westdr6113

I'm starting to put together my Christmas wish list for the wife. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good lathe for the general hobbyist. I don't really have alot of experience with metal working but that is something I would like to try to learn. Any help would be appreciated.

darkith

Machines I considered:
Taig Micro lathe
Sherline
Sieg 7x10/7x12 lathe (sold by HarborFreight, Grizzly, others), aka "mini-lathe"

I ended up with a Sieg 7x10 as I got one used locally, and they're a good bit cheaper than the Taig/Sherline machines (basically like a Heng Long tank vs Tamiya...both have their pros/cons). If I were "re-doing" I'd recommend either the Taig or getting a 7x12 mini-lathe.

Good reading resources are www.cnczone.com (mostly cnc conversions, but also info on manual use) and www.mini-lathe.com
Remember that tooling can cost a decent amount too, and a lathe often leads into a milling machine.

D.

Tanque

I second the Harbor Freight 7x10. I have one and it is extrenely accurate. I have 4 lathes and the workhorse is a Taiwanese ( Grizzly ) made 9x20 I bought nearly about 18 years ago.

Harbor Freight's 7x10 comes up on sale from time to time or there's sometimes a 20% off coupon at the back of their flyer that will take a bite out of the normal $400+ price tag. The machine is solid, heavlity built for a mini and quite accurate. I've preached the benefits of this one to the local ( BAT) clubbers here. I think right now it's on sale for $369. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93212

Many companies sell similat 7x10, 7x12 and even 7x14 versions of the little lathe. Grizzly, MicroMark, etc.


Another place to get ideas, spare parts and accessories( a quick change tool post should be a must) is The Little
Machineshop:
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/default.php

I have an older Taiwanese 12x36 with c5 collet closer and coolant pump but I don't use it near so much as my other 3 lathes. The giant motor really makes the electric meter spin...

Down the road you may want to consider a mini mill also; again Harbor Freight can take care of you...

If you can find an adult ed class in your area that offers metal shop jump on it. We had one out here at a local high school shop and it even had a foundry which I cut my teeth on... It really helps if you can learn from someone with some experience. Cutter geometry, feed speeds aren't always intuitive, but then it isn't crystal field theory or particle physics either...

Once you add the lathe capabilty to your shop you'll likely never go back.
Best of luck.
jerry

pattoncommander

chek out Micro Mark. Assuming you are interested in smaller work for modelling etc, they have some neat lathes designed for hobby work and not all that expensive..

kclank

IMHO, micromart.com sells the very best small lathe you can buy for the money. I have had 5 lathes in my life and other then my large engine lathe the micro-mark product is the best bang for the buck. I would suggest googleing for a small lathe/mill web forum and investigate there,as they are geared towards machining specifically. What ever you buy make sure to budget for a minimum of twice the cost of the lathe for tooling and accessories.

westdr6113

Thanks, for all the input. I think a 7x12 or 7x14 should be sufficent. I can't see needing to turn anything longer than a barrel. So from what I have read it seems that either the harbor frieght or micromark are the best as far as quality goes. I forwarded some of the links you guys posted to my wife so she could get an idea as to what I wanted. She said she learned how to use one in shop class back in the day- so maybe she can give me some pointers.