Taig Basics

[SimeonTurner]

Hey gang-

I finally caved in and bought a taig for my stem making (from our own d6monk no less). I'm having a hard time tracking down decent websites with basic Taig 101 tips. I thought I had a basic grasp of the process of turning with a metal lathe vs a wood lathe, but my early efforts have resulted in less than impressive results. I have a lot of chatter, so the piece ends up looking more like it's been gnawed on by a rabid squirrel than machined in a precision tool.

Any suggestions for a good Taig 101 guide? Any tips for a complete metal lathe newb?

Nothing like a new learning curve to bring pipe making to a grinding halt. LOL

Thanks in advance!

[RadDavis]

Hi Simeon,

Are your tools sharp, and are you taking off just a little bit (about .050) at a time? Also make sure your tool is tight in the tool holder.

Rad

[SimeonTurner]

Hi Rad-

Good questions!

I THINK the tools are sharp, though I used to think my wood turning gouges were sharp until I sharpened them for the first time with a Tormek...so let's go with the answer they MAY be sharp...LOL

I definitely was trying to bite off more than .050 in a single pass, so that would be my first lesson.

Is there any significance to the angle of the RH cutter in relation to the material being turned? I have it set at basically 90 degrees, but wasn't sure if the angle had any effect on the cut.

Thanks!

[bikedoctor]

Simeon,

Just a quick question. Why did you decided to go with the Tiag? Price? Easy of use/ space?

[SimeonTurner]

Yes.

I'm a bit limited in space, always limited in finances, and obviously new to metal lathes, so the taig made sense.

[bikedoctor]

d6monk is a dealer or just wanted to sell his personal one?

[SimeonTurner]

He was just selling his personal lathe. There's a thread about it in the for sale sub forum.

[d6monk]

Hey Simeon,

What helped me the most when I was learning to use a metal lathe was the book Machine Shop Practice v.1 by Moltrecht. It was definitely the best book I read. Also, the online forums I found most helpful were the practical machinist, the home shop machinist, the home machinist, cnczone, and the taig yahoo group. Also, Nick Carter's taig website has some good basic information as does the sherline site (especially on grinding) and the mini-lathe.com site.

There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it it is second nature (kind of).

[LexKY_Pipe]

I just remembered a great site for small tools related to lathes is the Little Machine Shop at www.littlemachineshop.com

Great help with all kinds of questions.