New guy here, questions about tools

[whendidigetold]

Hi, I'm new. I'm not a machinist but I have a 15 year old son that wants to be an engineer. I've decided that I'm going to try to find him a descent old used manual lathe to start with. I thought it would be easier to find cheap old stuff, but it isn't... but I'm looking.
Am I correct that experience on a lathe would be the most beneficial for him to develop a "feel" for machinery on?
I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a bit clueless about the machines you guys use. I'm not even sure if , because we're in Canada, if we need metric stuff or not. His school has machine shop but because of the way the courses are set up if you choose the (I think I've got the wrong names)"business" courses you can't take the "tech" courses. It's either one or the other. We're just trying to keep his options open.
Even if he goes into computer designing I REALLY think he should be familiar with the equipment that will be building his creations.
Anyways, I'm rambling on.
Hope I'm welcome here.
Jeff
P.S. I already got him a program called solidworks and he's teaching himself to use it.

[jezx]

depends on what he wants to do but id look around for a small cheap mill / lathe combo . i learned on one an still use one for some small quick stuff .
( also small machine will not rip his arms off )
being able to actully build something will help him realize alot in designing .an having milling an lathe is needed .

[MattTheNoob]

Learning solidworks and other cad programs is a good idea.

That's a real shame that the school won't let kids cross-train. I know a lot of lousy engineers that would have benefitted from some hands-on training. And for that matter, a few mechanics that would have benefitted from some "business" classes.

Ebay and patients is how I got most of my machines. You'll find that larger and 3phase machines will often sell for less, because they are a little more work to move and feed. Don't let that scare you away. Often you'll save enough to pay for a rotary converter.

Stress safety. I don't know about YOUR 15-year old, but some of them are starting to sneak beers with their buddies at that age. Even the smallest of lathes can pluck a finger off if you do something foolish. I'd post a picture of a "de-gloved" finger right behind the lathe as a reminder.

[whendidigetold]

Thanks,
Yep I wish he had the option to try machine shop at school as well but deep inside I'm kinda glad he wants to wear a suit to work one day.
Safety will be my biggest priority. I actually have a picture of a gentleman who was caught up in a lathe stored on this hard drive. It will be stuck on the wall in the garage as a reminder. Maybe I'll put it on the fridge instead.
I'm not a newbie to dangerous tools and equipment, but lathes and mills are new to me (us). I have managed to keep all of my fingers over the years, but one is a little longer, crooked and pretty useless from being "almost" removed with a 10 lb sledge. Oh well.
Thanks again

[satronics]

try busybee tools

[whendidigetold]

try busybee tools

Thanks, I checked out their 10" lathes for $999 on sale. Good deal, but that's just a lot of money right now.
Thanks

[Shaun81slc]

Have you ever considered going to a local machine shop and talking to the manager? I had a gent a few months ago wanted to learn a little about machining and working with steel while he was in engineering at UWO he paid me a small amount of money /hour and I gave him some basic training in the shop after hours. He quickly realized that the machine shop is not a place for stupid people and developed a serious appreciation for what happens at the shop. I helped him understand more about what we do in a couple of hours than could ever be taught in school. I have since hired him to work part time in our engineering department and he has benefited greatly from seeing his designs machined, he is already learning how to design with manufacturing in mind, which they never seem to be able to teach in colleges and universities.

[stewi]

You may want to find a school in your neighborhood participating in the robotics first program. Student are exposed to machines, hand tools and drawing programs such as Solid Works or Autocad Inventor
I used to mentor students here in Atlanta. Students had a blast and it was worth the some extra gray hair I was getting. USFIRST.org - Welcome to FIRST