Can An Old Wood Lathe Be Used To Turn Metal?

idbruce

Com'on guys, that was a trick question. Of course it can

I use my vintage 9 inch 1924 Craftsman Wood Lathe (Model #101-06242) to turn brass, aluminum, mild steel, slightly hardened steel, and O1 tool steel, on a regular basis. However, I must admit that hardened steel and tool steel are a real bear, and the bits wear fast when turning these types of steel, in addition to occasional chipping. As long as the bits are sharp, I can get a pretty decent finish, with the exception of occasional tool chatter.

Here are some photos of my latest lathe project. It is a housing for a 405nm Blue-Ray laser diode and optics, with provisions for manual focusing. I will be using this assembly for this project forums.parallax.com/discussion/166498/discussion-laser-direct-imaging-of-pcbs-and-the-propeller.

This assembly was particularly interesting, because it was the first time that I did any actual boring with the lathe.

In case you are interested, here is a link to a photo of an old Model #101-06242: vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/images/10388-A.jpg

Although there is a photo of the holder assembled, I still have to drill two more holes, mount the laser diode, and install the optics. I guess I better get busy, because I would really like to test it sometime later today. Oh, and please excuse the over-sized set screw, because that was all I had on hand, at the time.

idbruce

I found a new driver which utilizes the third pin on the laser diode, and I believe I am going to go with this circuit: http://www.k3pgp.org/laserbias.htm

Perhaps I won't be able to test the laser today

EDIT: Could someone please tell me if I can swap out the 1N4007 diode for another 1N400# diode in the circuit linked above. Apparently Radio Shack does not sell these or they are out of them. By the way, my local Radio Shack is closing it's doors. Everything is 20 - 80% off.

erco

Sure, all the 1N400x diodes have the same specs except reverse voltage. 4007 has the highest at 1000V, but that's only used as a reverse protection diode in a 12VDC system. I'd say your chance of accidentally hooking it up to a 1000VDC supply are slim. Even a 1N4001 is good for 50V.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/149/1N4007-888322.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwi689iK5K3TAhVNVWMKHckFBBQQFgg3MAE&usg=AFQjCNE918NfcqXGrexd4Z23AEJPTVACbA

idbruce

Thanks erco... but I am now rethinking the whole driver circuit. There are many options for constant current laser pointing devices, which this circuit basically seems to be, with feedback, however, I basically need on and off operation, so I am now leaning towards something similar to this circuit, with the exception that it operates on a TTL signal: elabz.com/laser-diode-driver-based-on-lt1121-voltage-regulator-schematic-and-pcb/

EDIT: Sorry... this one for the updated schematic: elabz.com/ttl-controlled-laser-diode-driver/