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In this course you will learn everything about how to operate a Lathe and the how-to knowledge of turning out professional quality parts. In typical AGI fashion everything is covered in explicit detail, using extreme close-ups, charts, detailed drawings and mock-ups, along with the real world knowledge and instruction of a professional machinist. Every aspect of operating the lathe is covered: Parts identification and operation, tool geometry, detailed "how-to" grind tool bits step by step (and why), measuring techniques and proper use of dial calipers, micrometers and other machinist measuring tools, three, four and six jaw chucks, tool holders, face plates, collet changers, boring bars, dial indicators, threading, parting, drilling, numerous set-ups, calculating running speeds for various materials, and how to use the "Machinist Handbook" along with other key reference materials. In short, all considerations for setting up and making parts from raw stock. There is so much covered that we can't list it all! We'll take you from basic lathe operation all the way through to the set-up and step by step making of a set of precise threaded "test-bars". After you have learned to make these "test bars" you will be able to show others that you really know your stuff. The ZEN of Working the Lathe?! Master Gunsmith and Machinist Darrell Holland, who instructs this course, teaches you his personal philosophy on how to learn to feel and listen to the lathe and to "hear what it is telling you". You will know when you are making a perfect cut and when you are not. A lifetime of tricks, tips and techniques are revealed. We guarantee that this course far exceeds any other videos on the lathe, mill and general machine shop ever offered - we have looked at them all! This course is more in depth, provides you with more "tricks of the trade" and is six times longer then any of the others. After you master the information contained in this course, you will be able to walk into any machine shop and be able to competently set up and run a lathe. Look at what the Professional Lathe Course offers: The following is a brief outline of what is contained in the Professional Machine Lathe Course. The course is 12 hours in length which makes it easy to learn and review when needed. Section 1 - Introduction to the lathe history, lathe lingo, identifying the parts of the lathe, the 3 types of lathe operations, four principles of lathe operation, methods of support and determining proper speeds. Section 2 - Cutting tools, tool holders, types of cutting tools, tool geometry and grinding tools. Section 3 - Measuring and the decimal system, understanding the decimal system, measuring tools (calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, depth micrometers etc.). Section 4 - Lathe setup, precision leveling, alignment of the tailstock and (how-to make an alignment test bar).
Section 5 - Raw material selection, basic metallurgy, stock selection and preparation, chucking up, balancing and shimming. Section 6 - Listening to the lathe, facing and turning techniques, what to watch out for (chatter, overheating, poor finish, etc.), reading the chip, working with problem materials (stainless), and cutting fluids (what is out there and how to use them). Section 7 - Feed rates, power feeds and manual feed techniques, proper speed selection, taking the first cut and how-to practice.
Section 8 - Tapers - types and uses, methods of calculating and cutting, tailstock set over method and compound rest method. Section 9 - Threading - external - calculations and threading techniques, step by step instruction. Section 10 - Threading - internal - calculations and techniques, tapping and threading practice.
Section 11 - Boring holes, types, techniques and practice. Section 12 - Finishing techniques, reaming, knurling, filing and polishing. Section 13 - Advanced lathe operations, holding close tolerances, advanced threading, final practice and close.
This video was added to our catalog on May 26, 2005 in Metalworking::Professional and Metalworking::Lathe.
Product availability: very long wait
While not very entertaining (and I think good education can and ideally should be entertaining), the material presented in this set is really quite good and complete. Study this set, then watch Lathe Learnin for a set of videos that are more entertaining and an approach that contains useful short cuts.
This is an excellent well thought out and presented course. It offers multiple camera shots and is very professionally done. It is what one would expect from a vocational school and covers aspects of lathe operation in detail. I would highly recommend this video.
If you've never worked on a Lathe, which I had NOT, this video is fantastic. All the basics are covered step by step. I never felt lost. I'm not sure what an experienced lathe worker would think about this video but for a beginner its the best I've seen.
This video series is excellent. These videos did a very good job presenting the material in an easy to understand format. The instructor explains the how's and why's for each of the topics. The camera shots were very useful (although some of the shots were a bit out of focus). This is, by far, the best instructional video series I've seen. I'm looking forward to receiving the Milling Machine course.
I like this very much. It is very basic (more basic than I xpected) but I still got enough out of it that I rented the next one in the series and will rent all of them before I look at anything else.
I would like more detail on some areas, but Darrel does what a mentor would do. He speaks like a user about what he uses or has used. That means he doesn't tell you about every variation out there. He talks about his South Bend lathe, which is little like my Grizzley 12 x 24 for controls. Still, it does not take much imagination to see how almost everything is applicable to my maching efforts.
Again, very good for learning the basics. Good enough that I will watch the whole series.
After all the hype I read regarding how great this dvd series was, I was not as impressed as I wanted to be. While the depth and detail of information presented was excellent, the video suffered from a) a somewhat dry presentation by the instructor (which I guess is endemic to most technical videos), and b) poor technical aspects of the filming. Specifically, the lighting and cameras weren't the greatest. The camera man switched cameras without telling the presenter, who then appeared to be talking to someone offscreen rather than to the viewer. And finally, the technique of filming overhead shots via a mirror rather than just moving the camera over the lathe was bothersome, as the camera seemed to have a hard time focusing. That said, I doubt you'll find a more complete course elsewhere. But I'm very grateful to TVR that I was able to rent this, rather than shell out $1000+ to buy it!
Some of the course is pretty basic, and sometimes the basic information is repeated, but I liked the video, and I will probably order them all, one at a time.
Great instructional video set. This video set includes lots of great tips for the beginner. I am pleased with service. Instructional videos are expensive to produce and market. AGI does a good job with limited resources.
Technical Video Rental provides a great service for us who need video instruction but cannot afford the expensive videos that are only in limited production.
I am looking forward to renting all the other AGI instructional videos.
Todd
These videos are packed with information. At first, you may feel that the pace is a bit too slow, but once you start trying to replicate his actions, you'll find yourself hitting rewind a lot.
These videos, supplemented by internet forums such as Practical Machinist and CNCZone, are all you need to become a self-taught master machinist.
Darrell takes you thru the basics right up to some difficult projects and he makes them all look so easy. If you have to learn something learn the right way... Darrell will show you the right way! FANTASTIC SET!
Wow!!!
I rented the lathe series to see if I can learn something new. The DVDs arrived just before new years and I watched the whole thing in 2 days. Although the quality is not 'Hollywood block-buster', it was the best I ever saw. If you are even thinking of doing lathe work, you owe it to yourself to watch this series. I guarantee you will be glad you spent the money. I thought I knew everything before watching the 'Master' at work. I only have a Taig mini lathe, but the principles apply to any lathe. I had rented other machine shop DVDs before, and nothing even comes close to the depth and details of this course. The rest seem like "Home-made, Mickey Mouse" attempts.
Good thing I didn't waste my time and gas money going to the local community college and paying $475 for a part-time hobbyist course. If you want to make a living by becoming a machinist, you will HAVE to go to a technical college and jump through the hoops of apprenticeship to prove your worth, but if you want to learn everything there is to know about running a lathe and do your own machining, this course is a must!
Super fine, a lot of information and presented well. All four of them are a must for someone wanting to learn right the first time.
Get all four of them! A lot of learning here, he is great.
Definitely worth watching for me. I knew much of this stuff from my younger days and it was nice to refresh and even see things I forgot or had never seen. Not for the more experience machinist but for us guys that don't do a lot of it I thought it was great. Besides Rudy's video's I think these were the best here.
Excellent course, only some out of focus overhead shots kept me from rating it 5 stars. I wish it had been more specific to gunsmithing, but it gives a great foundation for lathe work.
Very good DVD! A must first step to learning a lathe if you aren't taking classes. The instructor is top notch and one of the best gunsmiths there is.
It was a good instructional video. I am going to find the rest of the series.
Very informative. Slightly dull, best taken in multiple sessions.
Excellent DVD, easy to understand instruction. I rented second DVD the next day. Thank you.
I would like to own both the Professional Lathe and Mill course DVDs. I found where I can buy them and OUCH!!! $1K plus!!
Great videos with all the right content. Only problem, I find that I need to go back and review things as there is so much to pick up I can't remember it all with just one/two/three viewings.
Nice job Darrel!
Neil Dodson W9NU Elkhart, IN
Biil M, The DVDs were great, the photography the best I have seen on basic and advanced machining. Unlike Rudy's series where he gives you print outs of all the important formulas and calculations, I found that I had to stop and take notes and write down the formulas. With the DVD format it was easy and reminded me of my days in graduate school. Writing things down myself from the DVD helps to implant the image sooner at least in my brain. After viewing the lathe series I just had to see the rest.
Very good DVD I learned a lot will need to rent it again later, there is a lot of things to learn and remember will need a refresher. Thanks How much do u get for a set of those tapes used if I want to buy them? Tom
Very good excellent DVD instruction is very helpful and opens many doors thanks
The content was very good, unfortunately the DVD was scratched and I couldn't understand the last 10 minutes of the program.
Of all the lathe videos I've watched on Smartflix, Darrell Holland in my opinion does the best job explaining the lathe and is the best organized. The video and audio quality is good and the lessons are organized and informative.
It was fairly thorough, but the speaker didn't really communicate much enthusiasm about his topic. It would also be nice to see some examples of actual work before doing all the preparatory stuff.
I liked the fact that he uses a south bend heavy 10 lathe in his demos. It was very informative but i only wished he would have done more actual machining on the lathe. Hopefully that will come in his next section of videos 2, 3 and four. I would still recommend the video for the information on grinding lathe tools alone.
Have had my machine for 12 years. I have been reading all kinds of books and internet sites. I learned more in these videos than I learned in a semester at a local Voc Tech.
The video was very useful and definitely had some good reference information, but it would have been better if he explained the reasoning behind some of his techniques.
This series of tapes is very good. It consists of a classroom format presentation, conducted with a South Bend Heavy 10. Each DVD has 3-4 hours worth of information on it covering all relevant basics for lathe operation.
The instructor is a gunsmith and project scales are sellected with that type of work in mind, though no specific gun projects are covered, and this tape set would be suitable for anyone interested in lathe work.
Some have mentioned the lack of humour in the tapes. I found that there was some there, but like any serious class it isn't the focus of the info.
Another item that gets mentioned is the overhead mirror views. These obviously are from the classroom, where students would see the overhead views via the mirror. It can take a little getting used to, though it really doesn't affect learning. I did laugh at one point when the instruction on taper cutting required referencing set-up dirction, for and aft, through a mirror. That could be confusing.
Highly recomended.
The video could have been done in half the time. Good information but very slow presentation.
A lot of information and it is laid out so the novice can understand it.
Excellent introduction to the lathe. Easily transferred to different sizes and capabilities of our machines.
Looking forward to more advanced courses in the series.
As a filmmaker and "teach myself" machinist, I would simply say that Darell Hollender is a very good teacher. My wife said he sounds quite a bit like Tom Hanks but doesn't look like him. The three camera angles are, however, unfortunately poorly edited so that when the camera operator cuts to a side shot of Darell, he doesn't face the camera. So it goes from being a straight "talking head" video to looking like a really amateur production. This is unfortunate, because the content is so well organized and taught by Mr. Hollender that the camera and editing just distracts and diminished the value of the pieces.
These Cd's are very well done. Filming of subject is well done. Everything is explained very well with lots of detail. I would recommend them to all who are interested in lathe work.
Professional Machine Shop course. I have viewed 1 2 & 3 They have all been excellent. Lot of info!
I ordered 4 videos at once thinking they would be sent out one at a time and as I returned one the next one would be sent. That is not the case if you order 4 they send all 4 at the same time. I recommend ordering one at a time watch it a few times and apply the things you learn to your own lathe. Then watch it again after the week is up, order the next one.
