hello. I am picking up a king Canada 7 x 12 mini lathe as soon as the store gets them in. I have some massive plans for this mini lathe but I could still use some advise and cautionary tales. I would like to build a bench similar to what hman had for his old 9X20 hopefully he has some input on this. I don't have a large space, in fact I only have a 3x5 foot area to really work with. the lathes over all dimensions are 32" x 11-1/2" x 13" I plan to make the bench about 36" x 18". I want the center of the hand wheel for the carriage to be at about 37-1/2" so I will have to take some measurements when the lathe arrives for the Hight. my father is a wood worker and I do it as a hobby. so I am confident I can build anything I dream up. I plan to build it entirely of construction lumber. some of the features I plan to incorporate into the bench are a 3 inch thick laminated bench top, rack behind the lathe with a 4 shelves one at the Hight of my back splash for oil cans, hex keys chuck key and a few wrenches, maybe a few other odds and ends. the next 2 shelves will be tipped at a 30 degrees towards the operator for quick change tool holders, I intend for the top shelf to be more of a cabinet that I can put inserts, change gears and other less frequently accessed items. I will be mounting some wood directly over head of the lathe to hang an led shop light. now that everything on top of the bench is covered lets move to the bench its self. I would like to use coolant on this lathe but im not sure how I will do it. im spit balling putting a drain in the factory chip pan running some pvc pipe to carry to coolant to a tank, but I don't know how big of a tank it should be. so I don't know where I can put it. so some advise in this area would be appreciated. at the tail stock end of the lathe I will be putting some holes in the bench to hold tailstock accessories. drill chuck, dead center, live center and anything else you guys can think to list. moving to under the bench now, I would like to have some drawers to put things like calipers, micrometers, and what not. under that I will be putting in a shelf with tall narrow drawer with a couple of slide outs to keep chucks. I will also be storing the cases for all of my various crap I will be keeping in the stand. and the coolant tank will likely be down there too. now for the lathe its self. I would like to modify the tailstock to be camlock, or maybe buy a camlock tail stock if it is available. I would like to install locks on the compound, cross slide, and carriage. I will be installing a qctp, likely oxa in size unless I get any recommendations. I will be getting the tail stock dro that lms sells that replaces the dial. i would also like to do a touch dro setup that has a read out on the carriage and cross slide, as well as and rpm readout, and maybe an angle read out for the compound. but have no idea where to start on that. I have also been working on the design and cad to make a bolt on quick change gear box for the lead screw and maybe for spindle speed as well so I can run the motor at what ever speed has the highest torque but that's a huge project that will likely never be completed. I already mentioned the coolant system, at some point I may try a solid tool post, even on a big lathe the compound is the weak link. I think that's all if you can think of any problems I would love to hear them along with any suggestions, or comments you have. thanks!
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Mega modifications for a mini lathe
- Thread starter deadwat3r
- Start date
- Joined
- May 10, 2017
- Messages
- 1,199
First off, welcome to H-M, glad to have you. Reading your post, it sounds like you have a well thought out plan. Work your plan and see how it goes. You can always make adjustments and modifications as you go. Looks like your off to a good start when your machine comes in. Keep us posted on your progress. We love pics here. NO PICS it didn’t happen!!
I like that setup. how well does the milling attachment work? and what is that chip guard you are using?
that's a shame about the milling attachment. what did you make the guard out of?
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2012
- Messages
- 394
I used an old computer's box, I cut the sheet metal and attached to the lathe no bending required.
I have made anumber of other mods to the lathe. See for example:
Lowering topslide of a mini lathe. here
Mini Lathe tailstock alignment here
Stiffening A Mini Lathe Bed here
And a few other mods here
Overall the mini lathe is a fine machine to start with and gave me (still gives me) endless hours of fun
Petros
i will check those out. also have you tried making qctp holders with the milling attachment.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Messages
- 880
Pay particular attention to this one:
Speaking of which: pay attention to the gibs on the saddle. Slop in the saddle is probably the biggest weakness of these lathes, even more than bed twist. And you do yourself no favors if you lock the carriage and use only the compound to feed. You're gonna need a fix for those gibs.
I'm considering making a Gibraltar-style toolpost to use in place of the compound and that crap (non-OXA) QTCP supplied by Micromark: just a big hunk of metal (likely machined from that 2" cast iron round that Hobby Metal Kits provides) with maybe 5/8" for tool shanks, using shims or sleeves to get tools to height.
It deals with the most frustrating aspect of these lathes. I mounted mine to a wooden base and then filled it with concrete, but might bump that up to a rigid metal plate if I can get some of the other flaws fixed.
Speaking of which: pay attention to the gibs on the saddle. Slop in the saddle is probably the biggest weakness of these lathes, even more than bed twist. And you do yourself no favors if you lock the carriage and use only the compound to feed. You're gonna need a fix for those gibs.
I'm considering making a Gibraltar-style toolpost to use in place of the compound and that crap (non-OXA) QTCP supplied by Micromark: just a big hunk of metal (likely machined from that 2" cast iron round that Hobby Metal Kits provides) with maybe 5/8" for tool shanks, using shims or sleeves to get tools to height.