Big Lathe vs Small Lathe

[Chipper5783]

Your opinion of "small" is subjective. I have a Colchester Chipmaster which I would consider a small lathe. I had the opportunity to own and use a much bigger lathe but passed on it. The difference being that my lathe is very light on the handles and very easy to manipulate for small work.

Paul.

A "Chippy" is an awfully nice machine. I looked for a Chipmaster for years, before the S&B 1024 came my way - which satiated that "need". Regardless of the discussion around what size lathe (or how many machines of whatever size) if a good condition Chipmaster were to available in my area, I'd be all over it and I'd still keep the S&B.

 

[Ray C]

Speaking of small parts: The other day I ended up in a situation where I needed to tighten up a small hole near the edge of a stainless pistol frame. So basically I needed a cylindrical shim, about .2" in length with a OD of 0.169" and a ID of 0.165". I've not tried anything that small before, but decided to give it a try. Managed to get it done on the first attempt. Couldn't figure out how to part the shim without damaging it until I came up with the idea of inserting a gauge pin into the shim and literally tearing it off. It was like tearing paper.

I guess my 1340 will do for making small stuff in a pinch. Still want a smaller lathe though. Maybe a Taig.

Bill... I'd use a TIG, not a Taig... (i.e. fill the hole and re-bore).

Ray C.

 

[David S]

And don't forget you can always chuck a smaller chuck in a BIG chuck or use a pin vise if you want to get your face a bit farther away from the BIG chuck jaws.

David

 

[wrmiller]

Bill... I'd use a TIG, not a Taig... (i.e. fill the hole and re-bore).

Ray C.

Would if I could, but I can't so I won't.

I really want that little AC/DC TIG welder that Eastwood sells. Had it all planned out, but the house took more money than we anticipated. I now call it the Money Pit.

I even have a dedicated 30A 220v circuit for it (welder). Maybe someday.

 

[wrmiller]

And don't forget you can always chuck a smaller chuck in a BIG chuck or use a pin vise if you want to get your face a bit farther away from the BIG chuck jaws.

David

I have a ER32 chuck that has a 3/4 or 1" stub out the back. I chuck it up in the set-tru, dial it in, and I'm good.

One of these days I'm going to either get a 5c collet chuck or the collet closer for my lathe. Someday.

 

[Boswell]

I now call it the Money Pit.

Bill, I had to laugh when you called your house a Money Pit. Don't get me wrong. My wife and myself built our house ourselves. not even Nail guns for the first phase so I understand the concept. But what made me laugh is to call out the House as the money pit and not even mention the shop .

 

[wrmiller]

Bill, I had to laugh when you called your house a Money Pit. Don't get me wrong. My wife and myself built our house ourselves. not even Nail guns for the first phase so I understand the concept. But what made me laugh is to call out the House as the money pit and not even mention the shop .

LOL... Well, the shop was paid for (mostly, at least the big machines are paid for) quite a while back.

The house was a repo, and we 'thought' we had a plan to get everything fixed with a bit left over for my welder and a decent blast cabinet. But as typically happens, plans are only good until you start to execute. Then everything goes sideways. But it's paid for, has a bit of equity, and my machines are paid for. Still missing a few things, but isn't that the way it always is?

Glad I could provide you the morning chuckle...

 

[SSage]

The power factor moved me into a 1236 size machine even though my primary use is making small parts from tool steel.

The PM1236 doesn't seem bigger than I need anymore, its still a small lathe IMO. I want to add varible speed control someday, the set speeds are okay for my small stuff while turning, but it never feels just right. The larger bore and spider allows me to do less cutting of my drill rods, so less waste IMO.

If I could have swung the cost I would have gone a bit larger, but the 1236 is a sweet spot for my use. I wouldn't want a smaller lathe. I was thinking of going with a 1127/1228, but I'm very happy that I didn't downsize every time my elbow or arm bumps a drill bit, that 36" is not so big with jobber drill bits chucked up. The only downside for me is the weight, moving lathes over 1200 pounds gets interesting in my little home shop. I had to move lots of things to get it inside, but once its there your done. Hopefully.

 

[Gerry]

I'm on my third lathe, a PM-1340. Last lathe was a old Sheldon of 1941 vintage. before that it was a Smithy 3 in 1(if you can call that a lathe). No matter what lathe I have I have had jobs that I wished I had a bigger lathe, usually because I needed to spin a larger OD. There have been times when I would have liked to have something smaller as well-something easy to set up and turn something small and accurate without having to resort to using a collet chuck on my PM. Reasonable or not, I have lusted for a Unimat since I was a 10 year old kid.

 

[wrmiller]

I'm the opposite actually. I have my 1340 and it is perfect for most of what I do, but I really do miss my little 8x18 South Bend though when doing small stuff. Which is about 50% of the time.

I have no need for a bigger lathe.