- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9,422
Every time I see one of these threads I feel excited for the OP - first lathe, wow!
You can certainly get lost or carried away with feature creep because for a few hundred more, look what I can get ... However, what should really guide you is what you intend to do with the lathe. Some of us work on cars and want to be able to make an axle or re-work a transmission shaft; we may need a 1340. Others simply want to make model engines or common stuff that the average homeowner might need; a 7X might be okay. At the end of the day, the machine you choose should meet your needs and not what you might someday want to make because that day may never come. If a 10" lathe will do it for you for the foreseeable future then you should consider it.
With that said, look at the differences between the 10" and under class of Asian lathes and the 11"+ lathes. On the larger ones, you will typically see wider beds (= greater rigidity), separate drive rod for longitudinal feeds (this means you aren't using and wearing your leadscrew to drive the saddle), and oftentimes a real camlock chuck mount so you can use any camlock chuck of the appropriate size (unlike the 3-bolt system on smaller lathes). Power cross feed is a standard on most larger lathes, even when it isn't all that useful except for facing big stuff at low speeds so I don't put much stock in that. Most larger lathes will also have hardened spindles with ABEC 5 bearings or better, while cheaper lathes will not. Also, a larger lathe will typically have a larger spindle bore and that can be a big deal in some situations.
The bottom line is to first look to your specific needs and buy accordingly. If your needs seem to be pushing you to a 10" lathe, carefully consider going to an 11" lathe instead (for the above reasons). It may cost more to buy that bigger lathe but it will probably last longer, be more powerful and more rigid and with a better spindle, it may also be more accurate. You will have a much wider choice of chuck options and a camlock lathe will probably have a better resale value if you decide to upgrade. If you really think that you want a lathe that will hold you for some time then a slightly larger lathe might be just the ticket.
By the way, the larger, more rigid lathe also impacts on the tooling you use. If you have enough speed, carbide tools will work better on a larger lathe. Just something to consider.
I just happen to own an 11" lathe with all the "good stuff" on it so I wanted to give you some input. Good luck with this.
Mike
You can certainly get lost or carried away with feature creep because for a few hundred more, look what I can get ... However, what should really guide you is what you intend to do with the lathe. Some of us work on cars and want to be able to make an axle or re-work a transmission shaft; we may need a 1340. Others simply want to make model engines or common stuff that the average homeowner might need; a 7X might be okay. At the end of the day, the machine you choose should meet your needs and not what you might someday want to make because that day may never come. If a 10" lathe will do it for you for the foreseeable future then you should consider it.
With that said, look at the differences between the 10" and under class of Asian lathes and the 11"+ lathes. On the larger ones, you will typically see wider beds (= greater rigidity), separate drive rod for longitudinal feeds (this means you aren't using and wearing your leadscrew to drive the saddle), and oftentimes a real camlock chuck mount so you can use any camlock chuck of the appropriate size (unlike the 3-bolt system on smaller lathes). Power cross feed is a standard on most larger lathes, even when it isn't all that useful except for facing big stuff at low speeds so I don't put much stock in that. Most larger lathes will also have hardened spindles with ABEC 5 bearings or better, while cheaper lathes will not. Also, a larger lathe will typically have a larger spindle bore and that can be a big deal in some situations.
The bottom line is to first look to your specific needs and buy accordingly. If your needs seem to be pushing you to a 10" lathe, carefully consider going to an 11" lathe instead (for the above reasons). It may cost more to buy that bigger lathe but it will probably last longer, be more powerful and more rigid and with a better spindle, it may also be more accurate. You will have a much wider choice of chuck options and a camlock lathe will probably have a better resale value if you decide to upgrade. If you really think that you want a lathe that will hold you for some time then a slightly larger lathe might be just the ticket.
By the way, the larger, more rigid lathe also impacts on the tooling you use. If you have enough speed, carbide tools will work better on a larger lathe. Just something to consider.
I just happen to own an 11" lathe with all the "good stuff" on it so I wanted to give you some input. Good luck with this.
Mike