Stylised Scrapings

How on earth do you guys that machine parts do it effectively? Below are my first two tries at a pulley, they didnt turn out quite how I imagined. I used a drillpress going at about 500ish rpm and a hacksaw blade. Very safe, I know. Atleast I wore a mask

Thats not a bad effort mate, but i think they use mini lathe's, way out of most peoples price range though.
Hope you had a safety zone too.!!   

Yeah the drillpress I bought was $100 bucks, but I suppose the concept is the same as using a lathe, using the moveable job-rest plate as a tool holder lol.

A hobby-lathe is very high up on my bucket list though.

rekon a cutting tool used in a lathe would give a much cleaner cut than a haksaw blade

Rekon Bunnings has em? theyre made from tungsten arent they? Wonder if tungsten tipped screwdrivers are available lol

My last attempt of the night

Personally Slowly, I think you've done a good job with the equipment at hand. There's a lot to be said for built not bought!

dunno where u would get them maybe a local engineering firm could supply them or at least tell u where to find them, but as Deaf as says u have done well with the equipment u have

Looks promising.

I have this taped up over my lathe.

Now as you can see your 500rpm is a little slow.
Ramp it up if you can.
As for tools, I think you might be on the right track with screw drivers as they should have hardened tips.
You could also try needle files as well as your trusty hacksaw blade.
Buying lathe tools might seem like a good idea but how are you going to hold them?  They are designed to be clamped into the tool holder of a lathe.

Get some soluble/cutting oil from a tool shop, read the instructions on the bottle and then use it to lubricate the work piece (but keep it away from the motor).

Now, safety.  I know telling you not to do this won't do any good so just be aware of the risks.
Wear goggles.
Get your tool rest as close to the workpiece as possible.
Some sort of guarding would be nice but probably not practical.
Make sure no one can get too close without you noticing.
Never leave it running unattended.
And make sure there is an obvious way to switch it off quickly.

Good luck.

Thanks guys

Zen thats brilliant info, thanks! As for setting a lathe tool, the drillpress came with a jobrest that moves up, down and side to side, so clamping a tool on there shouldnt be a problem. The jobrest also tilts, which I wont be toughing as Ill never get it back to a perfect 0 degrees. I forgot bout oil, thanks Your safety info is noted, I've got my goggles resting atop the drillpress, covering the ON button just incase I catch a case of the forgetfuls. Ive been watching some lathe videos, freeforming wood stuff mostly (its really relaxing for some reason) and have noticed the 'leverage' physics of the toolrest those fellas use. Been putting it into practice, last thing i want is a hacksaw blade to the face.

Thanks again for the info, it's outrageously helpful.

I have a mini lathe, not cheap, but I gotta admit man, ya didnt do such a bad job with what ya had at hand, and for me thats pretty impressive,  (1) ya decided to make it, and not pay for it, (2) ya used what ya had on hand, great work man.

Thanks GK

Got some ally rod from Bunnings, heres my latest try





Turned up the speed and it's not 'chipping' as much, thanks Zen

Cool.  I make pulleys in batches while i'm in the mood,

lookin good, keep at it

Thanks GK

Forgot about this thread, Here's some more of my attempts.



My drillpress developed a knocking sound, the spindle pulley and the spindle had a bit of play between them nd made the most horrific racket. Theres a square nut at the top of the pulley I couldnt get to so I shoved some bits of plastic in either side of it and it fixed it for now. All my tools are blunt so I need to get some better ones, still hunting down some parting-off tools. I've been eyeing off the lathe on hobbytoolsaustralia the past while and saving a bit of dosh so I can one day get it, but for now its all drillpress.

A friend told be about ally welding rods that come as small as .9mm, anybody know about em? Id love to be able to get some and see if they can be 'lathed' or squished into hexrod for making little detailed fuel rails!

I like the work you are doing with limited equipment and unlimited imagination ! What are you using for a fan belt ?

Very cool dude

Hey thanks fellas Sorry it's been so long.

ozmodeler I never was happy enough with them that they got to the fanbelt stage. But Iv heard black electrical tape cut to thin strips works pretty good

For fan belts I would use heat shrink cut down into strips, looks like rubber because it is rubber and if it ever gets warm it'll shrink slightly, nice and tight. You can get it from places like Jaycar etc.
BTW Slowly, I hadn't seen this post before but that is a brilliant effort with a drill press, mine's too wobbly to do that so sometimes I use my Dremel tool or..... my mini lathe LOL.
Yeah a mini lathe is expensive but if you're serious about the hobby save your pennies and get yourself one some day, you will never look back.
As the Zen master suggested look up some speed charts and speed up the drill press too.
A little trick might be to break a hacksaw blade and use the broken face rather than the actual teeth. Or if you have a bench grinder or angle grinder cut the blade with that and make a mini cutting tip.
Also get some wet and dry paper and while the pulley is still in the drill press give it a polish right up to 1200 grade with a bit of water and they'll shine.

Thanks man! I'm never serious lol But I have been squirreling away some nuts for winter and a lathe is on the list! Bloody santa missed it by a mile this time round

Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to do some testing etc with the shrink tubing and hacksaw blades

Verry, Verry Imprisive man, ya have come along way, awesome work.