Considering Lathe Downsizing

[WobblyHand]

My mini is the 7350. It's a decent machine, I've done a bit of work with it. The rotary encoder DROs are not as good as a real linear DRO. It's ok for it's genre. My 10x22 is far more capable and more rigid.

But sometimes I use the mini for some work, well just because. It would be a lot better with an ELS, but I'm not sure it's worth the expense for me to convert it, since I have an ELS on the 10x22. Changing gears is easier on the mini than the non ELS 10x22, since there's no c clips, just cap screws.

I'd be looking at ways to make your existing lathe be more comfortable to use. A mini is definitely a step down from what you have.

 

[tmenyc]

yes, Aaron, good summary. I think I do have a good sense of what i'd give up/gain and what the compromise tradeoff would be. At this point I'm thinking seriously about the 7350 versus the MM 7x16, the major difference being the MM true inch. Part of me has more belief in LMS than MM but that's more anecdotal data than objective facts. Clearly, I haven't made either decision yet, i.e. whether to sell and what to get. But I'm getting there...gut feeling is starting to tell me this could be the right time, but first I need to be able to get back to work, as soon as I heal enough. No decisions will be made until I can actually use the Logan again.
Thanks!

 

[Aaron_W]

yes, Aaron, good summary. I think I do have a good sense of what i'd give up/gain and what the compromise tradeoff would be. At this point I'm thinking seriously about the 7350 versus the MM 7x16, the major difference being the MM true inch. Part of me has more belief in LMS than MM but that's more anecdotal data than objective facts. Clearly, I haven't made either decision yet, i.e. whether to sell and what to get. But I'm getting there...gut feeling is starting to tell me this could be the right time, but first I need to be able to get back to work, as soon as I heal enough. No decisions will be made until I can actually use the Logan again.
Thanks!

You might also look at the LMS 7500, 8.5x20". It is considerably higher quality than the 7" lathes, and actually compares quite well to the features of the Precision Matthews 10x22, just smaller. About twice the weight of the 7350 at 220lbs, and a bit larger, but still significantly smaller than your Logan. Both the 7350 and 7500 use a 4" chuck, so the weight of tooling as far as working with the lathe will be about the same for both machines.

It is also normally almost the same price as the PM 10x22, but is currently on sale for $2300 which makes it only $600 more than the 7350.

It has a power cross feed which is very uncommon on Chinese lathes smaller than 12".


I've dealt with Micro Mark and Little Machine Shop quite a bit. No machine tools from MM but lots of modeling tools. Generally they are pretty good quality. I have probably spent $1000 with MM over the years with no bad experiences. I have also had very good experiences dealing with LMS.

I have no basis to believe the MM 7x16 is any less of a machine than the LMS 7x16, but I agree with you, I just have more confidence with LMS when machine tools are involved.

 

[SouthernChap]

You might also look at the LMS 7500, 8.5x20". It is considerably higher quality than the 7" lathes, and actually compares quite well to the features of the Precision Matthews 10x22, just smaller. About twice the weight of the 7350 at 220lbs, and a bit larger, but still significantly smaller than your Logan. Both the 7350 and 7500 use a 4" chuck, so the weight of tooling as far as working with the lathe will be about the same for both machines.

It is also normally almost the same price as the PM 10x22, but is currently on sale for $2300 which makes it only $600 more than the 7350.

It has a power cross feed which is very uncommon on Chinese lathes smaller than 12".


I've dealt with Micro Mark and Little Machine Shop quite a bit. No machine tools from MM but lots of modeling tools. Generally they are pretty good quality. I have probably spent $1000 with MM over the years with no bad experiences. I have also had very good experiences dealing with LMS.

I have no basis to believe the MM 7x16 is any less of a machine than the LMS 7x16, but I agree with you, I just have more confidence with LMS when machine tools are involved.

Yep the 8x often have 4" rather than 3" 'wide' beds; that's got to make for better rigidity.

 

[tmenyc]

Aaron, Southern, yes, that 7500 is quite a machine -- but for double the weight over the 7350 one only gets an additional 1.4" swing and 4" between centers, plus double the hp. All of these are not the variables I need for the future, although I would like the additional swing and power, for sure. The potential goal is to get what I really need for my vintage pen work from a significantly smaller machine. The 7500 is not a significantly smaller machine, attractive as it certainly is.
Tim

 

[m1kemex]

I have three "mini lathes":

1.- Atlas 618:

* It's a nice lathe, but not very rigid.
* You can't find a new one, so you'd have to deal with wear.
* There will be lots of wear because no part of it is hardened.
* The thing I like the most is that it's back geared. It goes really slow.
* It also goes really fast. Useful for polishing.
* Feels a little too small at times.

* Micromark 7x16 (kind of, I assembled it with parts of a Vevor one).

* Not very high quality.
* Parts are plentiful and cheap.
* Prone to wear because most parts are soft.
* Bad design. Just one V way, so carriage and tailstock share it.
* It could be far more rigid than the Atlas, but it suffers from a design flaw: the headstock is mostly unsupported.
* Electronic variable speed seems like I feature. I consider it a drawback. Low speeds lack torque and it's not very reliable.
* It's even worse on the Micromark than even generic ones because it doesn't have gears in the headstock.
* If you get one definitely get it with low-high lever.

* BVB25L.

* It's a decent lathe overall.
* Six speed, all geared.
* Very long bed.
* Also soft, so prone to wear.
* Suffers from the same single V way design flaw as the 7x series.

If I were you I'd look at Travers. If my memory serves me right, they import machinery from SIEG (it's made in Taiwan so it's decent quality) under the OTMT brand. SIEG makes more lathes than just the 7x series.

I'll suggest the Monarch 10EE.

Am I following the thread right? OP said he wanted to downsize from a Logan to a 7x mini lathe, and suddenly a 10EE is an option???

 

[tmenyc]

Well, I've pretty much decided that the LMS 7500 will be my next machine. My thinking has turned around, that for the extra money one gets triple the power, sufficient z travel, an extra inch swing, and it's a major diminution in overall size and weight. The more I look at my needs, this fills the gaps without having a huge amount of extra capacity and weight. Look for a sales listing soon for the Logan 820. If any of you are interested now in learning about that, let me know on PM. It will come with all of my AXA tooling (not the cutters) and all my chucks.

Thanks again for all the good advice! I certainly heard your comments about not giving up a QCGB, but find that most of my work is on soft materials in a narrow feed range to begin with, and changing gears periodically for threading is do-able.

Tim

 

[Aaron_W]

I think the 7500 is kind of a niche machine based largely on price, but it seems like your needs are what it was designed for. If you get it I'll be curious to see what you think. I've not seen to many people who have one, but it seems like a nice, fairly compact lathe.

Maybe not quite as small as you were thinking about, but It should be a good foot shorter and around 8" narrower than your Logan. Also a lot lighter.

 

[tmenyc]

Precisely, thanks, Aaron.

 

[m1kemex]

Power cross feed. Double v ways. Other than the quick change gearbox, it's a full lathe.

If money is not an issue, go for it. Life is short.

Myself, I'd not spend 2.5K on a machine that size.