CNC Attachment for Manual Lathe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Here is CNC setup for my old manual lathe, Colchester Master 2500.
My system utilizes the compound slide as longitudinal movement and an additional cross slide placed in lathes own tool post.
The unit very easy to drop in for a CNC operation. Sometimes the part can be mostly done by manual maneuvers, but e.g. a fillet feature needs CNC intervention.
The 3D-assembly model can be found here: grabcad.com/li...
The editing, script, machining, engineering, design -- everything is top notch. I feel honored to have witnessed the masterful performance of a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci in these dire times.
I'm glad you liked and thanks for kind words! I'm flattered and da Vinci would probably be offended.
What a fantastic idea. You have created the best of both worlds. The flexibility of a manual lathe and thr repeatability of a cnc. I have the Triumph 2000 and it's quite rare to see the larger Colchesters on TH-cam. Very well done.
Kerkko, I simply have no right words to appreciation for your achievement. You have turn an age-old lathe into a very modern machine with possibilities limited only by your imagination. The second thing that should be emphasized is that for simple turning works the CNC attachment can be easily disassembled. An elegant and effective solution.
I am extremely impressed.
This is a very well thought out design which requires much less modification to the manual machine than I had envisioned possible. Now I only need to dream of finding my own Colchester
That's one of the best conversions I've seen I'm looking at getting a mini lathe and looking into making it cnc as I run cnc's in my job
Excellent work! We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week and people really loved it 😎
Thank you, I see a nice spike in the TH-cam statistics for views from HomemadeTools.net😍
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Good to hear. Let me know if you want a free premium forum membership, and you can post your videos on our forum whenever you want. We have many YTers doing the same.
@@homemadetools Thanks, I keep that in mind. My current project doesn't exactly fit on Homemade tools niche, but on my to do list there is plenty of relevant stuff.
Hello Kerkko, your talent is as great as your generosity. Thank you very much
Open a bottle of beer under CNC control, in a lathe? Now I've seen everything...............and it was MAGNIFICENT!! Great video. Thanks.
I have two things I regret in that scene. One is that was made in the first place. The odour lingered couple of days in the workshop and had some guests wondering the origin. Second thing is the bottle should have being rotating and the cap should been formed out, It´s a lathe after all. Next time wiser. Thanks for your kind comment!
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Have you considered a metal shaper for slicing cheese, a power hacksaw for slicing bread, a drill press-powered cork screw or a heat treating furnace pizza oven? All under Arduino control, of course. ;-)
Cheers,
F.C.
Way cool! Found an alternative universe “ Öld Tønī ” in the process
For sure!
It's scarier: This Old Toni Iommi
What a bloody good engineer you are Sir! That is a fantastic ultra modern upgrade for a venerable old British lathe! Thank you for sharing this with us. I have just found your channel and already subscribed!
Very impressive. I love the fact that it is removable. Good idea. Great job!!
I appreciate your sense of humor. Great flex at the end too!
Ok.... that was overwhelming! Amazing work, utterly humbling to watch.
What a cool approach to go from manual to CNC and back in only a few quick steps!
Nice project. I have been planning to add a motor drive to my cross slide for a long time now, but my goal was to make smoother tapers. You take tis idea and run, no sprint with it. Nice!
Have you already seen this version for a precision power feed to compound slide: th-cam.com/video/uVlrfFkRLZg/w-d-xo.html
...I still think the timingbelt version is better😁
One of the best videos I’ve ever seen, just subscribed, more please-thank you very much! Well done ✅👍
Thank you Michael, I'm glad you liked! I have some less epic projects going on, but it will take a while until I can find the time to finalize the projects and the videos.
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 I’m looking forward to enjoying them-Thank You Very Much! Be well 👍
Ditto
Very impressive work! I also appreciate the humor and the excellent quality of the camera work. You should be called This Finnish Tony.
Thank you! Yes, the influence is obvious, but let´s not use that nickname until 1M subscriptions on this channel😜. Meanwhile use: Cheap copy of...
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 at least now you are 1 subscription closer to 1M. Looking forward to more videos.
Beautiful production and photography, and awesome engineering. A really enjoyable experience, and I'd love to see more!!
When you open the beer at the end, that finalized it I need one of these, thank you so very much for making this video
Hss tooling will do fine for hobbyists, carbide for heavy users😎
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Im a heavy user hobbyists :)
Man that's awesome work
You deserve millions of views for this fantastic video
We'll see about that, but thank you for watching and kind comment!
You're hilarious on par with This Old Tony! Nice job too! cant wait till you get the sensor working.
Thanks, but I would say only a cheap copycat. But it's hard not to get influenced while I spent whole COVID guarantee time watching TOT.
Puns are as masterful as his machining. Great work all around.
Beautiful like watching rain from the porch. Thank you.
You have a great sense of humor. Very funny 😆
That was good to watch! You have some nice tooling. I've wanted a better lathe for several years now, and I know Colchester is a good brand. I like your CNC attachment. Seems to work very nicely. Congrats!
Thank you Paul!
I have certain allergy against Chinese machines, though I own some. Preferring western equipment has turned my workshop somewhat as a museum of technology. Many Colchester lathes have nice clutch system that engages the spindle, the motor runs all of the time. That gives silky-smooth starts and reversing for the spindle, this is very useful when single point threading without an indicator dial.
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Colchester is definitely on my list for a good lathe. I did not know that the motor runs all the time. Have a great day!
Tervä,
Supergreat Concept, Build and Share! Thanks! Looking forward to seeing and learning more from you!
One of the most enjoyable videos I've seen in a long time 🙌
kiitos!!! Great idea. Now I am even more proud of being half Finnish!!! Keep this up, and you will be One of the biggest channels out there.
Kiitos, If You are by any chance Canadian by the other half you can only be in the winners side in tonight's Hockey finale!
This was great! Thank you so much for the fun. The stamp was fantastic. Subscribed.
Wow. I enjoyed your video. A great way to cnc a lathe with out wrecking it. Thanks Bradley
It's one of those "Why didn't I think of that?!" moments. The most ingenious ideas are so simple and obvious, they are overlooked.
Здравей. Невероятни и удивителни неща показваш. Радост за окото и съзнанието. Благодаря.
Благодаря ти!
Hello. You show amazing and amazing things. A joy for the eye and the mind. Thanks.
Brilliant, can’t wait to watch more.
Amazing engineering with great results. Nicely done Sir!
Very nice my workmanship friend, and it’s nice to see old school blueprints as well, I began learning mechanical drafting in 8th year of primary school, and I fell in love with it on the first project assigned. Even though I’ve long since learned CAD, I still prefer to draft out my concepts by hand first & then go copy into CAD.
I work off of paper plans any day rather than off a computer screen, (even though it will have to be done if g-codes are needed). However once I have everything down and finalized, I always print a fresh copy and give it another study before I start to make a project, I just like the paper, & it’s handy to have if I conceptualize something new while in the process of a build, I flip it sketch it! Also ya got another subscriber today, looking forward to more fantastic ideas and videos!!!…
Thank you!
I'ts quite funny, that when you make a drawing in the CAD, you can stare it all day on the display, but while the printed sheet is still warm you have already found couple of missing important dimensions on it. Next you go to milling machine or lathe and wonder why the origins of the dimensions are awkwardly oriented wrong way around for the operation.
This is great - just what I was looking for. I want to make some anvils for my DIY english wheel. I would have never imagined your solutions. Thanks
This would definitively beat any mini-lathe on that. I would choose bigger motor for compound slide, the trapezoidal (Acme) lead screw has terribly bad efficiency under heavy loads. Material removal on large diameter steel parts can easily make the motor lose some steps and expensive stock is ruined.
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Thanks for the information. Stay warm. Dave
Can you tell me what type of motors you used? Thanks
@@davethurston753 www.ebay.com/itm/283425207825
This works fine with the cross slide ball screw
Such a great idea! Nice humor in the video as well!
Absolutely stunning work thanks, that stamp blew my mind 🤯
Hope your mind will heal allright! That part was meant to be one of those TH-cam-moments, where you have wasted several minutes of precious watch time and disappointed with the completely useless result!
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 actually your video worth every second to watch, and its not all about the result, the techniques and the idea that lead to that result is very very useful, again thanks for sharing!
Just came across this video: That is a brilliant approach! Also the the presentation is excellent and funny!
So I had to subscribe. Thank you!
You are great , that machine makes excellent mould for every job
Really impressive! Especially the demo in the end.
I also want to say great job in the packaging so it is a cohesive product.
Thanks! Will not win any awards in that field, but blends in quite nicely with -70s Colchester design🤔
Beautiful work. Very cool idea
What a clever idea. Very impressed.
Wow, great build and video editing!
Exceptional, true craftsmanship.
Informative AND entertaining very well done, just wish I was that clever.
Great idea and very nice video 👍😀.
Is there more information or videos on how you build this or what parts you used ?….
Thank you for sharing this great idea 😀
Awsome and inspiring work Master. Thanks for sharing :)
Very interested in the Precision Feeding Dial. It would be an excellent improvement to my M300.
Very creative solution
Excellent, my Mori Sieki 850G may become a CNC lathe now
I also have an old Colchester with the same apron feed problem. It’s such a huge movement for a rotation of the hand wheel. That design is amazing. Can you share the idea and do a video of it? I found my next couple of projects. Thanks for your videos! They’re fantastic.
Yes, I will do a YT project video for that in near future. The current terrible sounding prototype functions just great, but is little too complex with the planetary gears. I will make the next simpler version with less gears and if it turns all right, I will post a video and share the design. If you are impatient to wait (maybe couple of months) I can send you the 3D-Step-model if you wan´t to be a guinea pig and beta-test the design in advance. E-mail: graf.nasenheim@outlook.com
Absolutely brilliant!
ES LO MEJOR QUE HE VISTO, USTED ES UN MAESTRO.
¡ Gracias !
Koneinsinööri arvostaa! Asiallinen toteutus!
Kiitos! Ite olen valeinsinööri, mutta se oli kanavanimenä jo varattu. Sinullapa vasta on mielenkiintoisia projekteja, täytyy ajan kanssa ottaa katsontaan.
It’s so so clever!
It gives me so so many bad ideas.
Like more of that was what I needed… 🙄😆
You sir earned another subscriber. Great videos. Keep em up.
The geometry of that quick change tool post is suboptimal at best. If you happen to be greedy with cut depth and holder gives even slightly, it will extend the tool further out and worsen the situation. I learned to like the fish tail type holder, although I would prefer the kind that I do not yet have.
I haven´t had problems, that I could put the blame on this quick change system. The repeatability is not the best, it must be taken in account in production runs with tool changes. The dovetail may be better, I have never used such. But I have some bad experiences from cheap Multifix clones.
What do you know, i just got my enco 19250 lathe running and need to cnc convert it... Then in the intro i see the same controls as my machine! Im very much looking forward to watching this video 100x now
They could see this coming, and in some places, such as BT and ferranti, they had this with vacuum tube computers and core memory.
Babbage would have loved it.
Im so jealouse of your work... Amazing
It was interesting to see you use a parting tool to shape the egg cup. There is the cutting action of the leading edge,
then a programmed travel to register the trailing edge into its cutting position. I suppose you have to choose carefully
what parts to use this technique on. 👍🙂
You are right, that is not the most optimal tool, but was the one I had in my hands for testing the gadget. Fusion 360 CAM handles just fine the paths for such tool. I bought later full radius carbide grooving inserts and turned some bead roller dies from toolsteel with great succes with this CNC attachment.
Flat parting tool can sometimes be very handy on a hobby CNC-lathe without tool changer; small production runs can be carried out with single program without annoying tool changes.
Amazing Video.!! Thanks for sharing your ingenious ideas.
Is very good this tools for lathes, congratulations. That simple
Excellent video. Very informative & entertaining
i tried to get mach 3 to read the index pulses for months , never got it to work.. any luck ?
The end the best part i've ever seen :)
Absolutely amazing and outstanding 👏
Great Video - Great Project. Thank You for sharing Kerkko. Liked-Subscribed-Notified Please keep sharing your great work
I like what you're doing. Subscribed!
Would like follow-up video when you mail the threading problem , suspect you may need quadrature encoder on headstock spindle.
Yes, that's on my to-doo list, but will require some research first. Mach3 can only take simple one pulse / rev signal for threading, but I was not able to get the indexing running at all. Real encoders are out of the question with Mach3 if I understand correctly. I think that my breakout board doesn't support threading at all. I will probably change the control to Acorn you suggested or Masso or whatever I think would do the job properly. The casing will not take anything bigger electronics inside and while it needs major changes I can change at the same time the Z-stepper to something with more torque. But right now it will have to wait for quieter times in the workshop...
Those Isel style ballnuts are adjustable as is, no need to use two of them. They've got a "latch" that can be pressed in by a screw in the holder to adjust backlash.
🤯Whaaat??? That information is quite well kept secret in both vendor Dold Mechatronik and manufacturers site. Or is this something that everybody knows, like: "rotate those bicycle pedals", so no need to print in the manual? Can you provide any link to a site or video, where that adjustment is explained. I feel like complete idiot now and probably for a good reason.
@@kerkkonenahaima7322
At least with german diy cnc folks it's relatively well known I guess, probably due to Isel being german and very common with the diy crowd.
But your solution isn't bad and might even be better, having two point contact etc, just not the cheapest/simplest way to go.
I'm on the go right now, but I'm sure I've got something bookmarked.
I'll post you a link in a couple of hours.
like the idea as it will allow you to take it off and have a manual lathe back
i have a medium sized lathe and might try to make sumting simulair
have my eye on a rockettronics els that doesnt quite do cad but can make some basic shapes and do all the treadsizes automaiticly on the lathe (btw it uses an encoder on the latehead not an rpm sensor that might solve the problem youre having too) , this might be just the thing i need to get it to work on a manual lathe
Nice project. That must have been take a lot of time to make and film.
Excellent project and brilliant video skillz 😀
Wou! Nyt on hieno systeemi, käy kateeksi :)
Sir..
This is genius engg.. I just subscribe.. How much is 1 set -- ready to instal and plug in?
Awesome channel and amazing work
Mahtava varuste manusorviin!
fun an great craftsmenship, keep up the good work...
Cool video, well done!
Nice Device!! Congrats.
But I have side question.
How did you make those Graphics animations, since Mach3 cannot do that. (only line draw paths.)
And also, Are you sharing the details of construction of your device??
Thanks in Advance.
Greetings from Los Angeles California.
The tool paths were made with Autodesk Fusion 360 and the turning simulation clip is from that.
The whole 3D-assembly model can be downloaded from: grabcad.com/library/cnc-attachment-for-manual-lathe-1 It requires signing in, but is free. The compound slide unit needs to be tailor made to every lathe model, so my 3D -model can't be taken literally.
@@kerkkonenahaima7322 Oh, Thanks Amigo.
I'll get on it!!!
BTW I subscribed. (y)
very original MOD approach, thanks !
Wow, seriously well done!
To have a better experience in power-snapping m3 or 6-32 taps in cold rolled cheap steel, or other ductile materials, convert your tap drills and taps to thread forming or “roll taps”. You wind up with stronger threads and fewer snapped taps. Indeed, you have to do some stupid things to break a tap with a forming tap, like trying to tap D2 tool steel.
Also, a colchester lathe has the torque and rigidity to convert to CNC, so good choice. Other good choices would be other gear driven lathes and Monarch (my favorite manual lathe), which is DC motor driven, and silent AF when turned on.
I have some experience of forming taps with Flow-drill friction formed draw holes on stainless sheet metal, with rather good success. I haven't never tried them on more solid parts, but certainly will give them a try in the future, thanks for the tip.
Monarch lathes are quite rare this side of the Atlantic, but what seen on TH-cam, they seem great machines.
I put an index on my lathe spindle and tried to get threading to work but failed until I put a Warp9 Smooth Stepper breakout board into the system. You have to read the breakout board specification carefully to avoid this problem. As you have found, they do not all allow threading from a single pulse per revolution.
Warp9 seems to be good option here. For the card I used, there was not much manual to read. I kinda assumed they all support this pretty basic function, now I know better.
Finnish ingenuity always amazes me.
Amazing work! Thanks for the video
Dudeson. I am in love w the same lathe. Lol.
Awesome job man!
Nice bottle opener!
Would you do the conversion differently today knowing anything else you know now?
Nicely done!!!
I have a nice metal lathe but it terrifies me. I think I will go your route and make it CNC so I don’t have to go anywhere near that death trap while it is in operation. Worst that I would expect is a crash from a broken cutter or mistake in the gcode.
When the code is CAM-generated, most hickups can be seen in the cutting simulation. I run my CNC-attachment so that the compound slide hits its physical travel limit just before the tool reaches the chuck jaws. So it's kinda safer in that manner than real CNC-lathes. But you are right, this amount of rotating mass doesn't stop in a blink of an eye, if something crashes.
Any links to part sources...and what programming did you use...? Mach..?..mistnof what I know is back from old binary tapes....one more do you need to set parameters.
.or just trial cut and that's zero point
Outstanding video. Thank you for sharing.
love the channel , love your work
Awesome attachment! How much it cost to for building it ? Greets from Eastern Canada.
Thanks!
I think ~$500 would buy decent quality parts for the project. I dug most of the stuff from my scrap bin, so no budget calculations were made.
Es lo mas ingenioso que he visto en mucho tiempo
Please Kerkko give us some more!!