Thoughts on Mini-Lathes

[Firstram]

My one gripe with Blondihacks' lathe buying advice video is it quickly became apparent that she hadn't done much homework and really just knows her lathe.

Personally, I think the second half of her screen name describes her perfectly. I hate to be a negative Nancy but, she's the last person I'd take advice from.

A 7" mini-lathe can cut a remarkable number of threads, including 27 1/2 (with 0% error), which I have done.

What's the significance of a 27 1/2 thread?

 

[CraigH]

Personally, I think the second half of her screen name describes her perfectly. I hate to be a negative Nancy but, she's the last person I'd take advice from.

What's the significance of a 27 1/2 thread?

My apologies, a senior moment - it's 27 tpi (I will correct the post if possible). I transposed 27 and one of the halves such as 11 1/2.

There a few applications of 27 tpi, one is a lamp harp, another is a microphone stand.

Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[mac1911]

I have nothing against whatever size tool gets the job done and meets a person's needs. My issue is purely with the dime a dozen 7x14s all being too close to the fine line between usable and junk to be worth most people's time and money. They have no real rigidity, spindle strength and runout are usually just plain bad, and the whole unit likely won't have any kind of build quality if it's a vevor or knock off. little machine shop has better quality fit and finish (Seig etc). but you pay a premium for the same weight and rigity class of machine. If at all humanly possible (I understand maybe cost is the ONLY factor) put your budget a little over $1000 and get literally anything one step up from the generic 7s. You'll have a far greater chance of having a lathe you'll want to keep forever and use regulaarly.

This is something I thought about for s while.
How much more along would you be if you bought a $500 7x lathe and spent another $X and time improving it vs buying something used $1000 and $X ti get it up and running? Lets stay with in the limitations of the 7x machines
The few people I have met on the “hobby” side of this have a small total budget say $2000 max
They are not setting up to have a return on that investment vs a retired or even half skilled machinist setting up knowing they will/can make a few bucks on odd jobs ?

 

[GrifterGuru]

@mac1911

Having gone down the very deep rabbit hole of a complete rebuild of a 7x from the bedway upwards, I can say that the cost of parts alone, so far, has hit £1400 (approx $1700 USD). A portion of that is due to importing certain imperial parts and parts not available to the UK market.

In real terms, without the imports, the costs are more around the £1100 (approx $1400USD) mark.

That is without an ELS or three axis DRO kit (3rd axis for milling slide*) being thrown in.

* I am aware of the limitations, but for what I need it for, it will suffice until it doesn't.

Yes, I could buy a better machine brand new for two to four pounds hundred more, but I would lose the benefit of knowledge gained during the rebuild, plus I would still need to attend to the upgrades and mods I am incorporating. At the end of the rebuild process, I will have exactly the machine I want, set up the way I want with the features I want (extended cross slide, custom lead and feed screws, custom handwheels et-al).

Even for my SC3, a basic "upgrade and mods" package would be around £400+ (approx $507USD) on an already £1k (approx $1268USD) machine.

Is it worth it? to me personally yes as I am gaining a lot of very particular knowledge as well as gaining an exact understanding of how the lathe is built, how it is setup, how it is adjusted as well as the capabilities and limitations inherent in the design of the thing.

 

[mac1911]

@mac1911

Having gone down the very deep rabbit hole of a complete rebuild of a 7x from the bedway upwards, I can say that the cost of parts alone, so far, has hit £1400 (approx $1700 USD). A portion of that is due to importing certain imperial parts and parts not available to the UK market.

In real terms, without the imports, the costs are more around the £1100 (approx $1400USD) mark.

Yes, I could buy a better machine brand new for two to four pounds hundred more, but I would lose the benefit of knowledge gained during the rebuild, plus I would still need to attend to the upgrades and mods I am incorporating. At the end of the rebuild process, I will have exactly the machine I want, set up the way I want with the features I want (extended cross slide, custom lead and feed screws, custom handwheels et-al).

Even for my SC3, a basic "upgrade and mods" package would be around £400+ (approx $507USD) on an already £1k (approx $1268USD) machine.

Is it worth it? to me personally yes as I am gaining a lot of very particular knowledge as well as gaining an exact understanding of how the lathe is built, how it is setup, how it is adjusted as well as the capabilities and limitations inherent in the design of the thing.

Im going through very much the same working through my first lathe.
Its a mid 1990’s smithy 12x20
I think I learned more quickly fixing it up.
What I have been seeing on the low end lathes is the only increase in price seems to just buy a larger unit , or add ons like DRO and QCTP?

 

[Aaron_W]

How much more along would you be if you bought a $500 7x lathe and spent another $X and time improving it vs buying something used $1000 and $X ti get it up and running? Lets stay with in the limitations of the 7x machines

The second part of that is what options do they have in the foot print and weight of a 7x lathe?
The largest of the 7x lathes is the 7x16 which is 31" long, 10" wide and 12" tall, with a weight of 90lbs.

Budget is one part of it, but size is also often a major consideration. There are a few vintage lathes that remain in the rough size class as the 7x lathe, but not many.

 

[GrifterGuru]

I think I learned more quickly fixing it up.
What I have been seeing on the low end lathes is the only increase in price seems to just buy a larger unit , or add ons like DRO and QCTP?

The increase in costs is not necessarily limited to going up in machine size. What you more often pay for on the more expensive "like for like" machines (if comparing, say 10x22 lathes) where one may be, say $1400 and the other closer to $2000 is better Q/C, a better setup machine and, mostly, a company that stands behind the machine with a warranty.

I am not saying those above amounts are accurate, just a way of making the comparison.

My SC3 came from a reputable supplier. Given I am still in the 12 month supplier warranty period they have been helpful in working to resolve the issue I currently have on hand by supplying replacement spindle bearings.

The largest of the 7x lathes is the 7x16 which is 31" long, 10" wide and 12" tall, with a weight of 90lbs.

Budget is one part of it, but size is also often a major consideration. There are a few vintage lathes that remain in the rough size class as the 7x lathe, but not many.

Closer to 35" if you have the tailstock foot right on the end of the bedway with the tail and handwheel overhanging, which, lets face it, you often need to do if using a drill over 10mm diameter in a tailstock mounted chuck.

You really need at least 48" wide space so you can get to the change-gears as well as be able to slide the tailstock on/off. split that additional 15 in two for clearance either end and you literally only have 7-1/2" either end to play with.

Try doing that in a space only 35-1/2" wide.... Certainly can be fun at times!!

 

[GrifterGuru]

... DUPLICATE POST DELETED

 

[Aaron_W]

The increase in costs is not necessarily limited to going up in machine size. What you more often pay for on the more expensive "like for like" machines (if comparing, say 10x22 lathes) where one may be, say $1400 and the other closer to $2000 is better Q/C, a better setup machine and, mostly, a company that stands behind the machine with a warranty.

I am not saying those above amounts are accurate, just a way of making the comparison.

My SC3 came from a reputable supplier. Given I am still in the 12 month supplier warranty period they have been helpful in working to resolve the issue I currently have on hand by supplying replacement spindle bearings.



Closer to 35" if you have the tailstock foot right on the end of the bedway with the tail and handwheel overhanging, which, lets face it, you often need to do if using a drill over 10mm diameter in a tailstock mounted chuck.

You really need at least 48" wide space so you can get to the change-gears as well as be able to slide the tailstock on/off. split that additional 15 in two for clearance either end and you literally only have 7-1/2" either end to play with.

Try doing that in a space only 35-1/2" wide.... Certainly can be fun at times!!

I was going off the published specs.

 

[GrifterGuru]

I was going off the published specs.

Even on published specs, Q/C varies wildly within a certain bracket of pricing.

Lower cost machines within that variable price bracket for the same type machine usually having lower Q/C.