The ability to use a tool is mainly a learned skill like riding a bicycle. Girls and boys can equally learn, some will be better at it then others but that doesn’t stop people from riding even if they’re not the best. There is a lady named Lucia who is a great example. Growing up…

The lathe is now in position and bolted to the table. It’s even been used once already! In the future I’ll be adding a coolant pump and nozzle to it, I already have them but don’t want to take the time putting it in right now. When the rest of the shop is set up…

Today we cut the sheet metal for the top of the lathe bench and then brought it into the shop. We need to buy more wood for the lower shelves. Lift the bench with the hoist Roll the hoist to the door and swing the bench inside. Place wheels under center legs so we can…

Another machine tool in our workshop is a milling machine. In some ways this is like a very strong drill press. Only in addition to drilling holes you can cut sideways by precise amounts. With a milling machine you can make anything from a simple bracket to an engine block for a car. Our machine…

A lathe is a simple, ancient machine that is still as useful as it always was. There are two basic types of lathes in use today, wood lathes that are optimized for cutting wood and “Engine” lathes which are optimized for cutting metal. The word “Engine” does not refer to a motor. It’s ancient English…

I finished welding it, then I went over with a grinder to smooth out the welds that are on the outside surface and remove all the “welding berries”. These are small balls of melted steel that go flying while welding, they often stick to surfaces all around the weld. They can normally be knocked off…

| got all the shelf braces and the middle legs installed. Tomorrow I’ll add the plates the feet mount on, clean it and Sharon will start painting it. We should have the lathe on the table in a couple of days.

I’m now building a bench to put the lathe on. When finished it will be 215cm long, 70cm wide, and 90cm tall. The top will be metal covered wood and have braces under it to hold the weight of the lathe. Below that will be two wooden shelves. These will be spaced in from the…

A lot of work done in a machine shop is actually making tools, jigs, and fixtures for use in making the actual product you’re trying to make. Also, from time to time, you will have to repair a machine. If you were rich, you would simply by ready made parts and maybe hire someone to…

The saw is mounted to it’s stand. There’s still more work to be done, electrical wiring to the automatic shutoff. A pump and tank for the cooling fluid. And a hydraulic cylinder to better control the cutting speed with thin material. We have all the parts, but for now there’s other more pressing projects so…