I just want to make things ROUND (accurately)

Not a day goes by in this workshop that I don't curse its lack of cylindrical machining capability. And the fact that that old lathe is sitting in the corner with its clapped out spindle bearings and angled ground feed gears just rubs salt in the wound. That ends today with a geared head, power fed, hardened bed machine. The biggest challenge when buying a lathe is justifying the cost, especially when you consider the fact that I actually already have access to a working lathe. But that lathe is like 10 minutes away, and I know that doesn't sound like much, but when you consider the process of moving a part from the CNC mill to the lathe, or vice versa, you'll see why I'm sick of it. This boring bar is a great example, because it's got some features that require the use of both machines. Let's say I've just finished turning the diameter, and I'm ready to mill the end to accept an insert. Having both machines under the same roof can speed things up quite considerably. I've also got plenty of practice with impulse buying machines, not to mention all of you enablers watching right now, so in reality I can just skip justifying the cost altogether. In the interests of transparency, I did get a slight discount on this thing from the guys over at Hare and Forbes, but it was the kind of discount you'd probably be able to wrangle yourself if you're about to drop a few grand on equipment. So if this thing sucks, I won't be holding back. But it's definitely worth a mention that they went to great lengths in accommodating my unique and ever-changing set of logistical requirements, because I've got to actually get the thing home. Weighing in at almost 300 kilos, I was pretty sure this thing wasn't going to fit on the back of the bike, or in the boot of my partner's car, and trying to find a courier with a crane on the back of their ute turned out to be impossible. So I had the thing sent to the workshop, and used the forklift there to unload. But before we go any further, we need to talk about these machine stands. And when I say talk about, I really mean castigate, admonish, and straight up berate these flimsy, hollow, space-hogging so-called stands. I'm already giving up a massive chunk of the workshop to this machine, so I won't have it sitting opulently atop a couple of reverse TARDISes in some kind of feudal exhibitionist display. So I decided to make my own. As always, the perfect piece of material was also the most difficult to access, but everything else went smooth as mud. I tacked up the two end frames, then joined them with the help of a few runners, before welding the whole thing up for real. After a coat of white paint to match the lathe, I was ready to bring it all home. But wait, you're probably wondering how I'm going to fit this thing in my tiny workshop. Well, you see, SOMEBODY told my housemate I was abusing his woodworking tools in the last video, so now he's moving out. Alright, you can take the TV, but I'm keeping the bidet on the plus side. It means that soon, I'll have twice the amount of workshop space. But if you haven't got the space for the machines to bring your projects to completion, the sponsor of today's video, PCBWay, has got you covered. Aside from having a genuine interest in supporting makers like me here on YouTube, PCBWay offers a huge range of affordable manufacturing services, from custom PCBs, to 3D printing, laser cutting, and yes, you guessed it, CNC machining. So click the link below to bring those designs into reality. Thanks to PCBWay for sponsoring this video, and some of my upcoming projects. Now, simple as it looked loading the thing up, getting it out at the other end, was going to be a whole different story. Last time I checked, I didn't have a forklift sitting in the back garden, but I did find this ancient stone tablet, depicting a group of workers, moving their metal lathe on rollers. And while I'm not an archaeologist, that lathe, definitely looks a little bit bigger than this one. So it should work just fine. With this incredible piece of foresight, I decided to load the pallet on top of some rollers, in the back of the van. That made it a fairly simple matter, to pull the van right out from underneath the lathe. Sort of like that old magician's trick. Let me tell you, it was a bloody hot day to be moving machines around. It's f***ing odd today, eh? But all we had to do now, was get it into the shed. Luckily, I'd thrown this crane together earlier in the week, and if you're wondering why I didn't just go out, and buy an engine hoist. I can dream! So it's just getting happier and happier. Oh yeah. That's it. Okay, that's sort of close, but it's still hovering. That's not it. And a third swiveling pasta. Maybe I can buy an engine crane, and steal the parts from it. And after all that excitement, it was finally in. Now, this isn't going to be the final setup, or resting place for this machine. But I do need somewhere to store all the tooling, and accessories for now. As well as the safety guards, that will definitely end up in the bin at some point. So I added this little rack to the backsplash, as well as a shelf underneath. Complete with some LED strip lighting. Some of the more keen eyed among you, might have spotted that there's already some chips, sitting in the tray under the lathe. While I'd love to show you what they came from, making the first chips on a machine tool, is a deeply emotional, and personal moment. Sort of like breaking your first tap. Don't worry, you'll see some actual machining in just a second. But if you're still hanging around, it probably means you're enjoying yourself. So if you want to help support the channel, and help me bring you more of these, workshop shenanigans. Why don't you go and check out my Patreon? Now, while this lathe wasn't necessarily cheap, it definitely wasn't expensive, as far as precision machine tools go. And while the fit and finish, is better than other Chinese manufactured lathes I've seen, and it cuts really well right out of the box. Even with the wrong size tooling, it was always going to need a bit of tender love and care. So far, this has mostly come down to a bit of cleaning and deburring. Like what you're seeing now. If you've watched my other videos, you know that getting my hands dirty, is definitely not a deal breaker for me. And I think the features of this lathe, make the extra work worthwhile. With tapered gibs, a geared head, cam lock spindle nose, and hardened bed. With a bit of spit and polish, and maybe a touch of hand scraping, I think this thing's going to serve me well. I do have plans for some accessories, but to start off with, I thought I'd give the four-jaw chuck a go, by having a practice run at this crankshaft for my next project. I machined some flats on the end of my stock, to make sure there was a nice surface for the jaws to slide on, when it came time to offset the crankshaft. There's something a bit magical about eccentric lobes, wouldn't you say? Next up, I also need a tombstone for another build I've got planned. So I'll quickly put a Morse taper, an M8 thread, and a square shoulder on the end of this bit of round bar. The lathe took some really heavy cuts, with no complaints. And the surface finish came out absolutely fantastic, for a mild steel part. It is turning a very slight taper, even on the bits that are meant to be straight. But that's more to do with the fact that I haven't leveled the bed, because every time I try to import a precision level, it gets denied at customs. And once I mill some flats, bore some holes, and tap some threads, I'll be able to run multiple parts, accessing almost all of the features in a single setup. We'll make a production machine out of this thing yet. So there it is, my new lathe. I finally followed my own advice, and bought a machine from an existing manufacturer. I have to say, I'm really happy to finally have a manual machine in the shop. When you think about the design, programming, and setup of even just a simple part for the CNC mill, the commitment is just way too high. The ability to just chuck a bit of stock in the machine, and get to work, it's fantastic. So if you have the choice, make sure you get a manual machine first, and you'll thank me later. Can't forget about this guy. I can finally use my roller skates again.