• Products
    • D21 Adj UCA
    • 320/520/521/620 Disc Brake Kit >
      • Donor Vehicle and Part Information >
        • Hub Info
        • Rotors
        • Calipers
        • Hoses - Banjo Bolts
        • Master Cylinder
    • 320/520/521/620(drum) Urethane UCA Bushings
    • 311 Roadster Disc Brake Kit >
      • Caliper options
      • Breck Myers Manifold Blueprint
    • 1200 Disc Upgrade Kit
    • 411 Disc Brake Kit
    • Pushrod
    • Spacer for 320/520/521
    • L-Series Downpipe Flange
    • Wheel Spacers
  • Manuals
  • How To's
    • King pin rebuild info
    • Installations >
      • Truck Kit Install >
        • Stock Rims
      • Roadster Kit Install
    • 5 Lug Swap, Nissan D21 Hardbody
    • Automotive >
      • Door Hinge Repair
      • L-Series Valve Adjustment
      • Headlight Switch Restoration
      • Differential / Rearend >
        • Spider Gear Swap
      • Wiper Repair - Servicing >
        • Wiper Blade - Replacing
      • Tension Rod Modification
      • Tie-rod removal
      • Brake Pad and Rotor Replacement
      • Ignition Switch
      • Weber DGV Rebuild
      • Ignition Wires
      • Electronic Ignition for E & J series engines
      • Steering Column Mods
    • General/Misc >
      • HF Electric Hoist Mount >
        • Misc Electric Hoist Info
      • Airbody saw blade option
      • Bending Brake for Shop Press
  • Misc
    • L16 Exhaust Flange
    • K772 Ball Joint Wrench
    • Garage Door White Board
    • Spindle comparison 311-411
    • Big Brake, Ball Joint, 5 Lug
    • 410/411 brake upgrade pics
    • Eric Capps' 620 brake kit installed
    • Adjustable UCA
    • Ball Joint Info/Parts
    • Truck Firewall Steering Column Flange/Gasket
    • L-series Timing Chain Tension Retainer
    • Brake Kit CAD
    • Spindle Template for aluminum bracket
    • Weber Adapters
    • 9 x 20 CNC Lathe
    • Brake Master Cylinder Anatomy
    • 521 Wiring Schematics
    • RX-7 Auto-Manual Conversion Brackets
    • Misc Pics
    • Enco 1340 Reference
    • Vise Hold Down Blocks
    • Dual Point Distibutor Info
    • Misc Pic Dump
  • Car Show Pics
    • Blue Lake 2012
    • Goodguys Spokane 2012
    • Rod Run Long Beach 2012
  • FAQ Page
  • Contact BHF
  • BlueHandsVideo
  • HB Adj UCA
  • Jered's 312 Wagon pics
  BlueHandsFab.com

9 x 20 CNC Lathe

I'm not quite sure at this point, where this page will go, but I just thought I'd share my new toyl (toy+tool).  I currently own a 13x40 manual lathe, so I am a bit familiar with how to machine parts on a lathe.  However, I do not know anything about CAM software, G-code or the Mach3 software that runs the HobbyCNC controller on this lathe.   I currently pay to have some of my parts made by a shop with CNC equipment.  I get a decent price from them, but I have to put it orders of around $500-750.  My hope is that I can use this lathe to do much smaller quantities affordably and to also do single, prototype pieces.  There are certain shapes that I just can't do with my manual lathe.  At least not with my current tooling. 

I was a bit envious when my friend Greg bought this off of Craigslist this last summer(2011).   But, now that he's sold it to me for an even better price, I feel just fine. :)  It's a Harbor Freight unit that was converted several years before Greg bought it.   Greg fired it up and played around a bit with it manually, using the jog feature, to make a few parts, but he never tried to run it in CNC mode.  I bought it anyway.  I've since been able to run it in CNC mode and watch it so I'm getting a bit excited about the possibilities.

I may change this around a bit later, but I'm just going to throw up some misc pics I have.