pipemakersforum.com

First, I encourage all who are considering ordering this good machine to do it now. I ordered mine in May, 2011, and it arrived in January, 2012. Sadly, this was at a time when my place of work moved four hours away and I'm only home on weekends. Enough whining, yet my questions will evidence how little time I've had to play with it.

1) I bought some hand-held tools after watching so many videos of guys making pipes on what I now realize were wood lathes. Now that I have a quick change tool post, I'm asking myself, "What was I thinking?" I realize that QCTP-held cutting tools must be the way to go except for possibly stem work. I read the South Bend book on lathes, and am trying to figure out the essential bits to get. Right and left cut? Any other recommendations? It looks like the tool holder diameter is about 5/8" if that helps. Also, any recommendations on a grinder as I assume the cutting tool stuff will be an ongoing work/sharpening in progress?

2) I read a post a while ago about a PM 11 X 27 user who bought three types of oil for his machine. Since I'm new at it and want to maintain it as best as possible, any oil and grease recommendations? Or, does it really matter that much?

3) Lastly, while trying to turn the airhole on a plateaux piece I messed up partly due to the bumpy nature of the plateaux (the rest due to beginner lathe status) and my hole ended up off center and the piece was wobbling. Needless to say, I won't be wasting good briar until I refine my skills with the lathe. It's quite a leap to go from bandsaw/drill press/belt sander/dremmel to lathe in my case. I read somewhere about centering bits, but don't know what these are. Or, should I have just used a tiny bit to get a starter hole, and then proceeded up? I had no problem with the tobacco chamber, but did with the air hole.

Thanks ahead of time for any hints, and in case there are any Precision Matthews specialists within driving distance from Long Beach, CA, to whom I could pay/receive a visit, I would be interested in learning some lathe basics. All the best.

Regards,

Jeff Reed

I use the QCTP setup with tooling for all my work, including stem work, you should be fine to use it instead of hand held. I got a Borite 5 pc. indexable set which has most of what you'll need. But if you wish to keep it on the inexpensive side, get the regular carbide sets and you can shape your own profiles. I have (2) R/H and (2) L/H (differing angles) as well as a chamfering bit.

As far as oil, a reliable source told me all I would need is quality 'way' oil for the machine. I was told by the sellers of the machine (the main importer into the US) I could even use synthetic gear oil (75W-90) but I believe it to be too thick for such a machine, maybe not. I think the way oil will do you fine. Still running the original oil in mine, going to change it soon. In speaking with my machinist friend, I don't need any other grease or oil. Just make sure to lube all the oiling service ports regularly.

They are center drills and they work pretty well. You can usually get a set fairly inexpensively: HERE. As for me, I chose to spend a bit more and get a quality set from a nice machine supply shop. But those will work.

Best of luck Jeff, hope this helps.

Search on youtube for the tubalcain videos byt mrpete222, they are all about lathe work and there are a couple of excellent ones that deal with tool bit grinding. Also watch some of the others to leanr some very useful things about how best to use your tools.

Once you have watched the videos pick yourself up some HSS tool blanks and start grinding. Carbide and indexable bits are great, if you are cutting hard steels or for production work but for pipe making uses you can get a better shape and much sharper edge on HSS bits. I started out with about 3 tool bits, now I probably have 20 bits or more. The advantage to learning how to grind your own is you will never run out of bits and you will always have a sharp tool at hand for the job, plus when you are doing that special project that requires an odd shaped tool to get down into a tight spot, you will have the skill and knowledge to grind one up in minutes and do the job right!

Nicely put Chris, good ideas.

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the tips and pointing me to some links, videos, and other good starting tips. I'm struggling to type this on my phone with my sausage fingers, but look forward to looking into this more when I'm home at a real computer.

Cheers,

Jeff

Nate,

Would you mind letting me know where you bought your centering bits? I try to avoid Harbor Freight if at all possible. Too many friends with bad stories.

All the best,

Jeff

I got mine at Wholesale Tool, but if you get any US made set you'll be happy. I will try to get a supplier for you. I think McMaster-Carr would be a great place to start.

I missed the part on oil. for my lathe I just use a generic 20W motor oil, 2 huge bottles were given to me free by a friend of my mum. Myfords are notoriously difficult to oil so I just make sure I oil whatever I can see on a regular basis and if any sliding surfaces are looking dry I give them a quick shot. Many metalworkers will tell you that turning wood on your lathe is a bad idea since the chips contain moisture and will cling to the metal and cuase rust spots. While this maybe true if you turn green pine or some other wet wood it simply does hold true with briar. It's because briar is so dry. What I do is make sure that all exposed surfaces have a good coat of oil on them before I start turning, then any briar dust that lands there soaks up a bit of oil and becomes a natural protectant, I leave briar chippings on there for days at a time between clean up and have absolutely zero rust spots on my lathe (not bad when you consider its older than me!)

Nate and Caskwith, thanks again for the referrals. I was able to get the way oil and centering bits here:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#countersink-drills/=hoc2ak

Also, Matt at quality machine tools (place where I bought the PM 11X27) referred me to this company in Pittsburg that has some nice US-made blanks, and/or holders with inserts.

http://www.arwarnerco.com/warner_products_kits.html

I'm going to start off with their "Kit 16" which basically includes square tool holders with HSS and carbide inserts. That will be enough to get me turning and started as the kit has LH, RH and 35 degree diamond as well. As I develop, I will consider grinding and making my own.

Thanks again,

Jeff

Another great place to look for tooling is:

http://www.cdcotools.com/