What makes the MicroLux 7x16 lathe 2X 3X more $$$$ than the other 7x16 ?

[VicHobbyGuy]

Also if your primary concern is size rather than weight, you might look at some of the 8x16 or 9x20 lathes. Similar foot print, and price to the 7x16s but generally seem to have better quality control. Significant weight increase though with the 8x16s running around 150lbs and the 9x20 250lbs.

Yes. Larger capacity is always appealing - that's one of the attractions (along with cheaper price) of the Vevor (RealBull) lathes with the 100mm spindle flange and standard 4" chuck. Some of the 8x lathes have very appealing features - larger spindle bores for example. (I'm not so attracted by the Electronic Leadscrew models....) I'm seeing more online posts of problems with 8x lathes now that the choices have increased. Just this week I've read two reports from owners with serious problems with 'integrated motor in headstock' 8x lathes. At least with the 7x lathes, spare parts and advice are easier to find.

 

[Aaron_W]

Assume you refer to the cross-slide and top-slide (compound) screws, and not the carriage 16 tpi leadscrew. Nice feature but I always measure when getting close, and by that I don't mean a few thousandths. 8^)

Small differences in features - on the same bed, headstock, and tailstock castings.

One thing to note on the Grizzly 7x14 - a much more robust tailstock. That tailstock might be seen on a few other Real Bull lathes by other vendors.

They market as "Tru Inch" so I assumed all the screws, but I don't have one. Aren't many of the 7x lathes a metric pitch lead screw rather than in TPI?

Yes. Larger capacity is always appealing - that's one of the attractions (along with cheaper price) of the Vevor (RealBull) lathes with the 100mm spindle flange and standard 4" chuck. Some of the 8x lathes have very appealing features - larger spindle bores for example. (I'm not so attracted by the Electronic Leadscrew models....) I'm seeing more online posts of problems with 8x lathes now that the choices have increased. Just this week I've read two reports from owners with serious problems with 'integrated motor in headstock' 8x lathes. At least with the 7x lathes, spare parts and advice are easier to find.

Most of those are larger 8.7x 24 or 30" rather than the 8.25x16" that have been around quite a while now. Those "larger" 8" lathes do not have the more positive reputation of the older 8x16 as sold by Weiss and Grizzly.

Few established sellers are offering the 8.7" lathes which is probably a good part of the spotty reputation that they are developing.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

They market as "Tru Inch" so I assumed all the screws, but I don't have one. Aren't many of the 7x lathes a metric pitch lead screw rather than in TPI?

I think the Vevors were some of the first 7x machines that came into the USA/Canada with 1.5mm pitch leadscrews. And there have been quite a lot of those sold.
I have a MicroMark (MicroLux) 'TruInch' 7x14 Sieg lathe and the carriage leadscrew is 16tpi, the compound and cross-slide leadscrews are 3/8-20 so 50 thou for one revolution of the dial.
The 7x14 Vevor I owned had metric leadscrews throughout: 1.5mm pitch carriage leadscrew and M10x1 screws on the compound and cross slide. The somewhat strange feature (to me) was that the compound and cross slide dials were 'inch' and had 40 divisions per revolution (to 'match' the 39 thousandths of an inch travel per revolution of a 1mm pitch screw); I would have preferred metric dials with decimal graduations.

 

[Aaron_W]

The somewhat strange feature (to me) was that the compound and cross slide dials were 'inch' and had 40 divisions per revolution (to 'match' the 39 thousandths of an inch travel per revolution of a 1mm pitch screw); I would have preferred metric dials with decimal graduations.

This is common on a lot of the small (some larger as well) import machines, and the reason for the "close but not quite" comment.

Personally I do not understand this as they are selling a ton to the US market, and it is just some threaded rod. Even if not a standard option it seems weird that inch compatible screws are not readily available aftermarket.

Sherline offers their machines as metric or inch but they seem to be an exception. Even the sellers who offer real inch machines (PM for example) don't offer metric, and for the ones selling inch dials on metric machines most seem not to offer metric dials for those who want fully metric machines (USA sellers), when clearly as import machines that is their default.

It just seems odd to me since even cheap machine tools are more accurate than the difference metric screws with inch dials provides, and it is not a terribly difficult conversion if the parts were made available.

 

[CraigH]

Personally I do not understand this as they are selling a ton to the US market, and it is just some threaded rod. Even if not a standard option it seems weird that inch compatible screws are not readily available aftermarket.

It just seems odd to me since even cheap machine tools are more accurate than the difference metric screws with inch dials provides, and it is not a terribly difficult conversion if the parts were made available.

Simply market and manufacturing inertia. They cannot, or more accurately will not, make the simplest changes to improve the machines.

 

[mac1911]

I was going to suggest the same… like a Grizzly G4000. But he is buying used, so not sure what deal he is getting on the one he is looking at…

Its not much of a deal $$$$ wise.
Unless theres much more tooling not mentioned. Its still 2-3x more than a used one of the features.

I am a fixer , auto repair by trade.
Half a master of using what I have on hand to make things work. So these lathes with issues I can sort out.

Im sorting through my Smithy 1220,3-1 combo at the moment.

I also have a very small often negative budget. What Im realizing is a second lathe is needed when trying to fix the first, lol

 

[mac1911]

I agree. There's no single complete 'Guidebook' to using one of those small lathes (or mills either). And the 'manual that came with the Vevor 7x14 I bought was not very extensive, to put it politely. LMS has some reasonable user guides to download, but -as you say- the new Vevor owner may not know how to get to the resources on the internet.
Twenty years ago, an online search would actually turn up the answer to most questions; nowadays it's generally just page after page of 'for sale' ads. So it can be a frustrating experience for the novice buyer of a 7x lathe - to realize that the machine 'as delivered' can't actually do much.

And, using a metal lathe is a lot more complicated than using a tablesaw or wood router. I think a lot of new 7x lathe owners don't appreciate the the long "Learn this' list of skills needed. If learning isn't fun for you, it's the wrong hobby.

Agree…. I had a hard enough time navigating some web sites when I did find some! Smithy for one , LMS is not the easiest to navigate either. Top it off the search functions are not that great with in the web sites, lol. These forums have been a great source of info.

Even non topic related. Im on a firearms forum where I have had more help IRL on non firearms subjects than dedicated forums.
Even with machine work.

 

[mac1911]

I dont come by much of anything used locally that is worth buying. Right now its either “fully restored” for big bucks or needs restoration for big bucks.
Almost everything is lacking of tooling or parts.

 

[SouthernChap]

Simply market and manufacturing inertia. They cannot, or more accurately will not, make the simplest changes to improve the machines.

I think we do underestimate the cost and 'potential risk' of these small (sometimes teensy) changes when applied at scale in manufacturing.

The tooling is set up as it is, the components are in stock at the factories in large quantities, and the workers are used to the process the way it is.

The costs of what appear to be a trivial change, when scaled over tens or even hundreds of thousands of products, can mount up.

Even if someone persuades the bean counters that the innate costs of a change are proportionate to potential increased profit, there's the risk of rhe change.

"Sure" says the Financial director (or "Commissar for reducing waste to avoid getting shot", or whatever they're called in China ) "We'll make this change and assuming the change broadly goes fine, the product will be be better technically and our customers will like that and sales will go up and our turnover will go up and more than the change costs and all will be good. But what if everything doesn't go broadly fine? I'll be sacked" (or shot if they're in China).

And yeah, if we're realistic about the way the world sadly works, they make logical point.

Companies (and I mean the organisational entities, not individuals within the company) are not working primarily to service customers or even sell products to customers; thats just what is making them money.

They're working to make the positive gap between the money they make and the money they spend, as big as is humanly (and generally not humanely) possible.

(and, of course, the individuals within those companies are, themselves, working to mostly to maintain their/their family's income)

If Ford or Starret or HP or Google or Amazon or Seig or Weiss or whoever, could make lots of money by putting cute little kittens into industrial liquidisers and comfortably get away with it, you can bet they'd be in the kitten smoothie business.

 

[Smithdoor]

Was looking around for a small lathe that I could use in my basement. 7x16 is about the max I have room for . Came across a used microlux 7x16 but its 2-3x more than the other 7x16 I see. New or used?

FYI
I down size my lathe in November
I did purchase a new mini lathe from Walmart for $600.00 and add about $200.00 in tooling.
The lathe works great and is a lot cheaper than a $2,000 lathe that almost same.

Dave