Before I became incapacitated here I was working on my perceptron program in Python and Scikit-Learn. I'm building models using those programming techniques to construct physical neural networks using FPGA's, CPDL's along with some Op Amps on circuit boards designed with KiCad. And when those are done I hope to implement those finished products in my Alysha Linguistic AI program.
I'm sure some of you have seen me make posts on these various projects. They are all related and starting to come together. Sure would be nice to finish those projects. I was also hoping on making some Vlog videos of how I'm doing all these things.
In addition to that I was working on my close-up Raspberry Pi camera module as per my recent thread on that topic. This is so I can film my lathe work. Speaking of lathes,...
Tell my sister to look the other way because she doesn't know about the following:
But lookie at what I bought this summer:
I ought to be able to build some hefty robot parts with this baby huh?
It's a 16" x 38" No. 3 Warner $ Swasey turret lathe.
If my sister ever finds out about this I'm dead meat. Shhhhhhhhh!
As a qualified Toolmaker, not a machine I would have personally purchased, but if you got it for a steal, then that's OK for a home shop! I worked on many different models as an apprentice, but nevertheless, you should at least be able to pump out some good components, but maybe just not so metrologically accurate as otherwise could be.
BTW... love your "1947 Chevy Fleetline"... not so different to our FJ Holden!
As a qualified Toolmaker, not a machine I would have personally purchased, but if you got it for a steal, then that's OK for a home shop!
As a qualified toolmaker myself, I agree. 😉 You hit the nail on the head. It was indeed a steal of a lifetime. I could have driven it straight to a metal scrap yard and made a profit. Can't beat that.
Not only that but this particular machine is in near immaculate condition considering its age. I don't know its history, but my guess is that it was previously used by some type of research facility where it didn't actually see that much use. Perhaps they had some specialty parts they needed to make and chose to buy this lathe rather than farm our the manufacturing of the parts? Not sure the history, but this thing is pristine. It's also 100% complete. No tooling, but the lathe itself is complete. Including a functional master collet with closer. And with this master collet you can easily make whatever size collet pads you need. So this is perfect for me.
I might add that to even find a used master collet for this lathe you could expect to pay at least 3 times more for just the collet than I paid for the whole shebang.
But yeah, you can be certain it was a steal, or it wouldn't be in my garage. 🤣
Would I have preferred a high quality engine lathe, like say a Monarch? ABSOLUTELY! But you're not going to touch a working engine lathe this size for scrap metal prices. Or anywhere even close to that. In fact, at one time I used to have a 16" South Bend lathe with all the attachments, and a Bridgeport milling machine too. I wish I still had those. But I don't. So I had to settle for this near give-away pristine S&W turret lathe.
As a toolmaker I'm sure you know that there are tons of ways to do things on a turret lathe that you would typically choose an engine lathe to do. It just takes a bit more ingenuity. By the way, this lathe is going to provide more than enough precision for any robot parts that I intend to build. So there's no problem there. I doubt that I'll ever need to make anything to within a few tenths. In fact, most things I will be making will be quite happy with tolerances of even a couple thou. With care I can probably work to within a half a thou anyway. So extreme precision is not an issue for what I intend to use this lathe for.
But yeah, this lathe was embarrassingly CHEAP. I was lucky to have found it at the price I paid.
In the meantime I like to just post the picture of the lathe and let people think, "Boy he must have paid a pretty penny for baby!". Why tell them that I bought it for scrap metal prices? That spoils all the fun.
So no, you're never going to find a decent engine lathe a this price. It's not going to happen. Unless someone dies and their spouse had no clue what it's worth.
BTW... love your "1947 Chevy Fleetline"... not so different to our FJ Holden!
Nice car! I actually found my 47' Chevy at a steal too. My sister paid for it, but I did all the leg work to find it and bring it home. I haven't found anything close to this shape for the price I got mine for. In fact, I've seen a tone of them going for twice or more that weren't anywhere near as nice. Missing motors, broken windows, sunk in the mud for decades. To get one this complete that actually starts and runs you're more likely to pay ten times what I got this one for. So, yes, another steal. 😎
Things have to be sold for a steal for me to end up with them. 🤣
So anything I own, you can be certain I didn't pay much for it.
But yeah, this lathe was embarrassingly CHEAP. I was lucky to have found it at the price I paid.
In the meantime I like to just post the picture of the lathe and let people think, "Boy he must have paid a pretty penny for baby!". Why tell them that I bought it for scrap metal prices? That spoils all the fun.
So no, you're never going to find a decent engine lathe a this price. It's not going to happen. Unless someone dies and their spouse had no clue what it's worth.
You guy's are lucky over there when it comes to cheap machinery. Since our manufacturing industry collapsed, all the machinery houses obtained virtually all of the machinery at actions at the expense of business foreclosures, and you'll be lucky to find anything secondhand that isn't being sold at a crooked monopoly price from anyone other than them... bastards will try to sell you a rusty broken down capstan from $1,500 to $5,000 AUD, and then you have to spend more to tool it up and repair it!
Likewise with the cars.. that one in the picture would catch ~$50,000 to $75,000 AUD.
A reproduction fender for my 68 is $2,000 AUD (each).
You guy's are lucky over there when it comes to cheap machinery
The deal I got on this lathe was even a steal in the USA. They had this lathe on eBay for $1795 for about a month or so. Then one day they dropped the price to $302. I couldn't believe my eyes! I called them up thinking this must be some kind of misprint. But nope it was for real. I actually bought the lathe right there on the phone. I hadn't even seen it in-person yet. Although they had a couple dozen photos of it on their site, including close-ups of just about anything you might want to look at. It appeared to be all there with no missing or broken parts.
For $302 I took a chance and grabbed it. I live about a mile away from a metal scrap yard. I figured it turns out to be junk, at that price, I could just take to the scrap yard and get a refund.
In the photos it looked so pristine I figured it probably can't be that bad unless someone ran it out of oil and ruined all the gears in the headstock. That was certainly a possibility. So it was a bit of a gamble. But I took the chance and picked it up. When I got it home I took the cover off the headstock and the gears look like brand new. Not even worn. And covered with a nice coat of glistening oil. Everything else on the lathe appears to work and be in tight tolerance. So I think I did well. And like I say, if it turns out to have some major unseen problem. the scrap yard is only a mile down the road. Plus, I'm pretty sure I could make even more than that by parting it out first if it came to that.
But yeah, I'd much rather have an engine lathe. I'd love to have a Monarch like Adam Boothe on Abom79. I watch his channel all the time. I would even settle for another South Bend like i used to own. But I'm not going to buy either of those for $300. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was a fluke stroke of luck that I got this one at this price. It was one of those steals you just can't pass on. Especially when there's a scrap metal yard only a mile from my house. It wasn't a big risk purchase.
But yeah, it was a steal even in the USA. Not an everyday find.
A reproduction fender for my 68 is $2,000 AUD (each).
I know. That's why I saw my1947 Chevy as yet another steal. I paid less than half-a-fender for that baby. Can't pass that up.
All the glass is in tact. The interior is complete with every single knob, etc. Although it does need reupholstered really bad. I'm working on that. The motor runs just fine, all original. Transmission and rear end work smooth. It's a standard transmission 3-speeed. It came with all the trim for the car. So it's basically 100% there. No serious rust either. A couple spots here and there, but nothing intrusive. The frame is in real good shape.
I don't think I went wrong picking it up for half the price of a reproduction fender. 😊
In fact, I've seen 1947 Chevys in similar condition on eBay selling for $12,000. I'd never pay that much for it, but apparently some other people will.
In fact, I've actually seen quite a few 1947 Chevys in far worse shape. All the glass broken out, no interior at all. Some even with no motor or transmission, and they're going for around $6000 in that terrible of condition. So yep, I guess I bought a gold mine there.
But this was another once-in-a-lifetime steal, even in the USA. Don't come to the USA expecting to find deals like this around every corner. It's not going to happen. This was another fluke find.
Edited to Add:
I should probably mention that the doors on my Chevy open and close like a brand new car. The hinges are in beautiful shape. Normally on a car this old, assuming it's original, when you open a door it drops quite a bit from the play in the worn-out hinges. Especially the driver's door. But these doors open and close like it just came off the assembly line at the factory. So this car probably wasn't used a lot. In fact, the guy who sold it to me said that it's always been garage kept and never left outside. That's a lot better than buying one you have to tow out of a mud hole. 👍
Whoever thought that bacterial pneumonia would be a welcome disease?
Please be careful about this one and your health and (though I dont want to sound like any medic), please do take care at least until all of this is through.
You guy's are lucky over there when it comes to cheap machinery
The deal I got on this lathe was even a steal in the USA.
Fair enough, but my overpricing complaint stems well beyond engineering and motor cars and parts alone (it's everything)... and this electronics game is just as big a ripoff! I envy how cheap you guy's in the states and Canada can get electronics components and equipment, etc... just check on eBay.com.au for example for a raspberry pi... outrageous!
Please be careful about this one and your health and (though I dont want to sound like any medic), please do take care at least until all of this is through.
I spend 99% of my time laying in bed trying to breathe without pain. 😊
I just got up about an hour ago to take my antibiotics, and I also snuck in a much needed bath. That was a smorgasbord of pain. But it was worth it. I feel much cleaner now. Now back off to bed again.
The eBay.au appears to be asking $145 for a similar kit.
That's close to double.
Can you not order from Vilros?
Also, I often order a lot of stuff from China. It takes a month or more to get here, but the savings are usually worth the wait.
Indeed, a massive ripoff Not only do we make up the dollar conversion rate, but our bastard government slaps a 10% online purchasing tax, over and above the exchange rate, and also incorporates import duties/taxes upon checkout, and who knows what else - It just doesn't add up!
Same thing applies to software... Microshaft for example, sting us wildly for the same software downloaded anywhere in the world (this was I think even raised on 60 minutes program a while back)... there is no shipping, no nothing, yet we are charged a super premium... our governments are in bed with too many of these pedo blackmailing bastards!
A long time back we had alternatives, but these days locally, we really only have Jaycar (ripoffs), or online ripoffs otherwise - We're stuffed!
I have not heard of Vilros, and so not sure if they even deliver internationally, but I'll see what I can find out, thanks!
I spend 99% of my time laying in bed trying to breathe without pain.
Back in 2008, I was on the bed for 8 long months. Arthritis had stuck because of my Ulcerative Colitis and experimentation with doctors (we have some of the most idiotic and non-informed doctors at my place, sorry, but I am real upset with them as they took 5 long years and even then could not get me diagnosed).
So I can understand how a workaholic feels when s/he is confined to the bed. Am pretty certain that you would be spending some of your time on the bed reading and making audio notes of your research, study. And my friend, all of this will be useful and handy once you get out of it (bed).
It all must come down to supply and demand. If you think something is overpriced then there is an opportunity for you to buy from the same suppliers used by Jaycar or Altronics and selling the items cheaper. Companies need to make a profit after paying high wages, import taxes, transport costs and so on. Australia is a big country with a small population that is why there is a limit to how big and profitable a company can be in Australia when you take into account the economies of scale and the cost of holding stock. There are transport costs from overseas because we gave away manufacturing electronics to other countries and have to import everything.
Although the few electronic items I needed to buy for my robot project were expensive it was a one off cost for a few items and a small part of my total ongoing expenses. It is the lack of variety of components from Jaycar and Altronics that disappoints me but again I guess there isn't the demand from enough people to make it worth while for them to stock that variety of components and hardware. They are also now competing with overseas online suppliers who can provide those items.
Please be careful about this one and your health and (though I dont want to sound like any medic), please do take care at least until all of this is through.
I spend 99% of my time laying in bed trying to breathe without pain. 😊
I just got up about an hour ago to take my antibiotics, and I also snuck in a much needed bath. That was a smorgasbord of pain. But it was worth it. I feel much cleaner now. Now back off to bed again.
So you are still not out of the woods yet. Like you I was too sick with some kind of pneumonia to get to the doctor and lay in bed for three days listening to gurgling sounds in my lungs whenever I turned over. When I finally got to the doctor they looked at an xray of the dark clouds on my lungs and declared I was lucky and should have been in hospital. However my symptoms were very mild compared with yours otherwise I would have called an ambulance. Just hope you have the right antibiotic for we are running out of effective antibiotics thanks to their misuse.
Yes still deep in a dense forest bumping into every tree in sight.
On the Dark Side:
Last night was extremely painful. Almost impossible to relax enough to fall asleep. Laying flat on my back and breathing as shallowly as possible seemed to be the position of least pain. But even then it was hard to relax enough to actually fall asleep. Fortunately I finally did doze off.
Other than the extreme pain, I'm not experiencing any gurgling or wheezing so that's good.
On the Bright Side:
I just got up and the pain is far more tolerable for the moment. Still flashes of sharp pain with various movements. but overall much more tolerable in general.
However my symptoms were very mild compared with yours otherwise I would have called an ambulance.
I was just in the ER. They took a ton of xrays, and EKG, blood work, etc. Yet they sent me home with a few antibiotics. Perhaps I'm safer at home with Covid-19 on the loose? The longer I say in the hospital the greater the chance that I could pick up Covid there. So in that sense, I'm glad to be home.
A Silly Aside:
The xray technicians were two beautiful women. I was joking with them that I can't wait to get back home to tell the guys that two beautiful women wanted to take my picture while I was in the hospital.
But then, in addition to taking various chest xrays, they also took some xrays of my groin. I told them, I didn't know I would be asked to pose for pornographic xrayology. 🤣
Just hope you have the right antibiotic for we are running out of effective antibiotics thanks to their misuse.
Me too. I'm hope I'm actually heading on a path that leads out of the woods. I'd hate to think that I might actually be wandering deeper into the forest.
In the best of times, staying in the hospital and being closely monitored would indeed be the better situation. They probably sent me home precisely because of the Covid pandemic. I'm willing to guess that in normal times I'd be in the hospital right now. I hope these antibiotics work!
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