LOOKING FOR A bigger lathe

[erikmannie]

You never see anybody come on here saying “What I really need here is a smaller machine” LOL.

To the OP, I have heard great things about Sherlines.

 

[Eddyde]

well guys as far as size goes am definitley not looking to go crazy for anything over 7x14 and wont be turning anything but 6061 round stock up too 1.5 which the 4x6 cannot handle.

am looking for more power than this whimpy 4x6 which worked great for the small stuff I was doing. also something that has a threading capability. needing to hold the cost down under $1000 and have room for about 7x14, so like I said not looking for anything extravagant just something to get me by to play with now/then, am also seeing more tool options, the 4x6 has been great and a excellent machine to get the basics on but needing to move up.

I think what a lot of guys here are trying to say is, we've been down this road before, and bigger is usually better. However, bigger isn't necessarily about making bigger parts, there are a lot of benefits of a larger machine, even if you work on small parts. #1 is rigidity, a larger machine will give you much better accuracy, finish quality and is easier, less frustrating to use. Also the ability to take larger cuts and work with steel, etc. #2 features like power feed, thread cutting, more speed ranges and the ability to feed material through the spindle, are great improvements in capability. #3 availability of tooling is much greater starting in the 9-10" range.
I have 9",10" and 13" lathes but most of the parts I make or work on are under 3" in diameter. Quality of the machine is most important.

 

[mickri]

I looked at some of your posts in other threads. You are into model making and are actually selling some parts that you make. That requires the ability to make precision small parts to the same specs over and over. Easier to achieve precise machining with rigidity. Rigidity increases as lathes get bigger and heavier. I think that in a small lathe like you are considering you can increase the rigidity with a massive overbuilt stand. Buy the size lathe with the features that you think will suit your needs, not somebody else's needs and then build a stand for it that would support a lathe weighing a thousand pounds or more.

Another thing to think about might be a turret. If you are going to be preforming the same operations over and over it would save time to have some kind of turret for the lathe. A 4 way tool post might be sufficient. Get in touch with Dabbler. His go to production tool post is a 4 way. He might be able to give you some tips on how to set up your lathe so that it works for you.

Buy the best quality lathe that fits your budget.

 

[rabler]

Started with a 10x22 1hp 400lb lathe. Last one I added was 26" x 50" 9000lb, although I did downgrade the motor from 20HP to 10HP. An RPC to run 20HP would be silly, who needs something THAT big?

These things should be labeled as addictive by the Surgeon General.

 

[markba633csi]

You really need more length than anything else, 7 inch swing is pretty adequate for small hobby stuff but a 7 x 10 is so short you can't put standard jobber length drills in the tailstock with workpieces of any size. I have a 6" Atlas, it's fairly long at about 19" between centers and it works for most things. You can often find Atlas/Craftsman machines for 1K$ or less. Avoid the plain bearing models.
-Mark

 

[Aaron_W]

Bigger is nice, but model making is a bit of a different thing and small works well as long as it is big enough.

I also make models and have acquired a couple of small lathes, a longbed Sherline, a Taig, an Enco 9x20 and a Rivet 8x21.

Sherline doesn't add to your swing, but with 8" or 17" between centers adds significantly to the length of pieces you can work and tooling you can use. Sherline has a huge selection of tooling.

Taig has a slightly larger swing, and 9 3/4" between centers. Less expensive than Sherline, and less refined in my opinion but still a good small lathe made to a higher standard than the Chinese mini lathes.

As far as the 7x lathes they will be an improvement over your 4x6, but I would look at the 8x16, 8x20 and 9x20 lathes as well. The size difference is less than you probably expect. The major difference is weight. The length difference is only around 7-8".

 

[riversidedan]

thanx for the info but keep wondering why longer is better???? I just had my first glimps of a real turret lathe and couldnt believe the size! then again it was an old commercial heavy duty monster! what caught my eye was a 4 sided tool post holder and thought it would serve as a good production tool w/o going for a QCTP

 

[Dabbler]

A nice tradeoff is around 15X60, not too big....

 

[Eddyde]

thanx for the info but keep wondering why longer is better???? I just had my first glimps of a real turret lathe and couldnt believe the size! then again it was an old commercial heavy duty monster, then I seen a 4 sided tool post holder and thought it would almost serve the same purpose only smaller and not automatic.

Length gives you more space for tooling. Lets say you want to drill a hole through a piece of bar stock that won't fit through your spindle bore? By the time you add the length of the work, the drill, the drill chuck and the tailstock you might be out of room!
Better than a 4 position tool post is a quick change "Aloris" style tool post. Not really the same a turret, though turret attachments are available for some lathes. But again, these capabilities really start to open up at the 9" range.

 

[7milesup]

thanx for the info but keep wondering why longer is better????

See Eddyde's post above.
I had a Precision Matthews 10x22. The problem I kept running into was length. Need to drill or bore a part; length becomes an issue really quick.

I ended up moving up to a 1440E Eisen, which is outside of your budget, but as others have pointed out, don't sell yourself short. Buy once, cry once as all of the machinists tool-a-holics have said on here many-a-time.