I am looking for a machinist to make some stainless or even regular steel tires for some driver centers I had 3d printed. I really don’t want to spend a fortune I need someone who would want a one off side job
You have a lathe, what are you waiting for, get to it!!.
I can’t turn metal on a wood lathe.spins to fast and I don’t have the cutters. Need a metal lathe. Which I do want.
I’m going to do the same thing, but I think I will have them made in 2 sizes and to fit the 2 sizes of Aristo wheels. I figure I need to make several hundred to make it worth it.
Just a few will be pretty expensive. If you find a guy to do just a few for a reasonable price let me know.
Greg
Yeah I will Greg. I need 12 done and I am not sure but I believe Kevin Strong will be getting some as well. Thought I had a local guy lined up but he flaked out. I have time. I am determined to find someone.
If you make your way to So Cal, you can use my machine. It has manual, power feed, and CNC on the mill and the lathe and digital read-out for X, Y, and Z axis to the 0.0001".
Thanks for the offer Todd but I don’t think I will be there anytime soon(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif). But…if your bored…
I am half tempted to purchase a cheap used mini lathe and learn to do this myself.
Devon Sinsley said:
Thanks for the offer Todd but I don’t think I will be there anytime soon(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif). But…if your bored…
I would have to develop the skills to do what you want, or at least figure out the G-code for the CNC to do it. May also need to get the correct cutting bits. I think I’ll stick with easy stuff, like custom made PVC fittings and such.
Mine is like this:
Yeah Todd, I hear oyu on that. I want to buy a mini lathe but then you have to learn to use it and make sure you have all the cutters. I know I will use it if I do get it but just hard to justify the cost.
Especially after Kevin resent me the tire profile I need done. I am sure for someone that knows what there doing it will be an easy project but for me it looks tough.
You might see if your city or county has some type of adult education program. They often have “shop” classes where you can have access to all of a high school or junior college’s machine tools plus a knowledgeable instructor. I have used my local one on multiple projects in the past.
All of the shop classes around here are pretty much gone. When I went to school they had all sorts of metal/wood shop classes you could take. Now it all seems to be college prep. Companies around here are crying for workers to learn a trade, but they all go to college and get giant loans they can’t pay off. Companies here will pay for the training for a worker, if they agree to work for them for a couple of years.
yeah there was extension classes at the local junior college (still is) but the shop ones are long gone. I am really hoping I can fall in will a guy who would want to teach me. There is i am sure some guy out there who has a small milling shop as a hobby that would take on an apprentice but finding that person is tough. I have feelers out we will see what happens.
I’ve taken a couple of welding classes, and a machining class at one of the local Voc-Tech schools. They dont have them all the time, but I always look when the flyer comes around.
Bob McCown said:
I’ve taken a couple of welding classes, and a machining class at one of the local Voc-Tech schools. They dont have them all the time, but I always look when the flyer comes around.
Yeah our junior college offered welding, auto painting, and I believe machining, but they seem to have just dropped those type of classes. I keep my eyes open. I think it has a lot to do with the community. We are an artsy community and thats the classes that seem to get offered. Back when we were heavy into lumber mills and mining we had more industrial classes offered.
Hey Devon, I got a very nice South bend 10" in ebay for $600. Of course the 3 Phase power converter I had to install to run it cost $800. Not a big deal as I have 2 other 3 Phase machines too. I would recommend a similar machine if you want to get into metal work. Steer clear of the cheap harbor frieght and similar Grizzly mini lathes. You would be surprised how useful the 10" swing is even in our seemingly small scale. (well not 7.5" gauge anyway) Also the rigidity of the mini’s verses a light industrial are miles apart.
I’ve also bought a rebuild kit for this machine with new cross head feed nut, new felts, and complete instructions very cheaply. Once done I’ll have a very solid machine ready for another 60 years of work. For now I haven’t had much time to play with it and am still acquiring tooling with every new project I do attempt with it.
As for finding a shop to do them cheaply, unfortunately you’re at the wrong end of the spectrum. Small qty’s are always killer expensive. Dosen’t matter how many widgets you are making you still have to cover the cost of machine setup and any fixtures you need for various operations. So even if actual machine time is only an hour or two, you may end up with 20 hours in making fixtures and set up, not to mention sourcing and acquiring materials.
Devon you need to contact the new trade school that is a joint venture between the school districts and NIC. The tech school is out in Rathdrum off of Meyer Road and Lancaster. They have machining, welding, and other tech skills they are teaching high school kids for the trades in our local area. Check it out I’ll bet they could take care of what you need.
Good advice Randy.