I bought a hobby lathe several years ago (a non-CNC Sherline 4400). I've had no formal training. I'm sure there are plenty of books out there you (and I) could read but I learn by doing so I just bought some aluminum stock and started cutting. Of course, my first attempts were trash but over time I've developed a variety of techniques and honed my skills...obviously the sophistication and quality of my work is much much higher these days. I mostly do custom lightsaber work...for myself and others (I've done work for several people here on the RPF).
As someone above said, if you get a CNC machine, you should learn to use it manually first. And honestly, I think it would be much more gratifying to make stuff manually vs. letting a computer do the work...though the CNC would obviously allow you to do more complex stuff and do runs of identical parts (no two things I make a ever truly identical).
Anyway....probably the biggest thing is, plan your work before you make a single cut. Once I have a lightsaber designed on paper, I have to figure out HOW I’m going to make it before I start. There are lots of questions I have to ask myself. First I have to decide what size/kind stock I’m going to use. Is it going to be a static hilt or stunt saber? Am I going to drill a hole in the emitter or use pre-drilled stock (which would mean the whole saber will be hollow)? Am I going to make it out of a single piece of stock or multiple parts? I try to minimize my waste so I normally do multiple parts, especially if there are some sections that are really wide and some that are skinny. If its multiple parts, I have to figure out where the “break points” will be and how to put them together. Sometimes I’ll just slide the parts together and hold them with a set screw…mostly I do this with pommels and the screw I use to install the covertec knob also holds the pommel in place. I also have taps and dies, so I frequently thread the parts so they screw together.
You’re going to be making lots of trips to the tool shop...at least initially. You’ll constantly run into situations where you don’t have the proper tool. You’ll accumulate them over time. Things like tilting tables, taper attachments, taps/dies, end mills, files, drill bits…
Some recommendations: don’t even mess around with anything but carbide tipped cutting tools, a vice will come in handy (especially for thread-cutting), fine-grit sandpaper is great for smoothing parts, a bench grinder with a polishing wheel and some compound is great for giving stuff a nice shine, get a good digital caliper, never operate without eye protection at the very least (I use a full-face shield).
Crappy pics but here’s an example of my work…probably my best work so far. I pulled out all the stops…used nearly every one of my techniques on it. I’m happy to discuss it with you further or answer any questions…just shoot me a PM.
