fzeller

Hi Folks

I would like to buy a hobby lathe. I know nothing about small lathes. I would like to know what you guys have, and what you would recommend. Thank you
Fred

Cristian Aldana

Hi Fzeller, see UNIMAT this is small set of lathes for hobby, i understand that it excelent products.

http://www.thecooltool.com/produktgr...uage=e&pg_id=1

good luck


Distribuitors:
http://www.unimat-1.com/index.html

http://www.maxmax.com/fMini-mate.htm

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

Harbor Freight has a small hobby lathe modeled after it's larger cousins. Only for the lightest of cutting, but hundreds if not thousands cheaper than the Unimat. If you are looking for the best, have the money to spend, and are sure you will not be making anything bigger than hobby size parts, the UNIMAT is one of the finest micro lathe/mill machines made. One other thing to consider: the lathe represents only about one half of the total cost. You will need tooling to go along with it to make the lathe work for you.... and the price adds up!

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

The Harbor Freight lathes are ok, but not a fantastic value. I chased problems on my 9x20 for about a year then sold it and bought a Smithy. (www.smithy.com) It cost about $300 more and has a mill/drill head. Way better value! It is a big machine, though. And GPB is right that the machine is only about 1/2 the cost! You can get started with just a HSS bit, but your projects will become more sophisticated and new tooling will be required.

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

My first lathe was the Grizzly equivalent to your Habor Frieght 9 X 20, and I too had some problems with holding tolerance and producing quality parts. Ended up with a nice used 1000 lb. Clausing floor lathe. I was thinking of the even smaller lathe Harbor Frieght offers... the little table top lathe. Weighs about 50 lbs. This would make small parts as long as cuts are very light. I agree with you that Smithy is a real good choice for a non industrial lathe.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Ah, check out Tim Wiltse in the 1/2a forum and his website. www.hypercolor.biz He's using a HF 7x10 and has CNC'd it. It does some nice work in the hands of someone with a little knowledge. I'm sure a good work ethic is required, cuz they are small and gutless. I was looking at one when I happened across the 9x20. IIRC, if you bind it up, it blows the control board. Unlike the larger lathes, it has an electronic speed control. Still, it's a dam nice tool for the price. Here's a good link for doing research on it: www.mini-lathe.com

fzeller

I would like to thank everyone for the advice. I now have some information and some web sites to check and see what I want.
Fred

sfsjkid

fzeller,

Here are some more small lathes that haven't been mentioned yet.

http://www.sherline.com/
http://www.taigtools.com/
http://www.proxxon.com/

If you go with a Chinese lathe, this site is a must read

http://www.mini-lathe.com/

So what is it you want to do?

Good Luck