Help me choose a mini lathe

[Aaron_W]

Staying within your budget of $750, buying used is probably your best route, even the Harbor Freight 7x10 is right at $750 before taxes.

Unless you want to do a lot of work on the lathe or develop a hobby of arguing with a seller over email, I'd probably skip the Vevor lathes. The 7x lathes are known to have issues in general and Vevor just seems to add to the issues.

If you really want to go with a 7", then the Little Machine Shop C2 mentioned earlier seems like the best option if buying new. LMS is a solid seller.

If you are willing to consider used, then you have a whole host of smallish lathe options. Used 7" mini-lathes will often turn up on FB Market Place or Craigslist in the $300-600 range, with the better quality 7x16" (Little Machineshop and Micromark) running higher.

Additionally you have the 9x20 which is not a great deal larger than the 7x16" lathes, a few inches longer, and 150lbs heavier.
There are a variety of 8" lathes very similar to the 7", but often a bit better quality. Again only a little bigger, and heavier.
Taig and Sherline are smaller lathes, but very capable so long as your work is small. Big advantage is they tend not to have the quality control issues of the Chinese lathes.

Atlas / Craftsman 6x18" are a solid older small lathe. Be aware there are several Craftsman 6" lathes. The Atlas made lathes had model numbers beginning with 101, the 101.07301 and 101.21400 being the most common. Sears also sold a much cheaper lathe, these start with 109. Unless you find a super deal (under $300 in good shape, with tooling) then you probably want to steer clear of the 109s.

South Bend and Logan both offered short bed 9x17-24" lathes which while bigger than a 7" still quite manageable and may be worth considering if space isn't your biggest concern.

 

[skogkatt007]

I do believe the ones made for Optimum were earlier runs. I can't remember the specifics, but later non Optimum models had a few benefits earlier ones didn't. Either were pretty good though I hear. That is any red HF model is a keeper. Or similar lathes sold.by others (wasn't aware anyone else sold them until now). I may have known about Lathemaster but forgot.

Someone ought to grab that and the Craftsman/EMCO. I'd probably buy both if they were near!

 

[skogkatt007]

Yeah if the OP is willing to wait, a SB or Atlas or whatever is a good bet. You can get a stripped down basis for a lathe (not complete by any means) Taig kit for under 200$. Carter tools discounts even those by 10%. If you really don't know if this stuff is for you, that's probably the best way to go. Unless you find something used locally at a comparable price.

 

[BWS Arms]

My smallest lathe is a 13x30 that weighs 2500 pounds. I could not imagine using anything smaller. This probably doest help you out but the point is to get the largest machine that you can afford.

 

[Chip Hacket]

Chip Hacket, I have the same lathe. Except I got mine through Lathmaster, unfortunately you can't get it though them anymore. Good solid lathe, at that price, I'd jump on it.
By the way, Chip, where did you get your VFD? I assume that you use the original motor. Something that I have been thinking quite a while. Was thinking switching motors, but this may be better.

Hey, how are things in Oregon, I remember, now that you've reminded me you too have one of these lathes. Of course you're ahead of me, you have one of the longer versions 14 vs 12 inches. <wink> But actually one of the main factors for buying this one was the fact it had no motor speed control board and DC motor. Whether my concerns were valid or not are debatable but I just knew it would smoke and I wouldn't have a schematic so I opted for a plane AC motor. As luck would have it my motor got a little squeak. Ultimately it was the centrifugal switch. I don't remember the details exactly but I broke it trying fix it. Yea, I was proud.
So to your question, I got the VFD from https://www.wolfautomation.com/. I also got a 3 phase motor from Zoro. It took me a while to figure out the frame size which is a 71 Frame. The original motor didn't show that info on the nameplate. I may have been better of just adapting a more readily available motor with a NEMA frame but..... The good news is I now have a 3 phase, reversible, variable speed motor that sounds cool as it ramps up and down.

 

[dabear3428]

One thing (among others) you will get with the LMS 7500 8-1/2 is power cross feed, which is a big deal. It should be easier to fit DRO/Scales tonyhe 8-1/2 vs. 7x

listed as "not Available" and is about 3 X what he has budgeted.

 

[dabear3428]

Vevor, is ok for a lot of things but for a lathe?????, you can step up to the 8-9" chinese class of lathe for around 1200 (i know not in your budget) I know i spent a lot of time looking at the vevor lathes and comparing a lot of them but eventually bought a 9X24 from ebay for $1200. at that price level you get a lot but not power crossfeed. if you have to stay in that price range I would make sure that the seller has an enforced free return (e-bay and amazon come to mind) when it hits your home pull it out of the box immediately and test everything and start squawking immediately about anything that is wrong, they will bend over backwards during the free return period to keep from having to pay for return shipping. you can follow along with my experience's here:

D

Thread 'MX-600A 9"x24" mini lathe'

Nov 27, 2023

well i bit the bullet and bought a MX-600A (1100w brushless 8.7X23.6 with a F/R H/M/L gearbox and a 1.5" spindle bore, shipps with a steady rest, a follow rest and a dead center) off of e-bay, after getting it and turning some steel (does a decent job IMO). I got this expecting a box of lathe like parts that I would need to cleanup, tune and refitted to have a working lathe, but was pleasantly surprised. now it has issues but I was looking for a project anyway, to start with the gearbox would not shift between forward and reverse, the steady rest is off center (by a lot) but the spindle...

• dabear3428
• Replies: 51
• Forum: MINI-LATHE & MINI-MILL INFORMATION

• 

good luck and welcome to the rabbit hole!

BTW i would buy what ever before jan of next year before the prices go up.

 

[SouthernChap]

My smallest lathe is a 13x30 that weighs 2500 pounds. I could not imagine using anything smaller. This probably doest help you out but the point is to get the largest machine that you can afford.

Sorry mate, but I actually think the first part of your post is not very helpful. I'm sure you don't mean it to be but it can come across as a bit dismissive of smaller lathes.

As an aside, one of Hardinge's most well known and respected toolroom lathes, the HLV-H* is an 11x18 lathe.

The "get the largest machine you can afford" isn't necessarily good advice for a complete beginner. All machine tools are out to feast on your blood, but a little 7x14 is less likely to kill you if you make a mistake. Now, I'll grant I'm a complete beginner but my father was an engineer (he did his apprenticeship in the London docks and then later on as 2nd Engineer in the merchant navy) and he taught me a respect and fear of machine tools that has meant I've not made any serious mistakes so far but not every beginner has such an upbringing.

For someone who has some shop experience and is starting on building up their home workshop, your advice is the right advice mind you.

*or KL-1 if manufactured in the UK, there was an almost pristine example of one, with a fair bit of tooling, up in Charter Auctions warehouse and Rich, one of the fellas there tried to persuade me to find £3000 to buy it; would have done too if I could have found the money

 

[dabear3428]

My smallest lathe is a 13x30 that weighs 2500 pounds. I could not imagine using anything smaller. This probably doest help you out but the point is to get the largest machine that you can afford.

that you can afford, will fit in your shop, will make the parts you want to make, and as SC pointed out, is not likely to kill you before you learn enough to avoid the hazards. also putting a 2500lb machine into your shop before you are sure what you want to make is an issue all by itself.

 

[jwmay]

My smallest lathe is a 13x30 that weighs 2500 pounds. I could not imagine using anything smaller. This probably doest help you out but the point is to get the largest machine that you can afford.

Don’t sell yourself short. Push comes to shove, you can do a lot more than you imagine, with a lot less. Lol