Metal Lathe Tutorial 21 : Speeds & Feeds

This is Lathe Skills, a multi-part series to help you learn basic machine shop work. Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!

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[Bird]

A King George's thumbs per fortnight to SFPM conversion chart would be great. Thanks! Also, you're the first person I've EVER heard refer to hardness as BHN, as most mention Rockwell. Having taken tens of thousands of Brinnell hardness readings (by hand) I appreciated it! Excellent video as always!

[seventwomm]

Reminds me of when I was back in machinist school. Speaking first from the perspective of manual machining. We toiled away in the classroom learning and applying feeds, speeds, and depth of cut applications to many machine tool operations, must have done numerous problems on paper using Machinery's handbook, various charts, graphs, formulas. The school did a fantastic job of scaring the shit out of you leading one to believe that if you did not apply the correct conditions to the machine and part being produced, that the world would instantly implode. Then the day came when we stepped out on to the shop floor to apply that knowledge for actually making real parts. This older instructor named Ron, old school machinist mate from the Navy from a century ago, LOL, stated it was important to know where to go and how to figure out the math, but now this is how you really do it. He then proceeded to explain we had to remember three main things: capability/condition of the machine, tool bit profile and sharpness, tool bit position - that was it. He demonstrated various speeds and feeds on various materials and sizes, with various tool bits., explained to us it was all about feel, sound, and appearance of the cut. If you are not feeling the machine, feeling the cut, hearing what it's doing, and can't see what's going on with your cut, then you will never be a real machinist. It was all about what was practical, less on the real math from the book. Went through the rest of the program employing his advise in the shop, only doing the math application on paper for assignments and exams. I'm just a machine tool hobbyist now days, but his advice is exactly how I run a machine. New Castle School of Trades 2000-2003.

[sanspareil]

Hi, and greetings from the UK! Just to say I have recently found your channel and very interested in your lathe work. I was an apprentice back in the early 1970s and did quite a bit of lathe and other machine work back in the day. However had not used a lathe since then so when in retirement I recently bought a cheap Chinese mini lathe I thought the skills would quickly come back …..some did and some didnt! So your channel has been great as a refresher……back in the day when I was an apprentice Feet and Inches were still a thing over here so even that is a reminder! Sometimes things dont quite translate when carried across the pond but pleased to say the language of engineering craftsmanship seems to be universal!

[eddietowers]

WOW, of all the people I tried to train in feeds and speeds when I was machining, yours is the most succinctly comprehensive explanation of this subject. I wish I could’ve explained it as you did, to my trainees, I’d usually get slack jawed looks of being lost. I could swear one kid drooled while I tried to explain, in the way I was trained. Great video, Very informative. 👍

[jamesberrange]

A complex subject very well explained. So good that you point out the pitfalls and assumptions in those manuals, those are the very things that trip up the amateur and hobbyist and cause us such anguish. It really brings home how much attention to detail is required to produce the top quality work that most of us strive for. Many thanks Quinn this series is invaluable.

[VOAOURKZ]

I just got done watching the lathe and the mill series. I wanted to say thank you! I accepted a tool room machinist job last fall and have already learned way more from you than my actual trainer has taught me. Thank you!!

[fepatton]

Great explanation of a tricky topic! I want you to know that because of your lathe and mill series, I have cleaned off my mini-lathe and resurrected my micro-mill, which was getting rather forlorn. It's now all tuned and trammed up and has a new precision vise. Thanks for the inspiration!

[yorinov]

feed a man a fish and you have a kitchen to clean. - teach a man to fish and you get your weekends free...

[reamer]

Quinn, i love the way you explain things. You should be labelled a hobby Machinists Legend, you would win that award for that definitely. And with that experience teachers us experience.

[zanep]

Ive spent months now trying to figure out what the diagrams and numbers meant on my (very) old craftsman metal lathe. Every guide I looked up was more numbers and units that really didn’t change my understanding. There was never an explanation of what the numbers meant. This video saved me. Thank you.

[ninthmn]

Thank you Quinn. You have an affinity for breaking down subjects and making them entertaining and enlightening . #Saturdaysarefunagain

[firebird]

I'm going to have to watch this again after I have a lathe... it was well put out, and able to be understood, but I save money slowly, so I will probably forget.

[estoncoe]

THANK YOU, A ACTUAL Wow those charts really threw me off!! Thank you for giving a truthful insight into the topic!

[gabrielbonannoo]

thank you so much. I have tried again and again to make sense of the calculators on the internet, and confused my self trying to use the handbook. What I really wanted to do is use the handbook! Thanks for showing us how.

[landonlawhead]

Your videos are some of the best on the topic of machining. Ur my hero

[mxcollin]

Great tutorial! As a fairly new home gamer at machining, I haven’t gotten very far in this aspect of machining yet. I’ve looked in “the good book” as people refer to it (Machinery’s Handbook) but holy crap there is a lot of technical info in that thing, so thank you for digging in that thing for us and breaking things down so well!!! Really enjoying your content and am learning a ton! 👏🤙

[MrSmeagolsGhost]

The Adam Booth nod was well done. Gave me a giggle

[kanmeridoc]

I most certainly did pause the vid and went back frame by frame to see the chart XD. With a safety reference I'm gonna watch the rest of the video now. Your videos have really been a great help to getting started with this, I'm constantly taking notes and printing out pages. I'm nearly to a machinists handbook now.

[pastar]

Good job tackling a tricky subject Quinn - take home message: As your average hobbyist you need to work out what your tools can manage and do well - and then write it down! No point blindly using numbers that were calculated for machines that turn wheelsets for rolling stock or the like. Leave that up to Adam.

[JustGuyMetalworks]

Great video, Quinn! Not many of these tutorials really give a good "rule of thumb" for the tool radius vs travel. Thanks😊!