[Newbie Update] Taig Machines?

cweber said:
What do people do that own Sherlines (& Taigs I guess) and want to do threading then?

I ignorantly assumed all lathes would facilitate some way to do this...Or to put it another way, please explain what you mean by threading. I anticipate needing to create metric threads into material. I don't yet know about making actual screws but can envisage making threads at the end of long objects...
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Taps and dies for the most part. Even though I can cut screws on my lathe, many times, I go ahead and use taps and dies anyway. With a die holder for the tailstock, it is fast and easy for most normal fastener sizes and I wouldn't do it any other way for the really small ones.
 
Not disagreeing with you at all, David, but any lathe that cannot cut threads is severely limited in a crucial area and a potential buyer should be aware of this. There are times when you do not have the desired tap or die, or you may need a class 3 fit for a socket head cap screw or you may want to custom-fit one part to another. Then, the only option is to screw cut it. It's okay to use a tap or die when you choose to but at least you must have the option to do so - unmodified Taig lathes don't give you that choice.
 
mikey said:
Not disagreeing with you at all, David, but any lathe that cannot cut threads is severely limited in a crucial area and a potential buyer should be aware of this. There are times when you do not have the desired tap or die, or you may need a class 3 fit for a socket head cap screw or you may want to custom-fit one part to another. Then, the only option is to screw cut it. It's okay to use a tap or die when you choose to but at least you must have the option to do so - unmodified Taig lathes don't give you that choice.
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Exactly. I just was explaining what the options were without the threading capability built into the lathe.

The threading attachment for the Sherline is (http://www.sherline.com/3100inst.htm).

They do some threading with the Taig by putting a screw of the wanted pitch on the spindle and using it to move the tool: http://www.cartertools.com/brooketh.html

I guess it would be better than nothing.

Honestly, by the time you start buying or building some of these options, you would be about ready to get one of the cheap SEIG lathes just to handle the threading.

I don't know about the availability (or price) in Oz but another option in that size range are the Proxxon lathes. Gorgeous machines but not for the faint of wallet.

It just boils down to how much you want it to work out of the box vs. how much you want to tinker and build it yourself. Do you want to stay with manual machining or are you planning on heading off to the CNC world.

If I were leaning towards CNC in that size range, I think I would just get the Sherline CNC ready lathe and get on with my life and not worry about the threading. Let the software do it. If you are planning on staying with manual machining, the 7x12 and longer SEIG and Real Bull lathes are a lot more lathe for the money (with the caveat that they will take more tuning to get to the accuracy of the Taig or Sherline. If you want to tinker and build, I have seen some really awesome Taig lathes that people have built into amazing machines. (Like this one for example: http://modelengines.info/lathes/leadscrew.html )
 
I have a Taig lathe and a Taig manual mill. My rotary table is made by Sherline. I have been happy with all three items. I think either a Taig or Sherline product would be good for hobby work.


Richard
 
Not knocking the lathe, but how do you taig owners deal with that tiny spindle thru hole? .343"
 
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