In this episode we'll learn the basics on how to use a lathe and we'll create a cup
for a gas tank from stock aluminum.
Hi folks, I'm Custom Cez for Roma Custom Bike and I'm back for another episode were we'll
explore how does a small home lathe work.
Then we'll make our first part with it: a crown style cup for the gas tank!
Before starting let me remind you that I have new shades, courtesy of WileyX.
These glasses are the same eyewear worn by the US Marines!
they are bullet proof as a matter of fact, my buddy Niel has just sent me one of the lenses they use for
the balistic testing.
This has been shot with a shot gun from a distance of 10 meters!
Can you imagine? if they are good for bullets, they are definitely good enough to protect
our eyes while riding or even in the shop!
Now, I recently bought this small lathe, it's not a Chinese toy but it was actually made
in Eastern Germany in the late 80's, when the wall was still up.
I figured it would be a good candidate for our purpose and most of what we'll see can
be applied to most home shop size machines.
In order to use a lathe we need to understand what it is and what are its basic parts
So, according to the definition, the fist area we should get familiar with is the tool post.
it's the place where we mount the cutting tools that we'll be using to shape the object.
In order to move the tool post along the x and y axis it needs to be mounted on two slides,
the cross slide
and the top slide.
Both are operated by the hand wheels.
The top slide is able to rotate around the vertical axis, allowing the operator to move
the cutting tool diagonally in relation to the axis of rotation of the piece.
The cross slides are planted onto the carriage, the main slide that moves parallel to the
objet for the entire length of the workable area.
This happens by rotating the main hand wheel which is attached to the lead screw.
Next we have the motor, the heart of the lathe, it is powered by the two switches in the front panel
allowing the operator to power it on and reverse the direction of the rotation.
On the left side we find the gears
They connect the rotary motion of the motor to the self centering chuck, the device that
allows us to clamp the work piece onto the lathe.
For automated operations, such as cutting threads, we can activate the feed handle.
This connects the motor to the lead screw, automatically moving the carriage and the
cutting tool along the work piece.
The direct relation between the piece rotation and the cutter motion allows us to create
accurate threads or, more simply, to work the piece evenly.
To modify the pitch of the thread, between metric and imperial for example, all we need
to do is check the gear table posted on the front of our machine.
Each pulley has a different number of teeth and by setting them up as specified on the table
you can obtain a predetermined carriage speed to achieve a specific thread pitch.
Last but not list we have the tailstock assembly, here we can mount an additional chuck
for drilling operations or a dead center, a stabilizing device used to minimize chatter
in longer work pieces.
Let me just take a second to thank you all for the support you demonstrate every day
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Great, now that we have a somewhat superficial understanding of our tool we can start figuring
out how we are going to achieve our goal of making a crown shaped gas cup.
I should warn you that the lathe can be a ridiculously dangerous tool so take your precautions
before attempting to use one.
I decided to make my life a little easier and start off with an already made gas cup
that will serve as a base for our project, maybe one day I'll be able to make the entire
thing from scratch, but for now I'll be using this flush type cup I bought on ebay for 10
bucks or so.
All we need is the base part so we begin by removing the spring activated handle.
It should be a pretty simple task, but then the measly 10 bucks tag price reveals the
true value of the materials used to construct this item and we are forced to use a bit of
brute force to take it apart.
It should be noted that while Polsky's hands fear no sparks,
you should be using gloves do this type of jobs.
and remember, Polsky Rage is a Viking and Vikings feel no pain!!!
Once the pin was removed the handle came out easy and we are left with our precious threaded
base we'll use to support the crown.
This piece is not quite ready though, it needs a bit of clean up.
I want to remove the extra material in the inside that we no longer need and to do so we mount
it in the lathe's chuck.
Using a simple braced cutting tool, which we discovered at a later time
it's about the cheapest shit you can find, we begin removing material.
As you can see we had to change the mounting position of the cutting tool to reach the
piece without ruining the portions we want to keep.
Although these blue tools are pretty much crap, we still manage to remove a hefty amount
of material at a pretty good speed.
I have to tell you, this is very satisfying and in no time at all we are left with a clean
part, making as look like we already know what we are doing... nothing could be further
from the truth... but let's continue cause this, is where it gets tough! so let's take
a minute and ponder what we are going to do next.
We are going to take a piece of stock aluminum tube and reduce the circumference of the bottom
portion so that it will fit in the base piece we just modified.
Then, using the rotational properties of the top slide, we are going to shape the rest
of the cylinder at an angle.
Kind of like a shot glass...
Then we'll do the same to the inside.
Lastly we'll cut the shape of a crown and, if it all goes well, we'll have a perfect
little ornament for our gas tank.
But most important of all we'll have gotten some practice on this phenomenal tool, The Lathe
Here is our stock, right next to the cheapo cutters.
We decided to get creative, and a little lazy may I add
and use the rotation to cut the portion of stock that we'll be using
for the build using a traditional saw.
It ain't pretty but it worked...
Then, after measuring the inside diameter of the base and the outside of the stock,
we worked out how much material we had to remove.
Once we had all the necessary measurements we started with the fun part, the cutting!
Using our brazed tools we begin removing material,
you'll notice that Polsky is leaving some space before the marked line
we'll clean up that in the final pass.
It is easy to remove some extra material but once you go too far...
well, you have gone too far!
We keep removing stock just about half a millimeter per pass and once we are close to the target
size we start measuring to make sure we don't mess it up.
A quick test reveals that it fits just fine and we are now ready to go to the next step,
the outside tapering.
Now remember to click on the bell to get a notification of when the next episode will
be out, because that's when we'll continue this project.
We will work the cutter at an angle for the
outside and inside tapering
Then we'll draw the crown design and work it with the grinder and a file to reveal the
final product.
Well, our clock is running out, and I'm satisfied with what we did in this episode until now,
but what do you think?
Let me know by visiting my facebook page called RomaCustomBikeEng or by commenting right here
on youtube.
I'd like to remind you that along with subscribing to the channel.
If you'd like you can also visit our site
www.romacustombike.com to find the accessories we are producing and our t-shirts.
I'm Custom Cez from Roma Custom Bike and I'll see next time!