littlepiston

My Feedback: (12)

im shoping fo a lathe for Xmas they are so many cheap ones and i dont know what to get
if you have a pics of your post so we can see

i hope one of you guy's is got a lathe :stupid:

DavidR

My Feedback: (1)

What do you want to do with it? Most of the desktop machining equipment is only good for very small parts. I had a sherline lathe, which was a nice lathe but I could not even make a set of wheels with it because it was just too small. I currently have an ENCO engine lathe that will swing a 14" diameter part with the gap taken out of the bed. It will aslo turn a 36" part between centers. The good thing is you can also turn small parts on it. I have made a spindle to mount a small three jaw chuck on it for very tiny parts. BTW the machinery itself (lathe, mill) is the cheap part the tooling that you have to have to use it is where you will bury a small fortune. I think I have around $4000 in machinery and at least twice that in tooling.


David Reid

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

A master machinist once told me "you can make small parts on a big lathe, but you cant make big parts on a small lathe"... That is very true. Having owned a table top lathe and struggled to make parts (swashplates for my helis, some engine parts, etc) I ended up selling it and purchasing a larger (12" swing, 48" bed) engine lathe. Mine is a Canadian made copy of the US made South Bend. That is a classic, and if you can pick one up in GOOD used condition, its the way to go. Some smaller engine lathes (atlas, craftsman, etc) are also pretty darn good for the model size stuff. and available in the used market. Then there are all the Asian imports, from places like Enco, Blue Ridge, and many others. Just be carefull to check them out and remember some brands are hard to get parts for. But in general many imports are very good now, compared to what you used to get a few years back.

My recomendation is to try and buy as much lathe as you can afford. Dont get suckered into buying tons of accessories, buy the tooling and fixtures and such that youneed WHEN you need them. No point owning a 10" chuck if all you plan to do with it is turn small parts. No point investing thousands into cutters if again, they sit onthe shelf collecting dust. Buy what you need when you need it and over time you acquire a lot of tooling and such at a lot less shock to your pocket.

There are many things to be warry of when buying a lathe used, that could fill a book. If you are serious about it, buy a good book for the home machinist like "The Amateurs' Lathe" which fully describes how you go over a lathe to check for out of tolerance conditions, and more. Also there are many other books for the home machinist that cover this, just check out a decent machine shop supply house or a place on line that sells machinist tools/books.

I have to agree with D Reid on the point that the lathe (or mill) itself eventually becomes the part you paid LEAST for. The tooling and tool such as calipers, indicators, hole bore guages, etc end up costing lots more, but you can get them over time, remember.

Good luck, buy a lathe and start making parts! You'll not regret it!

Andrew Coholic
Motor Boy's International

Ron Stahl

My Feedback: (12)

I got a 7 x 12 lathe from Micro Mark as a Xmas gift last year.
Nicer than the sherline lathe; but not so big that you need a rigger to set it up in the house. One thing to consider is that you have to set it up when you get it home. I would like a bigger lathe, but since I work as a prototype tech we have everything I need at work.

littlepiston

My Feedback: (12)

ok 7x12 it is its coming the 19th i can wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.homier.com/default.asp?pa...ies.asp?dept=1
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe...er2/Homier.htm

mlevings

My Feedback: (14)

Littlepiston, I bought one of these lathes last year at a tool truckload sale. It seems to be pretty good. I haven't used it too much yet, but I think it's a keeper.

Mark

Kevin_W

My Feedback: (1)

I am waiting for a similar lathe to arrive from Harbor freight. If you are planning to make landing gear struts be sure that you get the 4-jaw chuck to go with it.

Jai Young Shim

My Feedback: (2)

Hi, Littlepiston,

I bought 7X12 mini-lathe directly from Sieg Ind. in Shanghai. It is almost same type as Homier or Harbor Freight. etc. I agree to the big machinery which we can work better and wider range of piece.

However, if you just do start to learn about the lathe and mill from simple works, I would recommend this size in view of the price and good quality.

Please drop once to site www.mini-lathe.com you will get many information.

I am happy to have it.

Jai Young Shim

littlepiston

My Feedback: (12)

hell yeah for 300 bones you cant beet that with a stick!!
i will snap some pics when i get it and give everyone some info about it will see how good it realy is for 300 bones

rc4mike

My Feedback: (1)

If anyone is interested, I have a Taig Micro lathe (nver used) and an older Sherline lathe and mill for sale. Have a bunch of toosl for each as well.

Mike Jensen