I'm looking to start doing some threading and crowning for a few small projects.





I've come across the hitorque 7x12 mini lathe at littlemachineshop based on the recommendations in the tacked thread.





http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4287&category=





Would you recommend for this model, or against it in favor of something else?
 
 

I have one (actually another brand but they're all made in the same factory) and while it's adequate for many projects it has such a small spindle bore that you'll be very limited in the barrels you can crown, chamber, etc.  IIRC the bore size is .80".  All of the available steady rests for the 7x lathes only handle up to 1" or so stock, so for any large work you'll have to make your own, which I did using this guy's design:

http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/SteadyRest.html

I HATE using a steady rest, but with this little spindle sometimes that's the only option.

Mine is OK, I've used it to build a .22 suppressor and I'm about halfway through building a .30 cal one as well.  I didn't have the room for anything bigger than a bench top lathe, but if you have room for something bigger an older American made lathe is the ticket and will probably cost you about the same if you're diligent in searching.

I have a chinese 9X30 sold by lathemaster. It has many advantages with the 30" length but is limited by an .80 spindle bore.....................

http://www.lathemaster.com/LATHEMASTER9x30Lathe.htm

Wow, that is a pretty limiting spindle bore.

I was not sure what I wanted, but I wanted something like a SB Heavy 10 like I trained on in the Navy.  It was a pretty fortunate choice, as a 11x36 Rockwell has that 1 3/8 spindle bore I consider essential - more for 5C collets than the through headstock barrel capability.

As it is, I can do any gunwork short of 20mm barrels with that lathe.

I edited my post to read .80  !! But yes it sucks for barrel work.

IMHO, I would keep an eye out for an older American iron lathe. Old South Bend lathes can be had for around $2-500 if you wait patiently and depending on what tooling is included. If you're mechanically inclined you can easily rebuild a SB lathe in a week if no major parts are broken.

I've gone through a rebuild on a SB 10K (Light 10) and it was fairly simple, although a bit tedious in disassembling each part, cleaning it, inspecting it, and re-assembling it with new oil wicks/etc. Granted the SB 9"/10K lathes only have a .825 spindle bore, but they can often be had in 4 and 4 1/2 foot bed lengths if you watch for them. You can then use a 4-jaw chuck and a cathead in the steady rest to set up a barrel similar to using a 4-jaw and an outboard spider. Slightly more setup work, but you get old american iron for less money and it's a piece of beauty. Another option is to use a bed mounted cathead to eliminate the extra setup of using a cathead in a steady-rest, but typically you have to make that yourself.