Summary of TEACHING AN OLD LATHE NEW TRICKS WITH A PROGRAMMABLE POWER FEED
Tony Goacher upgraded a 1949 Myford lathe with the "Leadscrew Buddy," decoupling the lead screw from the gearbox to drive it via a stepper motor and Arduino. This retrofit enables granular variable feed speeds, a home-built Digital Readout (DRO) using a rotary encoder, and programmable "goto" commands for repeatable, smooth turning operations.
Parts used in the Leadscrew Buddy:
- 1949 Myford lathe
- Arduino
- Stepper motor
- Buttons
- Rotary encoder
- Home-built Digital Readout (DRO)
Ask anybody whose spent time standing in front of a mill or lathe and they’ll tell you that some operations can get tedious. When you need to turn down a stainless rod by 1/4″ in 0.030″ increments, you get a lot of time to reflect on why you didn’t just buy the right size stock as you crank the wheel back and forth. That’s where the lead screw comes in — most lathes have a gear-driven lead screw that can be used to actuate the z-axis ( the one which travels parallel to the axis of rotation). It’s no CNC, but this type of gearing makes life easier and it’s been around for a long time.
[Tony Goacher] took this idea a few steps further when he created the Leadscrew Buddy. He coupled a beautiful 1949 Myford lathe with an Arduino, a stepper motor, and a handful of buttons to add some really useful capabilities to the antique machine. By decoupling the lead screw from the lathe’s gearbox and actuating it via a stepper motor, he achieved a much more granular variable feed speed.
If that’s not enough, [Tony] used a rotary encoder to display the cutting tool’s position on a home-built Digital Readout (DRO). The pièce de résistance is a “goto” command. Once [Tony] sets a home position, he can command the z-axis to travel to a set point at a given speed. Not only does this make turning easier, but it makes the process more repeatable and yields a smoother finish on the part.
These features may not seem so alien to those used to working with modern CNC lathes, but to the vast majority of us garage machinists, [Tony]’s implementation is an exciting look at how we can step up our turning game. It also fits nicely within the spectrum of lathe projects we’ve seen here at Hackaday- from the ultra low-tech to the ludicrously-precise.
Source: TEACHING AN OLD LATHE NEW TRICKS WITH A PROGRAMMABLE POWER FEED
- What problem does the Leadscrew Buddy solve?
It eliminates tedious manual cranking by automating the z-axis movement on an antique lathe. - How is the feed speed controlled?
The system uses a stepper motor to actuate the lead screw, achieving much more granular variable feed speeds than the original gearbox. - Can I see the tool position while cutting?
Yes, a rotary encoder displays the cutting tool's position on a home-built Digital Readout. - Does the project allow moving to specific points?
Yes, users can set a home position and command the z-axis to travel to a set point at a given speed. - What machine was modified for this project?
Tony Goacher coupled the system with a beautiful 1949 Myford lathe. - Is this considered CNC technology?
No, the article states it is not CNC, but it provides similar useful capabilities through gearing. - How does this affect the finish of the part?
The automated process makes turning easier, more repeatable, and yields a smoother finish on the part. - Who created the Leadscrew Buddy?
Tony Goacher developed this upgrade to add useful capabilities to an antique machine.
