their lathes but I dont think it will fit on mine.
The dro is a freat idea John, may have to look at them.
it does make the repetitive aspect of wheels much easier
Bob

Oh,,, are they supposed to be the same ?
Well back to the drawing board... :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
Bob

I finished putting the other DRO slide on last nite I did cut 1 wheel and I an very happy with it

Hope to get a few sets turned today

I actually made a small template out of a piece of brass flat stock.
It has the shape of the wheel profile cut out , both shoulders and the rib.
I use it to ensure the the profile is consistent once I have the aluminum round stock at the right dia.
So, far all my wheels use the same profile, only the dia. changes, but they are easy to make for different profiles.
Just thought I would throw it out there incase it is of use to anyone.
Bob

Might be hard to do with a really small lathe and slot car wheels, but in the old days they made a pattern, and there was a duplicating guide that followed the originals so that you could make multiples of the same thing. DRO and CNC eliminated the need for that! More popular in Woodworking; Turning spindles and such, but I am sure they did something similar in metal! :whistle:

I could be wrong, but I though Sherline made a duplicating attachment; I KNOW Unimat did back in the day, but they are rare and probably no good for metal.