I Can Finally Make Round Stuff!

st.That's right! Round stuff! Turning is now on my list of at-home activities. No more taking round stuff to work to do during my break!
My 7" x 16" lathe arrived from thelittlemachineshop.com today. I'm pretty excited. As machines go, it is small...but there are smaller ones. I haven't had the time or inclination to finish my Southbend (which will happen eventually) so I figured a new 7" lathe would be a good addition to my shop.

One quick thing before we get to the turny machine thingy...

I pulled this out of the micarta press this morning. It just needs a trim. I think it will make a way cooler knife handle than dress shirt!!

Opening up the crate for my new lathe.

Fast forward...I moved some stuff around in the shop, and added a wood top to my Southbend base so that I could drop the new lathe on top.

I ordered a set of Tormach tooling to go along with my lathe. A wedge type tooling post is accompanied by matching tool holders. There's a knurler, cut off tool holder, boring bar holder, and two standard tooling holders.

The lathe includes its own tool holder (which we'll be replacing with the Tormach part).

Dead center, change gears, knobs, tools.

A set of five turning tools.

Drill chuck, and misc other parts.

I'm removing this tooling post...so...off it comes...

Leaving the threaded rod. This will come out and...

...it will be replaced by the Tormach post.

This little spring detent is not compatible with the Tormach tool post.

Out it comes! This will get sealed up in a bag along with the tool post.

The Tormach tool post installed. This is a wedge type holder.

Basically, at this point, the lathe is ready to run! How's that for an evening's work? Especially on a gym night.

First chips, just for fun. I threw in a piece of brass and faced it.

There is obviously A LOT more to show about this machine. Tonight was just to get it into service. Over the weekend I have a project to work on, and we'll see much more as time goes by. My first impression is that this is a solid machine and should suit my needs just fine. More to come!!!