Please help me pick my first lathe.

[jhanko]

I'm interested in learning how to use a lathe, and the 20% Enco discount is almost too good to pass up. I was thinking of buying this lathe, this starter cutter set and this tool holder. Seems like a great deal for $400 shipped. For starters, I would use it only for soft metals up to 1". Does this seem like a worthy setup to learn on, or is it throwing money away? I want to produce high quality parts, even if it's at the expense of slow speed. I'd really like to get it, but don't want to be disappointed in a month. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Mirage_Man]

I'd give this thread a read.

 

[jhanko]

I'd give this thread a read.

Yes, I read that thread before posting. Everything discussed in that thread is out of my price range right now...

 

[Mirage_Man]

OK. If your budget allows a mini lathe then that's alright. I think most of them are pretty much the same so just pick one and go for it. You'll be saving for a bigger badder lathe in no time .

 

[wquiles]

For starting, that is a great small lathe. My first lathe was a Cummins 7x12 (same basic lathe) and you will love the built-in variable speed controller. You can do some pretty cool projects, and not just restricted to 1". In fact I do my 1D and 1C re-threads on this machine easily.

Now that I also have the much heavier HF 8x14, and now that I have converted it to variable-speed DC motor, I honestly feel the HF 8x14 is a much better machine. That being said, you can get up and going on the 7x10 machines quicker and without the work/time needed to get it to where I got mine now.

Never worry about the "small" lathe: you can do custom parts for custom flashlights:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192304

work on custom Mags, the 1C being one of my all-time Mag favorites:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=134339
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189119
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=136176

custom parts not available anywhere:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149742
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=147652

custom prototypes/mods:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=115724
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=131690
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2496892&postcount=71


So don't worry about the "small" lathe

Will

 

[jhanko]

OK. If your budget allows a mini lathe then that's alright. I think most of them are pretty much the same so just pick one and go for it. You'll be saving for a bigger badder lathe in no time .

Good to know they're all pretty much the same. Makes choosing much easier. I figured that all these low cost mini's originate in China. The price of this one with tooling & quick change post is just too good to pass up. Hopefully my skills will warrant the purchase of a better machine soon. :thumbsup:

For starting, that is a great small lathe. You can do some pretty cool projects, and not just restricted to 1". So don't worry about the "small" lathe

Will

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the links. Very interesting read. Nice work, BTW. I guess I'll order it right now!

Jeff

 

[wquiles]

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the links. Very interesting read. Nice work, BTW. I guess I'll order it right now!

Jeff

We are glad we can "help" you spend "your" money :twothumbs

Will

 

[FredM]

I would get this one instead

http://www.toolsnow.com/browse.cfm/4,876.html


comes with some stuff and is 4 inches longer and heavier.


I just checked and for me the difference is 40 dollars shipped.

 

[Fulgeo]

Hey guyz interesting tread,

Wquiles or anyone has it been determined that you can cut inside threading on a cut down 2D Mag to say 1D or 1.5D size on a 7x10 or 7x12 lathe? Will mentioned that he does his 1D and 1C re-thread on the Cummins 7x12 but pardon my newbie freshness you do mean inside threads yes? :candle:

For starting, that is a great small lathe. My first lathe was a Cummins 7x12 (same basic lathe) and you will love the built-in variable speed controller. You can do some pretty cool projects, and not just restricted to 1". In fact I do my 1D and 1C re-threads on this machine easily.

Will

 

[jhanko]

I would get this one instead

http://www.toolsnow.com/browse.cfm/4,876.html


comes with some stuff and is 4 inches longer and heavier.


I just checked and for me the difference is 40 dollars shipped.

Thanks for the tip. That one appears to be a better machine, but there's nothing listed in the specs to indicate if it's variable speed or just a belt changer. Also, any idea on the weight of it? The first one i was interested is only 88 lbs. That worries me. 88lbs. of cast iron is not very much. The only other downside is ToolsNow.com has a location in Illinois, so I'll get hit with sales tax also. If this machine has variable speed and is significantly heavier, it's a pretty easy decision. Any more info on this unit would be appreciated. Thanks,

Jeff

 

[wquiles]

Thanks for the tip. That one appears to be a better machine, but there's nothing listed in the specs to indicate if it's variable speed or just a belt changer.

Remember - these are all the same machine. That one also has a variable speed

Just buy the one with the most accessories - the more free stuff the better, but in the end it will not matter. You will spend far more on tooling and other accessories

Will

 

[FredM]

Thanks for the tip. That one appears to be a better machine, but there's nothing listed in the specs to indicate if it's variable speed or just a belt changer. Also, any idea on the weight of it? The first one i was interested is only 88 lbs. That worries me. 88lbs. of cast iron is not very much. The only other downside is ToolsNow.com has a location in Illinois, so I'll get hit with sales tax also. If this machine has variable speed and is significantly heavier, it's a pretty easy decision. Any more info on this unit would be appreciated. Thanks,

Jeff

yeah it is almost the same thing except it is 4 inches longer. If you are going to do any drilling or boring those 4 inches are really nice. I guess tax puts it at 80 bucks more or so rather than 40? Personally I would still go with the 7x12 since like wquiles says it comes with the extra stuff.

 

[wquiles]

Hey guyz interesting tread,

Wquiles or anyone has it been determined that you can cut inside threading on a cut down 2D Mag to say 1D or 1.5D size on a 7x10 or 7x12 lathe? Will mentioned that he does his 1D and 1C re-thread on the Cummins 7x12 but pardon my newbie freshness you do mean inside threads yes? :candle:

Yes, absolutely. Both inside and outside threading on 1D and 1C's And yes, the longer (7x14 better than 7x10) the easier it is to do stuff.

I would not try anything longer than a 1D/1C unless you have a way to support the body while threading, or unless your chuck were big enough to hold more of the body inside the chuck.

The good thing is that threading is a very slow operation, so things are not moving very fast. Threading on this small lathe is very easy given how easy is to engage the carriage, reverse direction, built-in thread dial, etc..

Just go slow - I typically stop the lathe prior to the end of the thread cutting operation and do the last turn or so by hand (moving the chuck/piece towards the cutting tool), but, always consider safety on any power tool :thumbsup:

Will

 

[jhanko]

I was just looking at the 7X12 that Fred linked to and it appears that it does not come with a chuck. It's not shown in the list of included items like their larger lathe shows. Why would they leave that out? If it came with a chuck, people would want to know it's capacity. Sorry, just covering all my bases before I hit the "submit order" box.

Jeff

 

[white light]

Here is a link to another very good quality import.Check it out and if you have any questions just ask me.I gave away a HF and got one of these,a very big improvement all around in quality,fit and finish.Before clicking on the link copy this and past it in the search box ( MicroLux 7 x 14 Lathe )

http://www.micro-mark.com:80/

 

[LuxLuthor]

Why did I have to read this thread, and have it appear so easy to move to a whole other stage?

 

[gadget_lover]

I was just looking at the 7X12 that Fred linked to and it appears that it does not come with a chuck. It's not shown in the list of included items like their larger lathe shows. Why would they leave that out? If it came with a chuck, people would want to know it's capacity. Sorry, just covering all my bases before I hit the "submit order" box.

Jeff

It does come with a 3 jaw chuck, they just don't list it, since it comes mounted on the machine. They do list the extra 3 jaws for holding things internally.

I have the 7x12 cummings too. At around 100 pounds, it's not as stiff as a heavy lathe like the 9x20 class or one of the toolroom lathes, but that has not kept a lot of us from cutting steel, cast iron and aluminum on it. It just means that instead of taking a single .25 inch deep pass to reduce the diameter by 1/2 inch we take 4 or more shallower cuts.

Even so, I can make a 5 inch long 1 inch diameter thin-wall tube from a 7 inch long 1.25 diameter rod in less than 30 minutes. It's amazing to see the chips fly from a .050 cut in 6061 aluminum.

If you can afford bigger and have room for it, by all means do so. If money or space is at a premium, the smaller machines can do some really nice work with a bit of patience.

Daniel

 

[gadget_lover]

Why did I have to read this thread, and have it appear so easy to move to a whole other stage?

It's really a satisfying thing to do. The learning process is not so bad. Heck, I taught myself and have not had a single disaster.

So come on. Join in.

Daniel

 

[jhanko]

Here is a link to another very good quality import.http://www.micro-mark.com:80/

Thanks for the link. Looks good, but way out of my price range at the moment.

It does come with a 3 jaw chuck, they just don't list it, since it comes mounted on the machine. They do list the extra 3 jaws for holding things internally.
Daniel

Thanks! I was really hoping someone would chime in and confirm this. It was the only thing holding me back.
Well, I just ordered it. Now I have to find something to do to keep my mind off waiting for the truck to arrive. I also ordered material for my first project. 2.5" copper 101 round. Need to make a heatsink for a KT4 head. I have read that copper is not very good for machining. Probably not a good choice for a beginner. I guess I better order a tourniquet and plenty of gauze...

Jeff

 

[wquiles]

It's really a satisfying thing to do. The learning process is not so bad. Heck, I taught myself and have not had a single disaster.

So come on. Join in.

Daniel

And I should add that you have been an incredibly generous person in sharing what you have learned, with me and others here in the forums - thank you :thumbsup:

Will
("still" in learning mode)