School me on cheap metal mini lathes for light metal work
- Thread starter ncav8tor
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1st, ( going to sound ridiculous ) new or used for a table top lathe, "Make sure the >Head Stock< does not flex." Ask me how I know, or not. How is that done? Mount a dial indicator to the bed resting the dial on the head stock and pry the head stock with moderate force and I'm NOT talking about trying to break it type force. The Head Stock is NOT suppose to show movement.
2nd, I strongly suggest dealing with a company with a track record offering "Mini-Lathes" as they usually know and readily offer Tooling that FITs said lathe without issues.
3rd, you want to do "Light Metal Work?", should be OK with table top units, however you will probably come across some projects in which a bench lathe will "NOT Have enough A$$" to accomplish your project in a reasonable time frame or effort.
If you have not already looked, two places are listed below that offer bench units. There are more out there.
https://littlemachineshop.com/
https://www.sherline.com/
Safe Shooting
alsipd
Was there, now I am here
I have considered Mini lathe but I think that a mini mill or the mill/lathe combo would’ve a better choice for me. I like the ability to turn and mill with one machine at a cost slightly more than one individual machine and the space savings is another consideration. If you get the right machine you cannot go wrong either way.
I looked at the harbor freight mini mill and the slop I the adjustments really turned me off to that machine.
Then there is the tooling. That is another consideration entirely.
Good luck in your search. Let us know what you decide.
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I looked at the harbor freight mini mill and the slop I the adjustments really turned me off to that machine.
Then there is the tooling. That is another consideration entirely.
Good luck in your search. Let us know what you decide.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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I have a combo machine. It never fails that when I want to use the lathe it is setup in the mill configuration and when I want to mill it's in the lathe configuration.
It is still better than not having either one.
If I had the space and money I would have one of each.
I would suggest that if you can, get a lathe that has the quick change gear box for threading and feeds. I have to use change gears for mine and it can get very frustrating trying to switch from feed speeds to threading.
It is still better than not having either one.
If I had the space and money I would have one of each.
I would suggest that if you can, get a lathe that has the quick change gear box for threading and feeds. I have to use change gears for mine and it can get very frustrating trying to switch from feed speeds to threading.
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