Let's See Your Lathe

[wrustle]

Through the course of the last 19 years I've had my share of lathes.

With manuals it has been an incredible journey learning all the different levers and cranks, handles and gearing, tooling, and work holding devices and practices.

Then on to the world of of CNC Lathes where quite literally the possibilities in what you can do are nearly endless.

Learning a lathe became almost brand new again,.........but in a sense you are blind to really what's happening behind the door, and quite honestly, your hands no longer existed.

Nothing to see, nothing to feel........just push the green button and pray!............in a sense.

I've learned many languages throughout my career in CNC machining......Anilam, Yasnac, Fanuc, Okuma, and lastly Haas.

All had their strong points and weak points, but in the end the result was always the same, a nearly perfectly produced part time after time, and whether it be for 10 minutes of time, or two weeks of steady production, at the end of the day, my body did not have all the familiar aches and pains associated with standing in front of a manual for hours on end.  That I do not miss at all.......

I did really enjoy my manual lathes.....don't get me wrong, but the shear financial gain from acquiring and putting into production a Cnc lathe had me hooked......for good!!

We are at the point in my shop where a manual lathe does not even exist.  Yes, there are times when it would come in handy, but to be honest, the amount of floor space given up for it to sit there, is just not worth it for me.   Whatever needs to be made, can quite easily be made in the Cnc, and in pretty short order!

Below is a progression of the lathes I've had over the years.  They were all good at what they did for me, and all were stepping stones to the point where my career is at now.


This was my very first lathe.  A Clausing Toolroom Lathe  13" x 36".  I believe back in 1996 I paid $3,500.00 for that machine.  When I went into business, I bought three machines to get started, all from the same place, Boston Machinery.  This was my lathe, along with a Lagun FT2 knee mill, and a B&S Sharpe 6" x 18" surface grinder, and a 5hp rotary phase converter to power them all with.  Cost me $10,000.00 for the package deal, and I went in to business April 1996.

Not very powerful at all, but very versatile. Had a collet chuck as well, with a collet closer, but believe me, once in the groove......you could make that baby sing!! 



Next was my favorite of all the manuals...............



Yup.....My Warner & Swasey #3!  The poor mans cnc lathe I used to call it.

Get that thing set up with all the stops set, and dialed in, and forget baby......money in the bank!!  Loved it!!





..........and don't be looking at the pile of chips going............GEEZ.....what a mess!!  That's money being made right there folks.........


Below is my Warner & Swasey #3 and my Lagun FT2 Knee Mill.  





This was a Yam Precision Lathe.  It was my very first cnc lathe.  Had an Anilam control that I nearly lost my mind over trying to learn, but once the fog lifted and programming became second nature, it was a huge leap in the progress in our shop.  We had a contract with a customer making bearing spacers for the US Air Force.  The bearings went on the trailers that they put all the bombs onto to load up under the wings of the planes.  We made 10's of thousands of those bearing spacers.  They were about 4" in diameter and about 5/8" lg. made from aluminum.  OD was +/-.001" and ID the same.  It seemed to be an endless job, but the money was good.  I actually still have this very machine sitting in my garage at home.  It is FREE to whomever comes and gets it.










After the Yam, came our Mori-Seiki SL-1 Cnc Lathe.  A new language to learn......welcome to Yasnac!! 

It was a great machine for making small parts and it did them very quickly!!






For doing larger work, I picked up and Ikegai FX25N.  Yet again.......a new language, Fanuc!  My son Andrew posing.



The Ikegai had a big ass 10" chuck.  Sounded like a damn hurricane in there when it was running!!  Scary as all hell the first few months!!




Andrew again, this time running the Ikegai and making easy money for both himself, and for me!  Nothing like letting the machine do all the work while you get all the money!!




Here's a pic in the garage with all three machines.  Yam at the very left, Mori in the middle, and Ikegai at the very end.



The Ikegai, smoking up the place turning some stressproof shafts!  



After the Ikegai came the Okuma...........and you guessed it........another language to learn.  At first I absolutely hated myself for buying this machine.  The Okuma language was nearly the death of not only me...........but everyone in the neighborhood as well!!!  



Here's the Okuma sitting next to my VF0 in the garage with Andrew running the VF0.


And as you see sitting on the bench........another batch of shafts we just finished running in the Okuma!



The Okuma was a workhorse......that there was no doubt!!  



My daughter Danielle running the Okuma and Andrew at the VF0 in my new building I bought in West Brookfield, a few towns over from my house.



She was very good at production work, and loved running the machine.



Finally, my first new lathe!!

My Haas ST20 Cnc Lathe!   BEST machine I have ever run..........period!!



My Haas ST20 Cnc Lathe.    4,000 RPM, 20Hp,  8" chuck, 16C dead length collet chuck, 2" thru bore, 12 station turret, hydraulic tailstock, automatic toolpresetter, chip conveyor, and parts catcher.

This thing cost more than my house, but worth every single penny!!  The majority of the jobs run on this machine are unattended, and that right there adds up to some huge cost savings at the end of the year.




Well.....for now anyways, that about does it......in the lathe department anyways.

I don't think I'll be buying anything soon, or even have plans too for that matter.

But.....you never know!  I do know one thing for sure though......it would be another Haas in a second!  BY FAR......the easiest machine I have ever had to learn!!