High precision air bearing CNC lathe and grinder
What it is
Dan Gelbart shows his home-built air bearing CNC lathe and grinder, which reaches about 1 micron accuracy. He demonstrates the machine and its parts.
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited as a marvel of absurd precision in home-built machine tools, and a pointer to Gelbart's other videos.
- 2 people recommended it
- 2 different months
- 0 strong recommendations
- first 2019, last 2025
What HN commenters said
“The creator (Dan Gelbart) demonstrates nitrogen-tight parts without bearings, and claims zero wear or lubrication needs.”
Builds 1 micron machines with air bearings, no lapping
paypalcust83, 2020-04 · Recommendation · in “Hand Scraping a Truly Flat Plane (1908) [pdf]”
“If you enjoy absurd precision and accuracy, have a look at Dan Gelbart's older videos”
Custom air bearing mill and grinder reaching 1 micron
hi-v-rocknroll, 2024-04 · Recommendation · in “My Homemade Metal Lathe Project”
Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.
Topics: air bearings, cnc lathe, dan gelbart, diy machining, metrology
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