Posted: 1/22/2008 7:15:41 AM EDT
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82710 MICROLUX® 7 x 14 HIGH-PRECISION HEAVY-DUTY LATHE Heavy / large item: $60 additional freight anywhere in the lower 48 states Item Number: 82710 Our Regular Price $619.95 Sale (This week only!) $519.95 |
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I have use one of these for over 15 years: and unless you need to cut threads it will do all the lathe work you should need done (under 2" turn radius). When I got mine it was only $240, and is not $435-ish. http://www.taigtools.com/mlathe.html The (sales) price on the lathe you show, is acceptable. |
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Bought a HF 7x10 about 5 years ago, and it has proved to be very worthwhile. I've made all kinds of parts and tools with it. Finding tooling has been something of a challenge due to its "mini" size. I just wish it had a large enough spindle to turn pistol barrels. |
That's one of the questions I had, will it cut threads. Is there a thread cutting kit that fits on this lathe? |
Frog single axis CNC for the TAIG is what you need. You can buy the TAIG from here www.lococnc.com/catalog at a discount. |
I'm pretty use you can set these up to cut thread via the single point method, similar in fashion to a full sized lathe. Granted with one of these smalled lathes you may have to do some addition work swapping out some gears to get the right thread pitch as opposed to throwing a few levers on a big lathe. From what I've read, with a couple tweeks here and there these lathes are quite capable as long as you understand the limitations of the machine. ETA: Read through Mini-Lathe.com to find out a wealth of info on this style of lathe. |
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Can't reccomend one of those. Practical Machinist Go to the above link and look around. I can't reccomend one of the inexpensive import lathes. The ones I've encountered are not accurate enough for any kind of good work ( holding +/-.005" tolerances), and their threading features were so sloppy as to be useless. I would take a well used Hardinge or South Bend over one of the cheaper mini lathes. |
| Also check out Little Machine Shop they special in selling parts and accessories for these smaller lathes and milling machines. They have some good conparison charts of all the different import lathes that you should probably also take a look at. |
Comparison chart: www.littlemachineshop.com/Info/minilathe_compare.php |
I have a Maximat that has plastic gears. Its got to be at least 30 years old. Still runs fine no problems with plastic gears. Of course my bigger stuff gets cut on the Ol' Victor lathe |
+1 Buy a quality used machine. 9" Southbends are plentiful and not very expensive. FWIW, when I was surfing and posting on the PM site, it was oriented more towards professional machinists than home shop guys. There is a lot of knowledge over there, even if you've been in the business a while. |
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First, let me say that the 7x10 mini lathe I bought in 1999 was worth the 400 bucks I paid for it. A good learning tool for a begining home Machinest. I went to the MicroLux page and this lathe is the same as mine with some significant improvements. A longer bed and true inch calibrated handwheels being the most significant. The gears seen in the front of the image you posted are the threading gears. You have to install the proper gears for each thread pitch. It's not hard, but may be a little slow if you have to cut several different threads. Like someone else posted, it's a lightweight machine, and with patience it will do decent work. I have since moved up to a 12x36 Atlas with which I can(and have) turn and chamber rifle barrels. I sold the 7x10 to get money for the bigger lathe but honestly wish I hadn't. Don in Ohio |
Quite a few people have done it before. Homegunsmith.com Check out some of the posts by Fuzzbean. Some of the things that he can create with a mini mill and some piece of metal are amazing. |
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My friend bought a 7x10 taiwan lathe for our machine shop about 15 years ago. It has performed wonderfully. The chuck has always ran out .003". Not once in the last 15 years have I turned anything that was running out more than .0005" on this lathe. How is that possible? I know what I am doing! If you don't want learn to compensate for this kind of thing, then spend 10 times more for something better. I turn almost everything in one step so I don't have to worry about run out. I often cut bores and then turn a disposible center and finish the outside between centers. You are what makes the machine accurate. As long as the head stock is straight with the ways, everything else is up to you! I also have a 1955 cincinnatti with a 6 jaw true set for my really big jobs and stuff that has to be super accurate. Regular south bend lathes have babit bearings. They are a pain in the ass to have replaced and I don't have time to screw with it. My friend and I bought a taper bearing head for our 9x30 with V belt pulleys. I learned on this lathe. |
yeah  . +1 on above
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yeah . +1 on above
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I'm building my own.... Dave Gingery home metal shop |
+1 on the Harbor Freight, Shotgun News did a good write-up ok'ing the CHINA made lathes and machinery some time last year. |
| while not interested in the cnc aspects i almost bought an old unimat a month or so ago, but decided i didn't know enough about accessories and options them to know if it was a good deal or not. i'm not sure if it would be big enough for you, but they seem to have a decent reputation within certain limitations. i've also found the older levin lathes to be an interesting possibility. |
These machines don't do anything really well! Stick with a real lathe, and a mill. I have a taiwanese 2 hp mill/ drill with a kurt vise that cost more than half of the cost of the machine. I have done things with this mill that would embarras a alot of used Bridgeports. I have cut dovetails that have less than .0005" of play and slide like silk! I can take .1" deep, 1.5" wide cut in steel with a seco micro turbo face mill at 5"per minute. Those here who would scoff at my mill have no clue what the heck they are talking about. These inexpensive machines can do great work. If you have trouble, PM me and I can walk you through how to get good results. You will learn something and save a hell of a lot of money. Make sure that you have a big enough bore thru the spindle if you intend to do barrel work. The little cheap lathes only have around .750" thru the spindle. |