Thoughts on Mini-Lathes

[Aaron_W]

I have seen some very impressive non-trivial upgrades on the 7x. The latest viewed is a build up of the bed weak area in the left-rear - where the motor resides.

The LMS 7500 -- at the price most would probably opt for a larger Grizzly. No data, but just my thoughts.

It would be interesting to see what the manufacturing costs would be to offer a 7x lathe with those modifications. A hobbyist doing it themselves have no labor costs.

Agree, once you get to the price of lathes like the 7500 or SB1001 there are many good options and likely only a niche of people who need the smaller foot print of an 8" lathe vs a 10x22" and it is not a large jump in budget to get to a PM 10x22 which seems to be the pinnacle of the 10" imports.

 

[Advil]

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.

 

[Smithdoor]

The 7x mini-lathe has now been available for quite some time - well over 20 years which is about when I bought my first - Homier 7x12. (A personal aside - after being lathe-less for a few years, I was going to get a 9x20, but got a good deal on a 7x16 and went that direction - poor decision.) BTW, does anyone really and truly know where the 7x mini-lathe was developed? By "7x mini-lathe" I mean the 7 inch, electronically controlled spindle speed, Chinese/Asian lathe as we know it. And not the Craftsman/Atlas 6x18, various watchmaker lathes, and etc. Neither Frank Hoose (mini-lathe.com) or Chris Wood (LMS) could provide authentic information in this regard.

Not much has really changed on 7x despite advertising hype. The only significant change is the brushless motor and the 4 inch spindle, and the latter, in certain size situation, is not best. The rest are just minor things of marginal significance. And, IMO, quality has not improved - perhaps a bit worse. Certainly my experience. Manufacturer inertia (a body at rest tends to stay at rest) provides that there will be no serious improvements. And I only refer to items that would not upset the 7x size platform or aftermarket support - such as bed rigidity (more bracing), headstock rigidity (and 4-bolt attachment - as I have done), and tailstock rigidity. I have always noticed that the tailstock is taller than its length - not a good formula.

But a true improvement would be a completely new bed with wider ways with dual V's, and much better bracing in the motor area. Some of the 8x lathes make some improvements in this area. The 8x lathes have been "received" into the mini-lathe definition. I am of two minds on that, but it is the current situation. The 8x lathes with the 1 3/8 inch (nominal) spindle through hole and 50% more weight really become a more capable machine. That is of course my opinion as one does not stop by Walmart to examine one.

I expect we all occasionally, or often, take on work that is larger than the designers of the mini-lathe had intended. And I paraphrase a statement by one wag that said; "A cantankerous, troublesome mini-lathe is better than no lathe at all". I must agree as I, quite some years ago, built a Sparey 5cc engine with my first 7x lathe - a Homier 7x12.

I just switched to mini lathe in November. Does everything need in retirement and is light weight.
I think more plan to do if the mini lathe is right choice.

It is small lathe for small work.

Dave

 

[CraigH]

I would respectfully disagree that LMS quality is any higher -- in either fit and finish or accuracy of the assembled components. My 5100 headstock alignment had to be corrected from its factory 0.001" per 1 inch of bed. And the headstock, with its attaching bolts released, had 0.007" inch gap at headstock location chuck-rear.

This became very evident when I was making a cylinder square.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Excellent discussion, lots of good information.

What would be really cool is if someone offered a small lathe in a kit form, think heath kit, model builders would have no issues. It could have the critical machining done by the mass machining then boxed up with the few options someone might want. Customer gets it, works through it deburs it files a few parts, drills a few holes and assembles it and at that point the individual has intimate knowledge of how the lil' bastard works and what it is.... We do this with all kinds of other stuff and it would get the price point down.

Just a thought, don't laugh too hard. Hey PM, LMS, Grizzly.... Helllllooooooo

 

[Aaron_W]

Excellent discussion, lots of good information.

What would be really cool is if someone offered a small lathe in a kit form, think heath kit, model builders would have no issues. It could have the critical machining done by the mass machining then boxed up with the few options someone might want. Customer gets it, works through it deburs it files a few parts, drills a few holes and assembles it and at that point the individual has intimate knowledge of how the lil' bastard works and what it is.... We do this with all kinds of other stuff and it would get the price point down.

Just a thought, don't laugh too hard. Hey PM, LMS, Grizzly.... Helllllooooooo

I think it could be argued this is what Vevor is doing. Vevor sells them on Ebay for $425, hard to imagine you could get a box of parts for much less than that.

Vevor 7x14

 

[GrifterGuru]

Excellent discussion, lots of good information.

What would be really cool is if someone offered a small lathe in a kit form, think heath kit, model builders would have no issues. It could have the critical machining done by the mass machining then boxed up with the few options someone might want. Customer gets it, works through it deburs it files a few parts, drills a few holes and assembles it and at that point the individual has intimate knowledge of how the lil' bastard works and what it is.... We do this with all kinds of other stuff and it would get the price point down.

Just a thought, don't laugh too hard. Hey PM, LMS, Grizzly.... Helllllooooooo

This is, essentially, how I have ended up with the rebuild of my first 7x

 

[SouthernChap]

Excellent discussion, lots of good information.

What would be really cool is if someone offered a small lathe in a kit form, think heath kit, model builders would have no issues. It could have the critical machining done by the mass machining then boxed up with the few options someone might want. Customer gets it, works through it deburs it files a few parts, drills a few holes and assembles it and at that point the individual has intimate knowledge of how the lil' bastard works and what it is.... We do this with all kinds of other stuff and it would get the price point down.

Just a thought, don't laugh too hard. Hey PM, LMS, Grizzly.... Helllllooooooo

That's pretty much what you get with one of the better importers of mini lathes but you also get to learn how to disassemble a lathe, learn how to lap the occasionally dubiously machined surfaces, learn how to measure the need for shim material and learn how to fit that material.

It's always a school day with a mini-lathe

 

[CraigH]

I has been stated on 7x forums that the mini-lathe is an "assembled kit" that the buyer disassembles and reassembles it.

I have heard that Micro Mark sends their 7x16 in three boxes; 1) the bed (with lead screw?), 2) the headstock, and 3) the rest.

Just logged in to MM. The following statement is in the lathe page:

Note: Some Assembly Required. Download Assembly Instructions.

 

[Nesse1]

When in need, a buddy loaned me his Sherline, which stayed camped at my place for about a year. I made lots of fun parts with that tiny machine. When the time came to buy my own machine, I bought an 8x16. It's much heavier than the 7x lathes. The more I used it, the more its limitations presented itself, though. And I'm not talking limitations in terms of size, I'm talking about its crap build quality. Also, the lead screw was useless because it turned way too fast.

Honestly, if I had a do-over, I'd have made the jump straight to full size. I had a SB 9" years ago, and while it was worn out, it was 100x the machine of the small china machines. In the end, I found a Taiwan 12x36 in excellent shape for $1650. A much better value than trying to rebuild a POS china mini lathe.