addjunkie
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now were married I cant afford a lathe or mill or she might divorce me
- Thread starter conor1n
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MattF
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Mr Fro
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What's the down side?
addjunkie
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Wont be able afford the shed to keep them in as
Mr Fro
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What do you need a shed for?
Without a wife you can just keep in all in the house. No more cold days freezing your nuts off in the shed, no more rust problems... I'm really not seeing any issues.
No.....not cylinder heads and blocks.
It's for various reasons. Size height and experience.
I have no doubt it "could be done" but for all those reasons and more I would not be attempting it myself.
And I have a fairly large mill.
conor1n
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Ywa fair enough. I figured that was the case but just putting it our there.
I don't think I'd ever be into engineering or building engines. Mainly because I wouldn't be doing it each day and too much of a lead time between assembly and oops moment lol.
slim_boy_fat
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not done it yet
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In days gone by, most could only afford a hobby lathe - milling machines for hobbyists were few, far between and expensive. Many models were drawn around using a lathe - for both round and flat items. E T Westbury projects could all be completed with only a lathe, although some bits had to be made using hand tools.
For example, one can make a taper fit, rather than a keyed item, if one needs. Turning a cube, or cuboid, is an easy enough operation with a lathe. Shapers likely came into fashion before cheap vertical milling machines revolutionised the hobby. Cheap milling machines are just that - cheap.
That said, I use my milling machines rather more than my lathe. My shaper(s) are handraulic, but can produce a flatter surface than with a vertical mill - but not as fast! I have the option to horizontal mill and to surface grind if/as required.
A basic lathe can be cheap (not ‘fymords’ they are hugely over-priced but popular).
I do have a veryical slide that will fit my lathe but have never needed to use it (it came with the lathe).
Lathe tools are single point cutters - so easily sharpened. That is something else to consider if money is an object.
For example, one can make a taper fit, rather than a keyed item, if one needs. Turning a cube, or cuboid, is an easy enough operation with a lathe. Shapers likely came into fashion before cheap vertical milling machines revolutionised the hobby. Cheap milling machines are just that - cheap.
That said, I use my milling machines rather more than my lathe. My shaper(s) are handraulic, but can produce a flatter surface than with a vertical mill - but not as fast! I have the option to horizontal mill and to surface grind if/as required.
A basic lathe can be cheap (not ‘fymords’ they are hugely over-priced but popular).
I do have a veryical slide that will fit my lathe but have never needed to use it (it came with the lathe).
Lathe tools are single point cutters - so easily sharpened. That is something else to consider if money is an object.
Bah! My frizt werner has regularly decked all kinds of blocks, heads etc. Biggest one was a rover v8 block, had to make the fixtures for it, and it was close, but it did it. The vmax block took some ingenuity, had to make two sets of fixtures for that one...
not done it yet
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Decking blocks and skimming heads requires a very well trammed head, or the finish will be dished. same with doing it on a lathe - most cut a slight dish when facing. I prefer my surface grinder for that job.
Munkul
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Slightly worried by the people in this thread saying surface grinder for heads.... proper engineering books will usually say that you want a surface roughness for head gasket (especially MLS gaskets) and surface grinding is far too smooth.
Plus you wouldn't surface grind a modern aluminium head... would you? Genuine question.... I didn't think it was possible without loading up and clogging regular wheels.
One local machine shop has a big Chen Ho set up with a fly cutter permanently - just for skimming engine parts as they come in. Usually takes him 30 mins start-finish and it's an easy £40-£50 for him...
Plus you wouldn't surface grind a modern aluminium head... would you? Genuine question.... I didn't think it was possible without loading up and clogging regular wheels.
One local machine shop has a big Chen Ho set up with a fly cutter permanently - just for skimming engine parts as they come in. Usually takes him 30 mins start-finish and it's an easy £40-£50 for him...
But you answer the OP,s question.
Not for most people for any number of reasons....but yes it can be done.
I appreciate that. My sons engine builder has any number of machines he does various tasks but leading the OP to think he will be able to skim a block on a Warco after a month is not really helpful. (Not that you did that though).
Yes a big machine dedicated to one task will be good at that task. But for a hobbiest it would be a step too far IMHO.
Munkul
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Yeah absolutely. Needs a heavy mill for rigidity to get a good accurate finish on a cylinder head
I don't think a hobbyist should be trying to skim heads anyway!
Mr Fro
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Why not? I did.Yeah absolutely. Needs a heavy mill for rigidity to get a good accurate finish on a cylinder head
stevethegrease
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I'm a time served miller- I own a lathe. Read into that what you will.
