Ok, I will begin the construction of the C5 next week. I will start a new thread devoted only to the construction and another one for questions and answers. I guess the very first questions will be about lathes. I will try and answer this one for you now.
It can be very difficult to find a used (and loved) lathe. Those who have one, never give them up. A lathe has long been regarded as the King of Tools. Whilst it is better to have a "big" lathe, there are many benefits for having a "small" lathe. So what constitutes a "big" or "small" lathe?
For the home workshop, I would suggest that a 7" lathe as the smallest size to buy. The 7" figure refers to the largest diameter (in inches) that can be placed in the lathe. Unfortunately, for this diameter, only the very ends can be machined. The better way to dimension a lathe is to give the largest diameter that can be fitted over the Cross Slide. For my Myford, this diameter is just over 4 inches, (4.032"). Now that we have the metric system (cough-choke-gasp) the equivalent is given in millimeters. The largest size lathe IMO for the home workshop, would be about 6" or 150mm. This is the diameter that fits over the cross slide.
More important than size of lathe is having a long travel on the cross slide and having "Tee" slots on the top of the cross slide itself. The Myford lathes have this Tee slot feature. This enables an enormous amount of work to be performed that another same size lathe (without the slots) cant do. A smaller lathe with Tee slots is far more versatile than a bigger lathe with no Tee slots.
Next, is length of the lathe. Always buy the biggest boat you can and always buy the
longest lathe you can. The Myford comes in two lengths, 18" and 30". The Myford also come in bigger sizes (and with a bigger price). I often had to machine the extreme end of the double barrels of under and over shot guns. For this work a long lathe is a must. A question for you to ponder over (for those who already have a lathe). How do you hold a set of under and over barrels in a lathe and very precisely, machine the ends of the barrels? The end face must be perfectly square to the axis of each barrel. Just a small point, the axis of the two barrels are not parallel to each other.
This brings me to the last and most important point of all. It matters not, how skillful you are at machining with a lathe or other machine tool. The most important tallent to have is a
versatile imagination. A lot of work may take 90% of the time to set the job up and only 10% of the time to actually machine it. It's the 90% part that is often the most difficult. If you get get stuck or have trouble in making a part or anything else, dont hesitate to ask for help. When I was teaching engineering in a college in the USA, I told the students that I can teach them everything about machining but I cant teach you how to use your imagination, you have to
open that door yourselves. Half the class (15 students) went to the director and requested that he get me to teach them how to use their imagination.
So how much would one spend on a lathe? Thats easy to answer, you spend the same amount that you would spend on your beloved wife,
maybe even a bit more.
Just make sure the used lathe is in very, very good condition. Be very careful about the cheaper Chinese imports. The quality of the entire lathe and accessories is often woeful.
Kody / Joe
If the design does work to my expectations then I will have a very practicable and beautiful chassis.
