Passed up on getting a 7x10" mini lathe for just $375.

[m1kemex]

Sure. But then you'd be comparing the 7x8 to some better lathe and not against nothing.

No one in his right mind would settle for a 7x8 if he had better options. But then again, if you can wait to get a better lathe, then it's a 'want vs need' kind of proposition.

 

[Ultradog MN]

If you are in a big hurry to get a lathe then having some regrets for not grabbing it may be appropriate.
But if you take the long view and remember that a good machine can give you 50 years of pleasure, it is worth waiting for the "right one".

 

[MikeInOr]

Something better will come along and you will be glad you didn't waste the money on the HF 7 x 10. Although I have heard that if you beef up the base on those HF 7 x 10's, do some accuracy upgrades, swap in a bigger motor and fabricate your own taper attachment that they can be made into a passable pencil sharpener! ...Number 2 and softer lead only, of course.

 

[Growley Monster]

A Vevor 7 x 12 runs a hair over $500 shipped, and their 14" isn't much more than that. I often find myself doing kludgy workarounds with my 12" model for being too short. I couldn't be happy at all with a 7 x 10 of any brand, and if I could spare the bucks I would upgrade to something longer. I wouldn't let the regret of missing out get out of hand if I were you. Save your money and get a 7 x 14 or longer. You can do a lot with a 7" swing. The worst thing about most 7" lathes is the shipped chuck is so small. A good first project is a face plate for turning stuff over 3" diameter, and another one is a back plate for a bigger chuck. A 550w motor will swing a 4" chuck just fine. I don't know why they think it is okay to ship with the itty bitty 3" chuck. There have been some dandy faceplates and backplates made from 5lb cast iron barbell weight plates, just sayin. The faceplate I am using right now for a project is just 1/2" aluminum. Anyway, the short lathe would be fun for a few days but it would not be long at all before you needed to make something too long or needed to bore a hole too deep. There are workarounds for many situations but few of them are elegant or precise.

 

[455dan]

Something better will come along and you will be glad you didn't waste the money on the HF 7 x 10. Although I have heard that if you beef up the base on those HF 7 x 10's, do some accuracy upgrades, swap in a bigger motor and fabricate your own taper attachment that they can be made into a passable pencil sharpener! ...Number 2 and softer lead only, of course.

Have to agree when first looking to get a lathe , I got all excited over the HF store having a 7 x 10 display model that had been dropped in the 'as is' section for $375 only damage was the cracked hand wheel and the gear set was missing. Bought some 3/8' tooling and learned a bit but the rigidity was really lacking and with regular drill bits ran out of room so ordered a 16" base casting from little machine shop.

About the time it showed up a taiwan 12 x 24 belt driven gear head HF Tida? , showed up on Craigslist but needed a motor and new wiring for $1100. Once up and running, I absolutely use the 12 x 24" every time if possible, there was once I needed to grip a small part from the inside and the 7 x 10 was used but the difference in how it feels to operate the two is hard to overstate. The ability to turn down decent sized hard steels and larger pieces with a gap bed and versus just softer metals is so useful, Like tractors - weight is also generally an advantage in machining tools. Except when you need to move them. I could be wrong but Seems like the 12-14" swing and 24-48" bed lathes are kind of a sweet spot for smaller limited space shops. I am sure a 4000lb + lathe would be a whole other level of great but for what jobs I have the 12 x 24" is working out and the 7 x 10 sits collecting dust most of the time.

 

[matthewsx]

I have a Samson (Tida) 12x36 and think it’s about the perfect size hobby lathe. I paid $850 for mine and have another ~$500 into it with 3 phase motor, VFD, QCTP, etc. Mine came with 3 jaw, 4 jaw, face plate, steady and follow rests, and a bunch of lantern tool post stuff.

You might never need this stuff if you’re only working on fountain pens or small model pieces, but if you ever need to do any real work you’ll be glad you held out for something better….

John

 

[m1kemex]

A Vevor 7 x 12 runs a hair over $500 shipped, and their 14" isn't much more than that. I often find myself doing kludgy workarounds with my 12" model for being too short. I couldn't be happy at all with a 7 x 10 of any brand, and if I could spare the bucks I would upgrade to something longer. I wouldn't let the regret of missing out get out of hand if I were you. Save your money and get a 7 x 14 or longer.

Thing is, the HF has back gears (low-high lever) while none of the recent models does. That's important because the electronic control module can only compensate to some degree at low speeds so It'll be prone to stalling (or burning).

The worst thing about most 7" lathes is the shipped chuck is so small. (...) I don't know why they think it is okay to ship with the itty bitty 3" chuck.

Because that's the true capacity of the mini lathe (having a 4" chuck is just an after-thought just like some variants with 8" swing). The Atlas 618, for example, is about the same weight and only has 6" swing, MT2 in the headstock and MT1 in the tailstock. So if there is any frustration, it comes from the machine being limited as much as people attempting to use it outside its intended purpose.

12 x 24 belt driven gear head HF Tida (...) Once up and running, I absolutely use the 12 x 24" every time if possible, there was once I needed to grip a small part from the inside and the 7 x 10 was used but the difference in how it feels to operate the two is hard to overstate. The ability to turn down decent sized hard steels and larger pieces with a gap bed and versus just softer metals is so useful, Like tractors - weight is also generally an advantage in machining tools.

Maybe it's just me but that sounds awfully to like an apples to oranges comparison.

Except when you need to move them.

That's the lure of the mini lathe. You can buy it new for a reasonable price (no need to depend on luck), you can get it via mail...

Nobody says it's a great lathe; it's just a lathe just about anyone can realistically have.

 

[GeneT45]

I think this discussion should be about quality, rather than size. Size is completely dependent on what the user wants to do. Someone making fancy metal writing pens probably doesn't need (or want) a 1440. Someone doing rifle barrel work "needs" either a large spindle bore, or at least a 30" bed, preferably both. I'd take a pass on the CM lathe just because they often take a lot of work to get "right" and they're sold to people who probably don't have the skills and/or tools to do that work.

I encourage people to figure out their own, unique, needs based on what they're trying to do and their constraints (space, cost, availability, etc).

GsT