Last Updated on December 21, 2023 by Charles Wilson
Mini metal lathes are amazing machines to have. They are used to make screws, barrels of guns, metal musical instruments, and lots of other things but everything at a convenient size.
Although they are professionally made and sold, it’s not very difficult to get into the world of metal crafting.
From cutting to molding, mini metal lathes like in these articles, are the way to go lathes for a DIY dude.
Now instead of delving deep into professional work, here, we will talk about 4 easy metal lathe projects that you can make quickly.
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- Metal Scriber
- Metal Mallet/Hammer
- Metal Wedding Ring
- Steel Jewelry Box
Let’s dive in without wasting any more time.
1. Metal Scriber
Metal Scribers are a great way to start using your metal lathe. By making this your first project, you’ll feel the sweet joy of success easily.
Metal scriber is your go-to tool whenever you need to mark a place or draw a line on your metal, it’s handy and very effective as well.
You can make this metal scriber using only brass.
It involves works such as facing and turning the brass in your lathe to give it a proper polished shape.
Things you need-
- Brass
- Metal adhesive
- Steel sewing
- Grinder
- Cutting tools
- Drill bit
You’ll first need a brass as stated before, preferably in the size of ¼”. Take a metal adhesive to glue metal to metal. Also, make sure you have a steel sewing needle as your supply.
The grinder will help you abrasive grinding and polishing. A grinder is a tool you’ll always need if you want to dig deeper into the world of raw metals.
So, it is better if you decide to invest in one beforehand. Moreover, you’ll need cutting tools and drill bit.
Of course, all of them can’t possibly function without the metal lathe that holds everything together.
This is an article where we talked about how you can set up the cutting tools easily.
You can also watch this video!
2. Metal Mallet / Hammer
Metal mallets are another great thing you can make using your metal lathe. It can also be your very first project just like a metal scriber, but a little more complex.
A metal mallet mostly is comprised of two sections. The head and the handle. The making of the head is rather easy.
You need to decide what materials you want to use to make the head and you’re good to go.
But, creating the handles is somewhat complex. You need to properly shape and polish the finishing of the handle.
You may want to use a knurling machine to give it a more professional look.
Then, all you need to do is assemble the two and you’ve got yourself a metal mallet, which you can use later as well.
This video will help.
3. Metal/Steel Ring
Metal rings are another amazing project to take on. Mostly because you can make a metal ring using various sorts of metal scrapes. That includes nuts and bolts as well.
So, it is very easy to experiment with as well.
Now of course, using metals like brass is easier to cut and grind, but the others are an option as well.
One great option is surely titanium. Although it is widely marketed as a wedding ring, titanium polishes up really beautifully.
You can also easily personalize it by engraving whatever initials that come to mind. The problem with titanium is that it is very difficult to cut.
In that case, as discussed earlier, brass is a good option as well.
The lathe is the key tool to make a polished metal ring and give it a proper shape.
You can then polish it more and give the finishing touches using the grinder. The most important thing about metal rings is, they last a long time.
I found this tutorial super easy to understand.
4. Steel Jewelry Box
You can also start thinking about creating something that you can easily pass off as an amazing gift and take pride in by saying you made it with your own hands.
Also, you can use a steel-made jewelry box yourself indeed, and it’s always a good idea to impress your partner with a handmade gift.
Even though it seems difficult, with the right supplies and tools, it is very easy to make and not really very different than the procedures for creating a metal ring.
Creating a steel jewelry box would surely add to your collection and bring out the class in you.
The polished product, after finished, will look undoubtedly great on any person and, thus, it can be sold in the market as well.
Try to avoid some advanced methods described on the internet and keep it simple if you’re doing this for the first time. Otherwise, you may end up failing to complete the project.
Not to mention, the lathe is an indispensable tool to make a jewelry box.
However, you may need to use a grinder to get a proper finishing on this product.
A simple guide to help you understand better.
Conclusion
The metal lathe is an amazing metal tool.
Some people say that Humankind would have been advanced by two to three hundred years only if lathe were introduced to us in the earlier.
And we believe they are not wrong to say that. Oh, by the way, here is an excellent guide for you if you want some ideas about how to choose the perfect metal lathe for your need.
A lathe can be used to make more professional products of course, but these five projects are ideal to start your career in this industry.
You may need additional tools, but if you wish to continue down the road, it is worth the investment.