Hi folks! I'm a retired trucker here in Ohio USA, who got into this addictive hobby back in December 2003. Saw a newspaper sale flyer for a Homier Tool show and while reading it noticed they had a small (7x10) metal lathe for only $199. (Those were the days, eh? Crazy how much these Sieg tools have inflated since then!) Lathes had always intrigued me, so I took a pro toolmaker (good friend of mine) along to check it out, because beyond the intrigue, I was totally clueless. Being a pro, he wasn't too impressed ( I had no idea why at the time) but I decided to buy it anyway.
Once bitten, I started down this slippery slope of acquiring and making tooling and modifications to improve the little beast's abilities. The very first thing I learned, with my friend's tips, was how to single point turn threads (which many would agree is a rather advanced topic on these hobby machines). Thank goodness for the internet, and websites by folks like Frank Hoose who paved the way with lots of information!
By April of 2004 I found myself buying a Speedway Mini-Mill at another Homier show, and have watched its price double over the years. I would never have gotten into this hobby with the machine pricing as it is today, so I am grateful I did it back then. It's been a fun and interesting 10 years!
Many have scorned these little machines for their lack of quality, ability, or sheer mass, all of which I have learned are important in this hobby. But they have a LOT of potential, and I have made many modifications to them both. The mill now sports a 3 axis DRO which I built myself from online kit plans and circuit board, and the lathe has a set of DRO dial gauges from LMS as well as a 12" digital Caliper I can snap into magnetic mounts of my own making, when I want a digital readout on its long axis. I have done several of the lathe mods available online as well as retail (lever lock set-back compound, lever lock tail stock, 5" chuck, 4-jaw chuck, aligned the head, chuck, and tail stock to make them run as true as possible, just to name a few. The first mod I did on the lathe was of my own design - a small fixture I added with an adjustable gib screw riding on the front way, to remove the saddle's tendency to rotate when put under a load.
I also have several mods on the mill, including a True-Inch X-axis power feed, Spring Air lift cylinder, Belt Drive, and a load current meter on the power feed motor, which comes in very handy keeping an eye on gib adjustments, as well as knowing how hard the table feed is working.
I am completely self taught, by experimentation and reading online, along with a bit of advice now and then from a pro, but it didn't take long after reading his borrowed book "Technology of Machine Tools" to come to the realization that these mini tools operate in a different dimension of their own, in many ways, from their professional sized brethren. So a lot of what I take to be standard necessity in their operation came from observing how they work with various speeds, feeds, and materials, and does not always jive with what is in the textbook. ;)
I prefer to work with 6061 AL, as well as UHMW plastic, Acetal, Nylon, and brass. But I will work with 12L14 steel sometimes (I got some scrap rods cheap) as well as stainless and mild steel when the need arises.
