Have new HF 7X10 lathe

[cobraJack]

Well. Been toying/yearing over getting a lathe. I got a Griz G0704 mill about a year and half ago and really enjoy it. Got a 25% off coupon @ HF and they had the 7x10 in stock so figured I could make small stuff and learn at that price. Later when I have room to put one will get 10x22 - 11x27 range to do more. Not a lot of projects now but.....

Bought the 7x10 and got 'er cleaned up.)

I ordered the tooling kit from LMS so i'll have the basics.

Question - looking for either a decent 4"- 4 Jaw or a 5"-4 jaw. Which would be better for 2.5 - 4" pulley making and turning? Which brand? LMS has several but most not in stock.
Also I know I'll need to extend the range on the cross slide. Thoughts? I've seen a few posts about it.

And Last - Has anyone put a lager motor on this lathe. the 250 may be enough but turning drill rod (It's all I have now to begin playing- aluminum coming) is just a few thou at a time.

Looking for fun ahead.
Thanks
Jack

 

[Rbeckett]

The 7X10 is a great little lathe!!! I have one and it is a lot of fun to work with. You might have a look at 3 or 4 Threasds by Brian on mods to do to that lathe. You also should consider the 5 inch chuck as just about optimal. Much larger and the jawsa will hit the bed if you have to extend them very far at all. Jumps4 has a thread about a 750 watt sewing machine motor that he is retrofitting to his 9X20, I beliebe it will also fit in our space too, and quite nicely. The cross slide extension, bed extension, Ball turner and a myriad of projects have been discussed and done here and over on the Yahoo Group 7X12 Minilathe forum. Chris at LMS will be glad to help you select a chuck that is most suitable for our machine and planned projects too. I bought mine about 3 1/2 years ago and have a huge amount of fun with it since. Once you get it home, stripped, cleaned and re-assembled with close attention to adjustment you will find that is is a very capable performer. The biggest shortcoming of the machine in my opinion is a short distance between centers, LMS has a solution for that in a kit so even that can be addressed. Spare parts are readilly available. The metal replacement gear sets are very nice but a tad noisier than the plastics, but no comparison in toughness and longevity if you dont have a tool crash. Were glad that you joined and hope we can help ease the transition into becoming a good machinist. Tools, Measuring equipment and safety equipment are not too bad, but can get expensive if you get extravagant. So a carefull look around at Ebay, Craiglist, LMS, Shars and others will show you a wide selection of quality choices as well as prices. Best way to approach this initially is to learn to hand grind you own tool bits first. The carbideholders and bits can get expensive pretty quick. The brazed carbide tools that HF and other vendors are selling are very fragile and the tips chip and crack easilly, so start off with HSS bits then move up to a few indexable holders with common bit configurations. The machines are a tad low powered to realyl take advantage of the carbides Depth of Cut and supperior feed rates. Once you replace the motor that will definately help you to exploit some f the carbide toolings strengths. I would not be too quick to jump into making a motor swap and any major mods till you have a bit of practice. That will really help prevent you from getting discouraged and becoming dissinterested in the hobby. Start small and assemble a few successes before you move on to the larger projects and you will have a blast. This site is also a great place to learn because we all practice Patience and Tolerance for every other member. That allows our members to ask any question anytime and not get flamed for it being too basic or "stupid". There is no such thing as a stupid question here, besides the question you don't ask. So look around, oin in the conversations and get involved. There are quite a few folks who will be glad to help you anytime. Welcome to the gang!!!

Bob

 

[David Kirtley]

The best upgrade I did for mine was the 14" bed. Once I put that on, my desire for a larger lathe kind of faded away. Also the motor mount with the 14" kit is much nicer.

You are really never going to be able to hog off large cuts with a lathe this small. They have a larger motor but you will have rigidity problems before you run out of power. I use a hand crank for tapping.

Start putting a bigger chuck and you will run out of room really quickly. I use a faceplate for anything larger than my 3" chucks will hold. You can also bore the pulley and then mount it on a mandrel.

I never really thought about extending the cross slide. Seems like a lot of work for little gain except for maybe giving more clearance for the knobs. If I need to extend farther, I just use a boring bar holder on the QCTP. It hangs out quite a ways. Moving the compound around can give you a bit of extended range. You could get creative with some tool holders to give you a bit more.

The best thing you can do with a little lathe like this is to use free machining alloys. When I use steel, I mainly use 12L14 and I have some 1144 as well that cuts nicely. I cut drill rod but 3/4" and under.

 

[n3480h]

Welcome Jack. You'll have a lot of fun with the HF lathe. I've made 5" diameter prop hub spacers on mine, and a lot of other smaller pieces. Tried some brass last week:

Tom

 

[cobraJack]

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas, folks. Love the brass turning. I have thought about the 14" bed upgrade for later.
Looking for projects now. I think "she-who-must-be-obeyed" may be finding some ). Probably will make a ball turner. That's a cool brass thingy.

Jack

 

[Les B]

Just found your post on the 7X10 HF lathe. I have made lots of things with these small lathes. My first one was the 7X10, but sold it and bought the 7X12 Grizzly. I have a couple of files in the DOWNLOADS SECTION on using these small lathes. After you have posted about 20 times I think you can open the files. The only problem I have had was running the tool post into the chuck and broke the plastic drive gear on the spindle. I replaced the plastic gear, but if I where to make a change again it would be to use the steel gears. I bought the Speedway 7X12 last year and made a four screw chuck to use in barrel work. If you haven't read the topic in the Gunsmithing section at the top on Stockmaker Show and Tell I show how to use one of the small lathes. I know that I am a little late in finding your post and maybe you have posted enough to get into the PDF files. Hope you are having fun with the little machine. Les Brooks, retired gunsmith

 

[LEEQ]

The 5" 4 jaw independent chuck is due in at LMS 02 may. Don't know if it will make it, but you might call. I haven't found it elsewhere yet and at LMS you can buy it with the necessary adaptor plate. I love/hate that place because it is so tailored to the mini crowd. You will probably find what you need and then some.

 

[Rbeckett]

It's sad, Chris has my credit card number on file. All I have to do is point, click and pay. It is too easy and SWMBO is starting to figure out that I may have given up my cards, but I still know all the numbers. She doesn't complain too much because we dont share money, so whats hers is hers and whats mine is hers too. Just kiddin, she lets me buy what ever I can afford as long as I pay my bills on time. She's a keeper and a great welder too, so I try not to antagonixe my helper too much so I can get help when I need it. Plus you ought to see the stuff she makes on the CNC Plasma table when she has time.
Bob

 

[Ulma Doctor]

you'll need to do a whole bunch of adjusting, if your 7x10 is anything like mine was.
but, after that they are an impressive machine given the chance to cut.
you'll have to figure out your tool bit height to get on center.
mine likes 5/16 bits with feeler gauge shims to put on center.
after i jumped the center height hurdle the lathe became another capable tool in the arsenal.
i recently parted some 20mm hard chromed shafting on the little devil and was impressed that it worked as well as it did!

you'll have a ton of fun with the lathe!
enjoy

 

[Bobby]

The best upgrade I did for mine was the 14" bed. Once I put that on, my desire for a larger lathe kind of faded away. Also the motor mount with the 14" kit is much nicer.

I have the 7x10 and it works great for smaller projects,was thinking about upgrading to the g0602 but now will have to take a look at the bed extension,i do want a little more capacity in both length of material and chuck capacity