Thinking about a Mini Lathe

[GregLaROCHE]

NI’ve been thinking about one of the imports. Which one is the best bet? I’m in the thousand dollar range, but would like to spend less of course and could go a little higher if it would make a real difference.

There’s not a lot of detail that I can find on those for sale. Such as how long a piece you can turn or the diameter.

I also wonder about the power of the motors. 500 or 600 watts is not that much?

With a drill chuck in the tail stock how big can your work be?

What to do? What to buy?

Thanks

[Randy C]

Ive wanted to try these, there may be a post here on them, Ive been gone for awhile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLZ5Gt7DFNo

[country gent]

With a lathe the description gives the sizes a 13 X 40 Lathe is a machine with 13" swing over bed and 40" between centers A 7-10 is 7" swing and 10" between centers. The big thing wiith a lathe is how accurate do you need to be and how much "playing do you want to do? You can do accurate work on most any machine but it may take some time to learn it and some playing and sneaking up to size. ( On the Monarchs I have ran most of the time it was a roughing pass and then a finish pass to size and finish.) On some of the older lighter machines you might need to leave .001-.005 to polish down to size. While they sell carbide insert tooling for these hobby machines I have found most do better with HSS cobalt bits. On older used machines the spindles may not be up to carbide.

I currently tinker on a Harbor Freight 7X10 It works and is okay its old school in that the dials read direct .001 graduation is .001 movement so a .001 dial adjustment is .002 on dia or bore.

[ulav8r]

I used soap and a brush to lather my face for shaving. Lather has no place in shooting, reloading, or machine work. A lathe, as mentioned by other respondents, is used for turning and threading, not lathering, lathing, or latheing.

[GregLaROCHE]

Ive wanted to try these, there may be a post here on them, Ive been gone for awhile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLZ5Gt7DFNo

That looks like a really nice one.

[GregLaROCHE]

I used soap and a brush to lather my face for shaving. Lather has no place in shooting, reloading, or machine work. A lathe, as mentioned by other respondents, is used for turning and threading, not lathering, lathing, or latheing.

I know. I saw it as soon as I posted it. I tried to edit it, but don’t think it’s possible to edit the title. The R is next to the E and I am using an iPad. I guess my finger hit the R on the way back. I usually reread my posts, but I guess I didn’t reread the title. I hope everyone understood what I was talking about.

[Tazman1602]

I've had good luck with my Grizzly bought years ago. Here's a couple in your range:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-8-x-16-Variable-Speed-Lathe/G0768

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-9-x-19-Bench-Lathe/G4000

Grizzly also had one of the best selections of Bartlein barrels in stock....


Art

[guywitha3006]

I have the Harbor Freight 8x12 and really like it, I use it mainly for dies and reloading stuff). With collets I can get pretty accurate. I did upgrade the motor after a while (wanted to, didn't really need to...but I grew up in the era of Tim Allen's Tool Time). The machine is a BEAST for its size and really my only complaint at this time is it does not have a quick change gear box(and if it has to be moved). Accessories are a bit harder to find then for the 7x lathes but littlemachine shop is my go to and it can use beefier tooling.

[Tazman1602]

......Accessories are a bit harder to find then for the 7x lathes but littlemachine shop is my go to and it can use beefier tooling.

GOOD CALL on Little Machine shop! Forgot about that one, they have good accessories and are great to do business with. Have gotten many items for my 9x20 Grizzly from them.

.....now if I only had the space and an extra $20k for a real lathe!!

Art

[Mr_Sheesh]

Just ask any Mod to change the title, I fixed it for you :)

[GregLaROCHE]

If I buy a mini lathe, I don’t have anything besides a few drill bits to use with it. What should I anticipate needing to buy to get it up and running. Dial indicator etc. How much more should I plan on needing to spend?

Thanks

[P Flados]

I got a 7 x 14 at a good price off of E Bay a year ago. If you are going with a mini lathe, make sure you get an imperial lead screw. Mine was metric and I didn't realize it until I was using it. The next items are a drill Chuck and cutting tooling. If you can sharpen a drill bit on a grinder, you can grind HSS cutting tools. HSS works better than other tooling on these machines. I will add more info later.

[country gent]

Dial indicators a plunger style !' travel and a "finger" style magnetic base to hold mount them. Measuring tools, micrometers, calipers, 6" or 12" steel scales. Lay out ink. face plates, 4 jaw chuck, live center, drill chucks, Tool holders ( depending on machine). AS to cutting tools a good HSS cobalt bit can be sharpened by hand with a bench grinder easily, same with drills. A set of center drills for centering work and starting holes.

[P Flados]

Ok, back at home where I can finish.

If you spend less on the lathe, you will have more for things like taps, dies, center drills, drill chuck, a better tool post, etc.

The "China made mini lathes" all come from the same factory and parts are easy to get. Not much point in paying extra for a "name brand" version.

I went ebay low dollar. I just went out and looked around and found that you can get what I got (again, with the less desirable metric lead screw) for under $550 delivered, example below:

https://www.amazon.com/Happybuy-2500RPM-Variable-Precision-Processing/dp/B07BT98XZG?SubscriptionId=AKIAIKBZ7IH7LXTW3ARA&&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07BT98XZG&tag=wwwbookcompar-20&ascsubtag=5c36b364dccc280ec8c4bb07

Although I like the 7x14, a 7x12 would work pretty good and it can be had with the imperial lead screw. Shop around and make sure you do not pay too much.

I discussed cutting tools in another thread on this forum (see post 8 at the link below). I recommend starting out with a 4 pack of 8mm x 8mm x 200mm HSS.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?373778-351-WSL-from-357-max/page2

One downside with most any China made mini lathe is that you will want to do a "tune up" first thing to get all for the adjustments correct and fasteners properly tightened.

[GregLaROCHE]

There’s a lot of good information here thanks. Just wondering, what are the drawbacks with the metric lead screw?

[jdfoxinc]

What does the happy lathe weigh?

[McFred]

This 8x16 mini lathe might actually be able to do some light barrel work through the headstock (38mm/1.49" ID).
https://www.ebay.com/itm/263590454152
One guy's opinion and pics:
http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=139536

[GregLaROCHE]

What about nylon gears? I costs a couple of hundred to get steel gears, but you get a stronger motor too.

[country gent]

The nylon / plastic gears may be a good thing with these lighter machines. They act as the weak point breaking at to much force. A cheap easily replaceable part instead of a harder to replace more expensive part. On the bigger industrial machines there is a shear pin to let go when over working occurs. Those nylon gears act the same as.

[GregLaROCHE]

The nylon / plastic gears may be a good thing with these lighter machines. They act as the weak point breaking at to much force. A cheap easily replaceable part instead of a harder to replace more expensive part. On the bigger industrial machines there is a shear pin to let go when over working occurs. Those nylon gears act the same as.

I think I would rather have a shear pin to break than have to buy a new gear. Even if it is only nylon. Do you think the metal gears have shear pins or something similar?

[country gent]

No on the industrial machines the pin is in the coupling between the gear box and lead screw, On our 14 X 60 monarch lathes it was a 3/16 pin from leaded steel on these small lathes that would be sized down to maybe .020 dia. I know of one high school shop the instructor replaced them with deralin pins. Students sheared a lot more but a lot less broken tooling and other damage. Those plastic gears aren't that expensive usually, and are a good safety.

[P Flados]

Plastic gears:

The set comes with two metal 20 teeth gears (the smallest). My normal setup us to run these driving 80 teeth gears to get the slowest available feed.

I have inadvertantly driven the carriage into the locked down tailstock a couple of times.

The machine bogged down and I turned it off or disengaged the feed. There was no damage, the plastic gears were strong enough for these brief overload conditions.

During normal turning, the gear loading will be very low.

The plastic gears should last a lifetime unless there is excessive abuse.

[P Flados]

Metric Lead screw:

When you set up gears to do single point threading, the lead screw and the gears combine to give you your options for pitch.

For single point threading, the normal "turning gears" (slow advance for the carriage) are removed and specific gear combinations are installed to get the desired thread pitch. Note that the gear change out is tedious process with lots of "trial and error" adjusting to get them to engage properly. With a metric lead screw, the normal gear set does not even get real close to standard imperial pitches. If you get a 21 tooth gear or a 63 tooth gear (these can be hard to find) you can get pretty close most of the time.

If you plan to do lots of single point threading for imperial threads, I would not only get a lathe with an imperial lead screw, I would get one with a threading indicator (too complex to discuss at this point). Single point threading is real handy for larger sizes, but is not needed for the small stuff where a good tap and die set will take care of what you need.

[indian joe]

NI’ve been thinking about one of the imports. Which one is the best bet? I’m in the thousand dollar range, but would like to spend less of course and could go a little higher if it would make a real difference.

There’s not a lot of detail that I can find on those for sale. Such as how long a piece you can turn or the diameter.

I also wonder about the power of the motors. 500 or 600 watts is not that much?

With a drill chuck in the tail stock how big can your work be?

What to do? What to buy?

Thanks

Within your price limit that little lathe looks ok - the 38 mm spindle hole will get you out of a lot of trouble (or into it :smile:)
I bought a small lathe several years ago with a bed long enough to work a barrel (just) but the through hole is only 22mm - I have done a lot of work with it - great for small jobs - I inherited a bigger machine last year but still use the small machine at least as much (more often).

You will likely spend at least the cost of the lathe on tooling and bits n pieces over a period of time
The low power just means small cuts - stay with sharpenable carbide tools rather than tungsten tip stuff - I would buy a small cheap grinder (smaller the better) and a dedicated wheel for grinding carbide tools.

you need
Dial indicator
6 inch digital caliper - you will use that a lot
a small micrometer (up to one inch)
centre drills
a decent live centre
good quality drill chuck (keyed not keyless) with the correct MT spindle for your lathe tailstock and dont use it for anything else!
a good quality set of drills - high speed steel - up to half inch

things I have never used on my small lathe
knurling tool
parting off tool (hacksaw does fine)

Stuff I use way more than I ever imagined
C20 ER20A 100L Collet Chuck Holder Straight Shank for CNC Milling
14Pcs ER20 1/16"-1/2" Spring Collet Set For CNC Milling Lathe Tool Workholding
This setup was an impulse buy - cant believe how indispensible they have become - holding small parts - bullet shells - can grip a cast bullet - turn it - not leave a mark on it. --- all up was under fifty bucks AU$.

[McFred]

Whatever you do get a quick change tool post (Aloris, Phase II, whatever) in either OXA or AXA size. They're worth their weight in gold IMO.

I prefer steel/iron to plastic when it comes to gear train. Learn from others' mistakes to prevent crashing the machine and you'll never have to worry about what's the machine's weakest link.

[GregLaROCHE]

I ordered a lathe today. A 10x14 with a 550 watt motor. Now I am looking at accessories. I think I will need a four jaw chuck. I see some advertised, but they say self centering. I thought the object of four jaws was so you can adjust it. What are they talking about? If I want to get a larger one, do I neeed an adapter plate. Also, how do I know I am getting a good quality drill chuck for the tail stock?

Thanks

[country gent]

The self centering 4 jaws are used more on wood lathes. You will more than likely need a mount plate for the new chuck Look at bison, Buck. Also if the are any used equipment vendors near you check with them. As to drill chucks, Jacobs and Albright (sp) have been standards in industry for years. The chuck and mount may also be sold separately. You will need to know what morse taper your machine has in the tail stock. For tool posts a good quick change unit with several holders is handy and useable.

[Traffer]

I bought a Harbor Freight 7x10 about 4 months ago. With 25% discount with tax etc., I got it for just under $450. I wish I had known that they had d 7x14 for $50 more. The real working size of a 7x10 is about 4". It is big enough for making reloading dies but THAT IS ABOUT IT. I got a 3/4" chuck for the tail stock so...as long as the bit is not too long, I can fit a lot in there. The head stock has a 3" 3 jaw chuck. Again, big enough for reloading dies but the the through hole is only 5/8" in the head stock so, very limited on what can be long. Otherwise, it sure beats not having a lathe. Good to learn on. Fun. But again very limited.

[GregLaROCHE]

Are you sure the whole is too small in the head stock and not just the whole in the chuck? I understood it was the whole in the chuck not the head stock that was limiting. If you got a bigger chuck, you could pass a larger diameter through it.

[Traffer]

I used soap and a brush to lather my face for shaving. Lather has no place in shooting, reloading, or machine work. A lathe, as mentioned by other respondents, is used for turning and threading, not lathering, lathing, or latheing.

As I was lathering my face, my lathe was spinning and the lath on the wall was beginning to fall off. I got so frustrated I got up and said "see you lather... dude"

[rbuck351]

I bought one of the HF 7x10s a few years ago as a return for about $240. It was missing the gear set which cost about $25 for the whole set. Shortly after, I bought a 14" bed and a 5" 4 jaw chuck from Little Machine shop. The 14" bed doubles the usable work space. The 5" 4 jaw is a bit much weight so I would recommend a 4" instead. The through hole in the head stock is around 3/4" but can be opened up to .812 or a bit more which is big enough for a TC fat barrel. The stock 3 jaw chuck only has a 5/8" hole. I have a set of carbide tool holders but much prefer HSS tools

[Jeff Michel]

Too a certain point, your chuck may only be a couple inches thick and that would be the limit of length to match the hole in your chuck. The spindle diameter is your limiting factor. Whatever the ID of the spindle is your maximum size. You definitely should look into a four jaw independent chuck. A self centering (scroll) four jaw chuck is a real nifty thing to have if you turn tubing or a lot of square stock but it's advantage is in speed, you can do the same with an independent it just takes more time for the set up and the scroll isn't even close to being as versatile as the independent. If your new to the game, dialing a four jaw in is the first thing you may want to practice. When I started, I couldn't dial in a four jaw if it meant going to jail. A friend suggest that I only used a four jaw chuck until I understood the concept. For 6 months I used nothing else and now even square stock is about a two minute job.

[Randy C]

GregLaRoache I'm curious where and what kind of lathe did you buy I would like to read up on it. You said it was A 10x14 with a 550 watt motor.
Thanks Randy C

[indian joe]

Too a certain point, your chuck may only be a couple inches thick and that would be the limit of length to match the hole in your chuck. The spindle diameter is your limiting factor. Whatever the ID of the spindle is your maximum size. You definitely should look into a four jaw independent chuck. A self centering (scroll) four jaw chuck is a real nifty thing to have if you turn tubing or a lot of square stock but it's advantage is in speed, you can do the same with an independent it just takes more time for the set up and the scroll isn't even close to being as versatile as the independent. If your new to the game, dialing a four jaw in is the first thing you may want to practice. When I started, I couldn't dial in a four jaw if it meant going to jail. A friend suggest that I only used a four jaw chuck until I understood the concept. For 6 months I used nothing else and now even square stock is about a two minute job.

I'll back that - I started with an old lathe that only had a four jaw - hated it to start off but it MADE me learn setup - a good 3 jaw is way quick but makes you lazy.

[EDG]

Talking about lazy I ran a variety of lathes for 5 plus years.
An old geezer I worked with hated changing back an forth between 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks on his 13" lathe. Those chucks were 10" and the 3 jaw was really heavy. He just left the 4 jaw on it and indicated everything in. I did the same some but I liked running small stuff in 5C collets so off came the 4 jaw. I was in my early 20s so no big deal then. I would hate to pick up a 10" chuck today.
I usually chucked a piece of 1" pipe through the chuck so it acted as a handle on both sides of the chuck. Turn the back of the chuck so the pipe slides into the spindle bore. Makes the job much safer. You get to keep all your fingers.

[indian joe]

Talking about lazy I ran a variety of lathes for 5 plus years.
An old geezer I worked with hated changing back an forth between 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks on his 13" lathe. Those chucks were 10" and the 3 jaw was really heavy. He just left the 4 jaw on it and indicated everything in. I did the same some but I liked running small stuff in 5C collets so off came the 4 jaw. I was in my early 20s so no big deal then. I would hate to pick up a 10" chuck today.
I usually chucked a piece of 1" pipe through the chuck so it acted as a handle on both sides of the chuck. Turn the back of the chuck so the pipe slides into the spindle bore. Makes the job much safer. You get to keep all your fingers.

good common sense tip !! thanks

[targetfreak]

With a lathe the description gives the sizes a 13 X 40 Lathe is a machine with 13" swing over bed and 40" between centers A 7-10 is 7" swing and 10" between centers. .
Wrong. The First number is the DIAMETER of the workpiece the lathe can handle, NOT the swing over the ways.

[ulav8r]

Wrong. The First number is the DIAMETER of the workpiece the lathe can handle, NOT the swing over the ways.

Depends on the manufacturer. US manufacturers define the diameter as the swing, most Europeans use the center height as swing. That means that the European 5 inch swing is the same as a US 10 swing. Then there is the fact that most list the swing as an even inch or centimeter dimension when the actual swing is fractionally larger. A 10 inch swing lathe might actually require the a 10 diameter workpiece be exactly 10 inches and no more when another 10" lathe from a different manufacturer might accept a 10 1/4" workpiece.

[sharps4590]

I don't know a lot about lathes and tooling nor do I have a lot of knowledge as a lathe operator but, I wouldn't want to be without my 9 X 19 Grizzly. I can do anything I need to do as far as turning brass which is exactly why I bought it...to make cases I couldn't ordinarily make. And, I've learned some other things along the way as far as turning harder materials. However, I'm still a hack at it.

[indian joe]

I don't know a lot about lathes and tooling nor do I have a lot of knowledge as a lathe operator but, I wouldn't want to be without my 9 X 19 Grizzly. I can do anything I need to do as far as turning brass which is exactly why I bought it...to make cases I couldn't ordinarily make. And, I've learned some other things along the way as far as turning harder materials. However, I'm still a hack at it.

If you are making useable brass cases - you no longer a hack!