Smithy Midas 1220 XL - Manual (Page 63)

Chapter 12
Lathe Turning
Rough Turning
1.
In turning a shaft to size and shape where you have to cut away a lot of stock, take
heavy, rough cuts to get the work done in the least time. Use a transverse powerfeed for
heavy cuts-from right to left toward the headstock so the thrust is against the headstock
or the chuck. Use a right-hand turning or round nose cutter.
2.
After selecting a cutter, place it into the left side of the turret (Figure 12.1). The
cutter’s point should be just above or on the line of the centers. The greater the
diameter of the work, the higher the cutter can be. Adjust the height by placing shims
under the cutter and raising or lowering it (Figure10.1).
Figure 12.1 Place a cutter into the left side of the turret.
3.
With the tool properly positioned, tighten the Allen capscrew.
4.
Next, run the carriage to the right end of the workpiece with the crank. Make sure the
lathe is set to feed toward the headstock.
5.
Now determine the depth of the cut. Move the tool to the desired depth till it just
touches the stock and zero the cross-feed dial.
6.
Start the lathe. Run the crossfeed in by hand to take as heavy a cut as is consistent
with the power of the drive or the amount of metal to remove.
Say, for example, you need to reduce a diameter by a known number of thousandths of
an inch. If you zero the collar and watch the movement of the dial, you’ll know the depth
of the feed from the zeroing point.
Note: The dial gives a good approximation, but for exact measurements, use a
measuring instrument.
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