LittleMachineShop.com Hi-torque Mini Lathe 5200

After much research I decided to go with the The LittleMachineShop.com Hi-torque Mini Lathe 

After getting used to the 5200 I will say go with one of the other versions out there.

I feel like the cross slide is flimsy and the readouts are barely held on. 
I do not recommend the machine.

I really wanted a vintage machine and would have payed as much for a good one but it became clear that the vintage bench top machines have some pretty small Pass-Thru, and Pass-Thru to me is King.

I don't understand the manufacturers reluctance to making large pass thru, its the number one best easiest way to work but is hard to come by. I passed up a beautiful machine on EBay do to shipping and size issues that had a 1.25 pass thru!

The LMS mini has a 20mm thru hole so that 3/4" stock goes thru no problem.

I am also constrained by the basement workshop location. It rolls away into a little slot and has to be pulled out to use.

FYI Shop Organization tip: I'm using a Shoe organizer for scrap metal storage

I made this custom bench for it that includes a drawer and a shelf with a drop down door.
I wanted the lathe at a height that would be comfortable sitting or standing
The optional chip tray is about 14" x 35" so the bench top was an easy 16" x 36"

Drawer

05.12.18
After a few hours on it I would not recommend it, try your luck with another version of the same machine. Its a great size just a little flaky, the speed control is in the wrong place, the tail-stock is not repeatable, and the cross-slide assembly is annoying to name a few.

11.02.18
Another issue is the DRO; not very reliable, and lets face it that's all we ask of them.

06.30.19
So reading and trying many things, buying tooling here and there I came across a quote that I will put into my own words: You can think of a lathe as a "kit" machine Always requiring fix and repair; FIAT... Fix and repair daily!
If take this approach the disappointment of the the "out of box" experience can be mitigated.

Air Nailer - Stapler Orginization / Storage

I use two staplers and one nailer for shoe making and have two other nailers and one other stapler.

A little hard to see but the best answer so far is a set of desk top file holders!

I found this at an estate sale for a couple of bucks.

Hanging them was fine until the collection grew.

Sherline Lathe - Lever Action Tail Stock

I really wish I had made this  years ago but now I have it.

With the 0.050" per turn on the standard tail stock it takes some time to get a deep hole drilled.

I did some research to see which mechanism might work out and then bought a tail stock blank to build from.

 I get over 1.25' travel

I bought a No. 0 taper reamer so I can use all of the set-ups from the standard tail stock

Drill Rod Cutting Fixture

In making hundreds of my custom curved awls I have continued with the policy of upgrading the tooling every time I make a batch or two.

The 1st and one of the simplest operations is to cut the 4 different diameter drill rods to the proper lengths.

They are:

• 5/64 @ 2.75"
• 3/32 @ 3.00"
• 7/64 @ 3.38"
• 1/8 @ 3.75"

When there was only on size this was easy but as the range of offerings increased it became apparent that a fixture would make sense.

Initially I set up the bolt cutter like this to make it a one handed operation.

I would use a clamp and a right angle bracket to bump the rod up against and cut.

I realized that I need to design something that would jump from one length to another quickly and accurately, but couldn't see the answer clearly.
The 1st step to finding the answer is to layout the existing components. 
After that the design fell into place.

Each block of alum. swings out of the way for the next length block.

I think it takes about 30sec. to cut up a 3 foot drill rod into the correct lengths.

Landis 5 in 1 DIY Blade Sharpening

Several years ago I made a Dremmel grinder attachment for my lathe to sharpen small tools.
This week I brought out my Landis trimmer and one of the reasons I put it away was because it didn't cut cleanly.


I made the Herculean effort to get the blade off of the shaft so I could sharpen it using my DIY Sherline sharpening system.

Removing these blades must be done carefully, the Left Hand thread is always confusing, they are hard to hold, and easily damaged.

I set an angle that would work for both the front and back side of the blade.

This set up required a custom holder for the blade, not too hard to make.

There seem to be two thread sizes for 5 in 1; 7/16-20, and 1/2-20, both Left Hand and both pretty rare.
Not having either of these what I do is make a holder out of a piece of steel Hex.
I turn down one end to a diameter that just interferes with the threads.
The 1/4-20 screw holds the blade hard onto the holder.


Grinding is about taking 0.001" inch at a time VERY slowly,  let the wheel cut for 30 seconds or more as you move towards the finished edge.

The cutting difference is great! If you find that your 5 in 1 is not cutting all the way thru it is getting dull.

American Skiver - Model B

Could not resist this "Skiver Only" machine on CL

Did a complete tear-down and rebuild unfortunately I don't do repainting in the winter so that will have to wait.

It spun OK but slowly, I like to take every part off of the main casting.
With these old machines I like to update the screws when they have been abused and make subtle changes for the better, here I added a thumb screw for the lower blade adjustment 

Sharpened the blade on the WorkSharp

This one is in good shape none of the shafts are loose, no cracks in the casting, and the gear teeth are in good condition.

The patent number is maybe just a date so I haven't found the original drawing.
The weird "monkey motion" blade positioning system and all the parts are straight from the 5 in 1

Shereline Lathe - Large Diameter - Offset Bit holder

To machine these over size wood discs WITHOUT setting up the riser blocks I went ahead and made a quickie bit holder.

Obviously not stiff enough for metals but for this Bass wood it is very functional.

I used a piece of scrap that had been waiting around for years until the correct part came out of it.

Now I can get well over 3 inch dia without doing anything other than bolt on the new bit holder

Would have been better to reach over to include the far hold down on the cross-slide but the scrap piece ran out.