# Sanjiang Mini Lathe, The best you can buy for $38 !!!!



## Ulma Doctor (Dec 3, 2022)

I started a woodworking project on the Unimat SL1000.
After a couple sample turnings, I decided the Unimat was too valuable to sacrifice to wood dust.
Instead I decided to wreck a cheap woodturning lathe instead of the Unimat
Enter the cheapest woodturning lathe i could find on Amazon, The Sanjiang 100watt (at24vdc) Mini lathe







it came with an adjustable power supply 12-24vdc, some basic tools, an affixed drill chuck, a crudely adjustable tailstock , and a 45mm tool rest, some very inexpensively designed and made turning tools (throw these tools out unless you are going to be turning objects the magnitude of strength of a toothpick, they are poorly made turning tools-  but really, what do you want though for $38???? )

after turning a sample piece in softwood (pine), i decided the lathe was in desperate need of modification.
the power was sufficient, but the spindle speed at 24vdc was way too fast for my taste
i ran through the available voltage selections, taking cuts with each.
running it on the 12vdc setting dropped the available torque, but brought the spindle speeds to workable levels
the lack of a finely adjustable tailstock meant that work needed to be held in the chuck or held by screw mandrel - 





a spur drive center worked but , the lack of a tailstock screw adjustment made pressure turning sketchy at best

i decided to remove the existing tailstock and install a purchased adjustable tailstock assembly
i screwed up the vertical clamp on the purchased tailstock by knocking off too much material, trying to get the center height right.
shims were unacceptable.
i decided to reproduce the vertical clamp
some scrap 6061, was used  

in the BP mill i roughed out the basic size






left: original tailstock clamp  , center: clamp billet  ,  right: purchased adjustable tailstock








i got the basic form and used the original tailstock platform to drill a dimple to get the correct center height.
i transferred the billet to the Unimat for drilling the pilot hole









i drilled the center to 5/8", reamed to 16mm to accept the tailstock capsule , cross drilled to 4mm 
i returned the clamp to the Unimat for slitting with a precarious set up









after slitting, i drilled one half of the clamp to 5.5mm, tapped the other side to 5mm, and installed a clamp bolt

i drilled and tapped the base of the tailstock to accept the retrofit adjustable tailstock, swapped out wing nuts for round head hex screws







i installed the adjustable tailstock quill into the clamp block and set the projection


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 3, 2022)

the finished product!



















more to come!


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## C-Bag (Dec 3, 2022)

Wow, I’m not only impressed with your workmanship, but knowing a little of what you do, where do you find the time???

wish I had a fraction of that energy….


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 3, 2022)

C-Bag said:


> Wow, I’m not only impressed with your workmanship, but knowing a little of what you do, where do you find the time???
> 
> wish I had a fraction of that energy….


I modify stuff like this to get my mind off my regular work stresses
i figure if i'm working on this kinda stuff , i'm not thinking about work.
some of my best epiphanies come when i'm thinking of unrelated things

i wish i could slow down a little!


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## Aaron_W (Dec 3, 2022)

For the money I'd say that is a much better wood lathe than the 6 in 1 metal lathe / wood lathe / mill / drill press / jig saw / grinder they sell for $100-300 is at anything. 

Sad thing is if it just had variable speed the 6 in 1 might just be adequate as an ultra budget entry level model makers tool. Hey I was curious and found one for $89.


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## brino (Dec 3, 2022)

@Ulma Doctor ,

Thanks Mike for posting!

Is that lathe bed basically 80/20 aluminum extrusion?
Like this:
https://8020.net/40-8080.html

Brian


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## tq60 (Dec 3, 2022)

We have one of these.

Fun to tinker with.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 3, 2022)

brino said:


> @Ulma Doctor ,
> 
> Thanks Mike for posting!
> 
> ...


Yes, sir @brino !
It is about 14mm thick, but the tracking looks identical

Thanks for reading!


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 3, 2022)

Aaron_W said:


> For the money I'd say that is a much better wood lathe than the 6 in 1 metal lathe / wood lathe / mill / drill press / jig saw / grinder they sell for $100-300 is at anything.
> 
> Sad thing is if it just had variable speed the 6 in 1 might just be adequate as an ultra budget entry level model makers tool. Hey I was curious and found one for $89.


The 6n1 has the same spindle (M12x1.0)
So, chucks,centers, accy’s are often interchangeable
Great find BTW


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 11, 2022)

here's a video of the lathe in use...







thanks for looking


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## brino (Dec 11, 2022)

Mike,

I had no idea just how tiny that lathe is until I saw your hand on the the headstock!
Perhaps "micro" or "nano" would be a better description.

It looks like you've made some worth while changes and are having some fun with it.

Brian


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 11, 2022)

brino said:


> Mike,
> 
> I had no idea just how tiny that lathe is until I saw your hand on the the headstock!
> Perhaps "micro" or "nano" would be a better description.
> ...


Thanks @brino !
I was thinking micro lathe would be fitting.
The adjustable tailstock and the longer tool rest are excellent upgrades!
I’m having fun with it


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## francist (Dec 11, 2022)

Huh, sure beavers off the wood for a little critter!

You know a little thing like that could be handier than people think. I have a big (full size) wood lathe but sometimes it’d be nice to just spin up a little something without having to go through the whole big lathe rigmarole. Probably be perfect for things like file handles. 

-frank


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 11, 2022)

francist said:


> Huh, sure beavers off the wood for a little critter!
> 
> You know a little thing like that could be handier than people think. I have a big (full size) wood lathe but sometimes it’d be nice to just spin up a little something without having to go through the whole big lathe rigmarole. Probably be perfect for things like file handles.
> 
> -frank


I couldn’t agree more Frank!
The lil bugger has nearly 1/8 hp @24vdc
For the size, the power is sufficient.
The size is excellent for handles and stuff like pens or beads

I just received a 1440 wood lathe ( a xmas gift from my better half)
I can’t wait to put it to work!

Thanks for reading, watching and commenting!


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## brino (Dec 13, 2022)

Ulma Doctor said:


> I just received a 1440 wood lathe ( a xmas gift from my better half)
> I can’t wait to put it to work!



Mike you gotta supply a picture of the little lathe sitting on the new 1440!

Brian


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 13, 2022)

brino said:


> Mike you gotta supply a picture of the little lathe sitting on the new 1440!
> 
> Brian


Will do!
I’m waiting to open the 1440 until I get the chess pieces roughed out so that I’ll stay on course - otherwise I’ll jump into another rabbit hole before I finish the chess pieces.


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 19, 2022)

i made progress on the chess pieces this weekend
here are some shots from the process


the turned redwood pieces:








the turned cedar pieces:






the semi finished pieces:








the semi finished pieces , and the machine that created them! :







stay tuned!
in the next posting, i'll get more pictures.

thanks for reading!


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