Which lathe to get?

Pcmaker

Pcmaker

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Hello, guys.

I'm very new to machining. I'm a welder/fabricator by trade, but know little about machining. I want to get into machining as a hobby. I have limited space in my 2 car garage for equipment, so I'm looking to get a something like a 7x12 mini lathe. I'm set on a mini lathe because I do not see myself working on anything large. Mainly I'll be making random small replacement parts, tools, tool bits mostly made out of mild steel or hardened steel.

But the question is, which one do I get? I was looking at the Harbor Freight 7x10, the Grizzly 7 x 12, Sieg C3, etc...

One thing I want to add I'd like the lathe to not be so loud, as I wake up early and I like to tinker around in my garage.

-Which mini lathe should I get? Something that is not so loud and is able to work on hardened steel/stainless, etc..
-Something as "toolless" as possible. I know with the Harbor Freight 7x10 one, you need a wrench to move the sliding tail.
-I'll be getting my tooling from Amazon. Which tools should I get, in addition to cutting tools? I'm looking to get the carbide insert cutting tools.
-Something with variable speed, I don't want to mess with belts.
-Hopefully something with metal gears or have metal gear replacements available.
-I can run 220v to my garage, so it's not issue if the machine is 220v.
 
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Little machine shop has some good small lathes, check them out too- gear head lathes are generally louder than belt drive ones, many small lathes are belt drive
Consider getting a small bench grinder if you don't have one already, you can grind your own HSS tool bits
Small grinders (and lathes) sometimes show up cheap at yard sales(that's how I got my grinder)
Mark
 
Yeah, I have a bench grinder, among other tools. I have a pretty good setup right now. I have a drill press, bench grinder, all power tools you can imagine, welder, sanders, etc...
 
Harbor Freight has a 7x10 lathe in stock at the store... I'm so tempted to get it right now
 
Get the biggest machine that you can fit into your space. You will be better off with an older American made machine. South Bend lathes can be pricey, but you can do good work on them and they are user friendly. My small lathe is a Clausing 10" x 24". It only weighs about 600 pounds and it is easily taken apart and reassembled if you don't have easy access to your space. I've had mine since 1992. The bonus with it is, it runs on 110 volt power.

DSC06491.JPG
 
For a small, decent quality bench lathe I'd check out Little Machine Shop (littlemachineshop.com). At one time I had both their small lathe and mill. Not too small, but not too large either.
 
Pcmaker said:
Harbor Freight has a 7x10 lathe in stock at the store... I'm so tempted to get it right now
Click to expand...

HF 10" is tiny. Even if you don't turn something longer, the lack of room between the chuck and the tail stock will be a pain when drilling or just generally working on anything. Much better off with a 12" if you can. I opted for the 7x12 Grizzly for a little more money. It is $555 plus shipping. I'm quite pleased with it.

The belt drive lathes are definitely quieter. They also have brushless motors that have more torque. All that comes at a higher price though. Everything is some sort of trade off.
 
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Most of the mini-lathes are made by Sieg who then sells them to various distributors like Harbor Frieght, Grizzly, Little Machine Shop etc. There can be minor differences based on the options each seller chooses and what they include. Also differences in quality control standards.

Terry has a good point on the size. When you see 7x10" that isn't the size of the part than can be worked on, it its the size of the work space. You have to subtract the space taken up by tooling. A chuck will extend a couple of inches beyond the nominal diameter so a 7x lathe can only use a 4" or maybe 5" chuck.

A 10" bed length will quickly fill up, say you want to drill a piece of work, the 3 jaw chuck probably takes up 2", the drill chuck in the tail stock another 2 or 3" and the drill bit probably 3" so by the time you go to work, you may only have around 2" available for the piece you are working on.

You really want to figure out the size of things you are going to make though because all of the mini-lathes are limited in size. A 7x10" might be fine for you, but even a 9x19" is still fairly compact, but at around 250lbs not too portable.


I've got a Sherline 4400 which I really like, but it is a very small lathe 3.5 x 17". Very quiet, lightweight (35 lbs) and Sherline has great support, both service and available accessories. I got my lathe for model making so the size is fine for my use, but I quickly bump into the upper size limits when I look at using it for something for the "full size" world. It works great for things up to 1" diameter, 2" diameter is about the largest I can comfortably work on. The 17" bed provides plenty of room lengthwise.
 
TerryH said:
HF 10" is tiny. Even if you don't turn something longer, the lack of room between the chuck and the tail stock will be a pain when drilling or just generally working on anything. Much better off with a 12" if you can. I opted for the 7x12 Grizzly for a little more money. It is $555 plus shipping. I'm quite pleased with it.

The belt drive lathes are definitely quieter. They also have brushless motors that have more torque. All that comes at a higher price though. Everything is some sort of trade off.
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of buying the Grizzly 7x12 from Amazon. They only have one type of delivery for $123. Do they wheel it to your garage or do they just drop it off at the front of the house?

Ok, guys. I just bought the following and I can't wait to get them!

Let me know if I need to buy anything else:

This is the lathe that I just bought from Amazon:

Grizzly G8688 Mini Metal Lathe, 7 x 12-Inch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DCZ7D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Grizzly H2970 Cut Off Holder with Blade, 3-1/2-Inch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD4CM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anytime Tools 5 Piece 3/8" MINI LATHE INDEXABLE CARBIDE INSERT TOOL BIT SET

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087R9NGA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anytime Tools 5 Lathe Mill CENTER DRILL COUNTERSINK Bit Tooling SET https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N216SU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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