Model making and our machine tools

After watching these model builders like, Learning Turning, it’s incredible what they do on the mini over seas lathes.
And of course changing from a four jaw to a three jaw is a snap.
 
@Janderso : When you are done, don't forget to be posting here your final successful technique for a-sweet-talkin' the lovely lady into getting you stuff like that - and it's not even Christmas yet! :)
 
I'm slowly finishing up with projects and repairs and am looking forward to building a few PM models I acquired earlier this year. While I do have a number of 3 and 4 jaw chucks for both lathes the smallest is 4" I'm looking to purchase a 3" 4 jaw chuck to mount on a 5C mandrel. With the 5C mandrel I can use it on either of my lathes. I see Shars has one listed through Discount Machine on eBay for $58.00. Has anyone tried this or similar chucks, and if so what are your opinions.
 
Aaron_W said:
Still a neat little lathe, but sounds like yours is a project even to get it just to acceptable.
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It would be a fun project. Turning new bushings for the spindle or upgrading to bearings, regrinding the compound and apron, making a bushing for the crosslide etc.
It would be much easier to buy a good used small lathe or buy a new 7X20??
If I enjoy model building I'll need to do something. We'll see. Retirement is in a little over two years....or less
 
Janderso said:
It would be a fun project. Turning new bushings for the spindle or upgrading to bearings, regrinding the compound and apron, making a bushing for the crosslide etc.
It would be much easier to buy a good used small lathe or buy a new 7X20??
If I enjoy model building I'll need to do something. We'll see. Retirement is in a little over two years....or less
Click to expand...

Anything smaller than 10" you will run into operational differences that irritate some and are just different to others. I started on a small lathe so I look at the "room to operate", 2 axis power feed and QCGB on my Powermatic as a luxury, rather than seeing the small lathe as deficient. For somebody coming from a full size, full featured lathe I can see why some are turned off by a cramped low frills small lathe.

Small lathes each have their own set of characteristics, the Sherline and Taig lathes (both manufactured in the USA) are better from the start than the Chinese ones which most say require some work to get them fully functional, but they are quite small with a 3.5" and 4.5" swing. They are also in production making them easier to deal with than a vintage USA or European lathe.

The Chinese 7x and 8x lathes are variable speed gear drive lathes which have some benefits (just turn the dial to set speed), the 9x20 is a belt drive, and there are a couple of different 10x22s some with belt drive, some with variable speed gear drive.

The Atlas 618 is probably overall the best of the small lathes features wise if you can find one that isn't well worn (I think they stopped making this model about 1970 so minimum of 50 years old), some years of Craftsman are simpler than the 618, some are nearly identical. The later "Mk2" Atlas 6" lathes are simplified compared to the 618 but still seems to be a solid little lathe. You of course are familiar with the "other" Craftsman 6" lathe which is certainly viable if not worn out.

I was rather surprised at how compact the Southbend 9" lathes can be with the short 3 foot (17" between centers) bed, the model (9A?) with a QCGB and the short bed would make a very nice small lathe (I bet it would also attract high prices, unless you got lucky).

The Emco (Austrian) lathes Unimat, Compact 5 and Compact 8 are well regarded but relatively expensive and parts can be hard to find. Sherline does make some tooling threaded to fit the Unimat and possibly the Compact 5.

Watchmakers lathes are another option, but they are quite small (around a 2" swing) and from what I've seen they really are specialized for making clock and watch parts (didn't see that coming :grin: ). They are also on the collectible side, and finding one with all the tooling to make it useful for a variety projects adds up quickly. I am also of the impression that they are very brand dependent on tooling, each with their own proprietary collets and threads. Still they are extremely precise if in good shape.

Hardinge and Levin included for completeness sake, but probably way out of the budget for most.


Regardless of the lathe, most of these small lathes are about 3 feet long. The Sherline, Taig, Unimat, Compact 5 and 7x14 lathes are light enough (7x14 the heaviest at about 100lbs) to be stored under a bench or in a cabinet. The Atlas and 8x16 are just a bit heavy for one person to lift (150lbs-ish) but easy for 2. The others are 250+ so you will need a more long term working space set aside for them, although I don't think the argument against putting a lathe on a wheeled stand is as strong with these smaller lathes as with larger ones.
 
Good informative response Aaron.
I checked out the Sherline website. A 3.5" manual machine with all the goodies is around $1,200
Thank you.
 
A Sherline is a far better lathe. Even a Chinese mini lathe is better. I don't want to sound overly critical. I have two of these things. I have tried unsuccessfully to sell both. My first one taught me a lot and gave me cred in front of the staff at Techshop, when it was around. The last thing it made was the first backplate for my South Bend. It knew that it was preparing the throne for one of the princesses to ascend to, and it wasn't a bit jealous. It did the duty selflessly, nobly and honorably, like any loyal royal subject. Maybe that's why I priced it too high.
 
Jeff: you know I'm always looking for an excuse to acquire another machine (and we both know some folks who make us look downright frugal) but since it sounds like the main gripe is taking the 4-jaw on and off have you considered focusing on that explicitly?

A smaller 4-jaw chuck might be a reasonable investment. I know you have an awfully nice welder: a small jib crane expressly for changing chucks might also be a worthwhile project. Just a thought.
 
Rex,
Oh, believe me I have been thinking of ways to relieve my burden.
After removing the tile in our kitchen over the weekend, I am suffering.
I don’t think I can lift a pencil right now.
 
Sherline's package deals are a significant savings over buying individually but $1200 is just a start, Sherline has all kinds of fun goodies you can spend money on.

Before you spend any money though, we need to get you on one so you know if it is going to work for you.

My wife and I just installed a new washer and dryer (only took 4 months to get them). We had to pull the old ones out, and bring the new ones in. We have them stacked so getting the new (larger) dryer on top of the washer in a tight space was a fun experience. I don't remember it being so difficult 13 years ago, it took me 2 days to recover this time.
 
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