Thoughts on Mini-Lathes

[SouthernChap]

there are a lot of upgrades in this area, the newer ELS equipped lathes the 8.3/8.7 swings all the way out to 32" between centers.
these are heavier and more powerful. i recently bought a MX-600A off of ebay, i was not expecting a PM or even grizzly lathe i was expecting an assembled box of lathe like parts that i could tinker with and have fun while i decided what i wanted in a larger lathe.

MX-600A 9"x24" mini lathe

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...

www.hobby-machinist.com

i was pleasantly suppressed by the fit and finish (still not a PM or Grizzly) and it is powerful enough with an 1100W brushless motor. It is not rigid by any stretch of the imagination, but i have not bolted it down yet

At 9x24 it's not really a mini-lathe though

Size does seem to matter with the manufacturing and QC.

 

[dabear3428]

At 9x24 it's not really a mini-lathe though

Size does seem to matter with the manufacturing and QC.

i would not know what to classify it as if not a mini? to me anything < 400lb is a mini.
i would agree with the size (or rather the price) makes a difference with the QC, not that this is a high quality lathe, and out of the box a lot needs to be addressed to make good parts.
the construction is just a scaled up 7X with more power and not much more width in the carriage.
the QC is better than i expected but not in the same zip code as a PM or Grizzly.
I like the additional features like the 1100W Brushless motor, and the 1.5 spindle bore as well as the front mounted gearbox (it is much nicer to just flip a lever on the front to increase/decrease the feed rate as well as the feed direction)
IMO it is missing 2 things 1. rigidity and 2. a power cross feed, but I'm working on adding those.

 

[dabear3428]

When look at mini lathes and different brands they look like came off the same product line then use different color and sticker just before boxing. Even boxing looks the same.

I want best price from Walmart.
I did look at Grizzly, HF , Vevor , LMS and others also look at Amazon. I went with because of returns. The lathe is great

Dave

I think the factory that makes the castings for these sells over runs/2nds to various parties that assemble them and sell under their own label, so you can find the same machine with the same castings at vastly different prices/quality levels.

 

[GrifterGuru]

Creworks? that is the manufacturers name, yes very battleship grey

Err, no, I meant Crenex. Though they may have changed the name to something similiar.

Had dealings with a crenex 7x and it was a pile. Ended up with a full refund for it, then told to keep the damn thing after they failed to arrange collection for 3 months.

 

[dabear3428]

Err, no, I meant Crenex. Though they may have changed the name to something similiar.

Had dealings with a crenex 7x and it was a pile. Ended up with a full refund for it, then told to keep the damn thing after they failed to arrange collection for 3 months.

kind of what i was expecting from this but was pleasantly surprised. no casting defects, the power is good, the gearbox works as advertised, the paint is ok, the tailstock is good, the follow rest is very good, the chuck is ok, the supplied (X2) steady rest is mis-machined but just requires some shimming to align it.

I was prepared to RMA it if needed but no, (again it is not a PM or Grizzly but i was not expecting that).

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

I'm sorry but I have to take issue with this kind of talk.

..........

• Avoid hyperbole or vague words like "junk", "garbage" or "crappy"*.
• Take seriously, and respect the constraints the person asking for advice, says they have.
• Offer region-appropriate advice.
• Steer the beginner to the most rigid, size capable lathe that their constraints can aaccommodate.
• And if the above turns out to be a mini-lathe, don't give up but try to suggest an importer that has decent quality standards.

I'd add to your list:
Unless you have actual hands-on experience with a Chinese 7x 'mini-lathe', it's probably best not to comment extensively.
I often see people who have never been within miles of a 7x, pontificating online about how bad they are, suggesting inappropriate 'improvements' and alternatives.
My recommendation would be to direct questioners to one of the 'dedicated' 7x lathe sites - the FB 7x group or the groups.io 7x12 group if FB isn't palatable.

 

[GrifterGuru]

kind of what i was expecting from this but was pleasantly surprised. no casting defects, the power is good, the gearbox works as advertised, the paint is ok, the tailstock is good, the follow rest is very good, the chuck is ok, the supplied (X2) steady rest is mis-machined but just requires some shimming to align it.

I was prepared to RMA it if needed but no, (again it is not a PM or Grizzly but i was not expecting that).

Must have upped the QC a tad then after all the refunds they had to hand out.

 

[GrifterGuru]

I'd add to your list:
Unless you have actual hands-on experience with a Chinese 7x 'mini-lathe', it's probably best not to comment extensively.
I often see people who have never been within miles of a 7x, pontificating online about how bad they are, suggesting inappropriate 'improvements' and alternatives.
My recommendation would be to direct questioners to one of the 'dedicated' 7x lathe sites - the FB 7x group or the groups.io 7x12 group if FB isn't palatable.

Those with a 7x know well enough both the limitations and potential of such "small" machines.

 

[dabear3428]

I'd add to your list:
Unless you have actual hands-on experience with a Chinese 7x 'mini-lathe', it's probably best not to comment extensively.
I often see people who have never been within miles of a 7x, pontificating online about how bad they are, suggesting inappropriate 'improvements' and alternatives.
My recommendation would be to direct questioners to one of the 'dedicated' 7x lathe sites - the FB 7x group or the groups.io 7x12 group if FB isn't palatable.

good advice, i borrowed my neighbors HF 7X10 before i got this and had a good idea of what i was getting before i sent them money. if you get one of these expecting to open the box and throw some stainless on it then take a 0.1" cut out of it you will be disappointed.

 

[dabear3428]

Must have upped the QC a tad then after all the refunds they had to hand out.

hell they had to refund me $180 because the compound slide was made out of aluminum, not steel as shown in the add.