Of Lathes and Punch and Dye sets

Try http://www.micro-mark.com although their gear will be 110v, you could either find a supplier of the same gear in Oz, or get a transformer to run the kit on the correct voltage.

As to the Waldron punch & die set... it's VERY expensive for what you get. I've got an engineer friend of mine working on making on as per the instructions from a thread on here. It's just a metal plate fastened to a clear acrylic plate, with holes in it, through which you use the punches to stamp out circles. The home-made set would cost you cents if you have access to the required tools to make it.

Can't remember the name of the thread, but it's fairly recent, so have a search.

Hi Mike,

thanks for the info, yep, I thought that the Waldron was a bit pricy..will take a look around. Thanks again

GB

A lathe is a major investment, but is critical if you do any amount of serious scratchbuilding. As a ship modeler (predominately), I'm always turning gun barrels and masts and other fittings like vents, capstans, etc...

A lathe is not the solution to all the problems however. It takes time and patience to learn to use one, especially if you're looking for consistency, say, like nine 16"/50cal. barrels for an Iowa-class battleship.

A punch and die set is a good investment, along with a nice reamer set and a PE bending brake, either Hold-and-Fold or Etch-Mate. You don't use them all the time, but when you do, you'll never figure out how you could work without them. It expedites your build, and improves the quality.

Jeff

giobosco;

As far as a miniature lathe goes, it depends what you want to turn. If you want a good lathe that you can power with an available motor without converting a power supply unit. Follow this link http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3&p=43104&cat=1,330,50260&ap=1 it should take you to the Taig Lathe that I will be getting soon to replace my Dremel Lathe.

Punch and Die sets, round punch sets you can make yourself with a simple power drill and an assortment of bits. You will need a piece of tool steel and a piece of perspex (plexiglass) mount both in a vice squarely and drill the holes through both pieces. For the punches you can use the shank of worn out bits of the same size that have been sharpened. For hexagonal, use allen keys and a piece of hard rubber like a hockey puck (Canadian Multi Tool) and tap the allen key through the plastic or thin metal.

If you need further help. Feel free to email.

Cheers;

Gregory

Hi guys,

thanks for all the info, I have a small question however...how does one cut out the small instruments from Waldron?? they are circular, and well in 1/48 are darn small to cut by hand with a pair of scissors, can something be made at home to do this type of thing? like you said Gregory, one never uses these things all the time, but then you need them and ya haven't got'em...thaaaat's a problem...

thanks to all again

GB

GB;

For "cutting" the instruments out. You could create a punch from a drill bit of equal size. Take the bit and slightly sharpen the flat end with a grinder or grinding bit in a Dremel will work. Place the "sharpened" end over the instrument to be cut out. Tap the cutter with a rubber mallet until it cuts through. If you use a hockey puck or similar solid rubber object this will allow you to cut the instrument out without wrecking the drill bit.

Cheers;

Gregory

Hi Gregory,

Thanks for that, will give that a go. I will have to find something else to use apart from a hockey puck, unfortunately here down under, hockey isn't big at all, what is big is a sausage sizzle on a BBQ and a couple 'o beers, not much help when you're trying to do fine detail work...hehhehe..

Thanks sooo much for the help and best regards

GB

I have had a Sherline Lathe for about 20 years - it has given me excellent service. Not the cheapest Lathe, but a solid, well built machine that will last a lifetime. Excellent customer support as well. Unimat makes or made some nice machines too, but stay away from the bottom line model, which is all plastic and not rigid enough to do serious work. If you need more capacity, look at Grizzly Industrials offerings - they are accurate for the most part, and decently, if not spectacularly finished.

Historex, out of England, makes punch sets that are cheaper than Waldron, but not as nicely made - they will do the job, however, and offer hex punches too. The posters above are correct that you can make your own cheaply, but a drill press is really required to do a nice job- the two holes need to be in close registration with each other, and perpendicular to the work. You want a nice crisp cut across the bottom of the punch, to leave a sharp edge around the perimeter - any softness wil cause the punched disc to tear.

Kurt

Thanks Kurt, That site looks good too....full of goodies. I agree that you need to construct it pretty much perfect, if you want it to work.

regarding the lathes..yeah, it's quite an investment, but I think it opens new horizons for the modeler...need to budget for it or better still ask father christmas (nicely)...

If you should bite the bullet and buy a set of Waldron punch set, I believe the larger of the two sets (and the cheaper) will work very well with the decals you have.

Thanks for that, what would be the best place to look??

Has anyone tried sharpening the end of a short length of brass tub as a cutter for instruments? A tap using a puck as a backer and poke out the dial from the other end of the tube.

I ordered my lathe from Australia.
http://www.clisbyminiaturemachines.com/index.html
The Clisby is similar to the Sherline but smaller. It's no wonder because Mr. Clisby designed the Sherline too. I've been very happy with my little Clisby and you can't beat it's price.

Hi Woody,

Thanks for that, it looks good, I looked at the site, but I'm a bit confused now...sorry, but even though I worked with a lathe I have a question or 2.. The lathe doesn't come with a chuck, and a self centering one is a must. I have to get some sort of power supply, and that isn't a prob, a battery charger from the auto-spare shop no trouble there either, a couple of tool bits no prob...anything else that I might have missed??

Thanks again for the help and regards

Gb

QUOTE: Originally posted by giobosco Hi Woody, The lathe doesn't come with a chuck, and a self centering one is a must. I have to get some sort of power supply, and that isn't a prob, a battery charger from the auto-spare shop no trouble there either, a couple of tool bits no prob...anything else that I might have missed??

Mine came with a four jaw chuck and I plan on getting the self centering three jaw chuck as well. A couple of tool bits and the power source should get you started. I hooked mine up to a battery charger and used the bit that came with it, the day my package arrived. I bought the combo package with the long lathe and the milling machine.

Marvelous, thanks woody, these lathes are reasonably priced, they are small and compact, and they look ideal for our uses!!

Thanks again and best regards to all

Gb

GB, If you go to the Harbor Website, you can find the exact same punch set for a lot less money. It has 9 different sizes just like Waldron's punch set. I used to use one where I worked a few years ago and it did the job nicely. I was mainly punching copper sheets. It was great.