Making the Cut

I’ve started learning how to use the lathe. In addition to getting the faces of the metal absolutely perfectly square, I’ve managed to remove about 20mm from the radius of a 100mm stainless steel cylinder, 0.2mm at a time. Good practice, but somewhat time consuming. Ultimately, I want to cut out a rocket nozzle, but that’ll take some engineering, and I don’t know how to do it yet. At minimum, I’m going to need a boring bar.

Also, I’m learning how to make very accurate measurements, but I still need the proper tools. Hopefully, after Christmas, I can pick some up. I’ve been informed that Santa has some metalworking goodies for me, so I’m waiting patiently. In the meantime, I bought some calipers so I can transfer measurements. My goal is to cut two pieces of metal to the same diameter, at least to within .02mm.

Meanwhile, I put in an order to OnlineMetals.com and they are sending me metal to play with. Apparently, I can also get “cut-offs” from a place in Phoenix super-cheap, so I’ll definitely want to check that out next time I’m up.