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Accessories what mini lathe to buy

gladsaxisme

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I have been desiring a lathe for as long as I can remember which come to think of it probably isn't that long these days,so anyway I've been searching the interweb to see whats available and it seems the start point is a 12" Chinese variable speed for around the £350 mark and then up to a 14" getting on £600 to £650 now these lathes seem to come in various makes but are all basically the same machine with a different name stuck on.Now on Amazon they have one of these 14" lathes that comes with a whole host of accessories and the price for this is £604 where most of the others are a similar price without the extras.It seems that all these lathes are fitted with plastic gears but you can buy a set of metal gears to replace the plastic ones or at least on the 14"lathe you can,not sure about the smaller unit.Having watched quite a few vids on U tube it seem that no matter how much they get knocked they can still do a fair job for the amateur joe like me and they can also be much improved for very little money if you want to have a go yourself.
My main problem is if I go for the one with the extras am I likely to be opening a can of worms on the basis that you seldom get something for nothing and are they trying to get rid of some crap by throwing in a sweetener. Have anyone had experience with these Chinese lathes
 
these lathes seem to come in various makes but are all basically the same machine with a different name stuck on.

Stencil lathes! Yay!

Are we talking wood lathe or metalworking?

Have you considered used? Keith Fenner has posted a lot of videos, nearly every one featuring lathes more than 50 years old and still going strong. (I'm not a machinist but still find these fascinating.)
 
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When I was looking for a mini lathe for my saxophone repair shop I found this information useful Mini Lathe Comparison

I don't know if those brands are available in the U.K. or not. I ended up purchasing the 7 x 16 from Micro-Mark when it was on sale for a good price, and I really like it for what I do. Be aware that the attachments and accessories end up costing nearly as much as the lathe itself. ;)
 
I've never used one of these, I've only ever used a Myford, which even used cost a fortune. However, I'd be a bit concerned about the poor reviews some of these Amazon ones have received. I'd be more inclined to think about the Clarke one available at Machine Mart, which has a lot of very positive user reviews.
 
Stencil lathes! Yay!

Are we talking wood lathe or metalworking?

Have you considered used? Keith Fenner has posted a lot of videos, nearly every one featuring lathes more than 50 years old and still going strong. (I'm not a machinist but still find these fascinating.)

Definatey metal and during my you tube searching I failed to find Keith Fenner but will try your link


When I was looking for a mini lathe for my saxophone repair shop I found this information useful Mini Lathe Comparison

I don't know if those brands are available in the U.K. or not. I ended up purchasing the 7 x 16 from Micro-Mark when it was on sale for a good price, and I really like it for what I do. Be aware that the attachments and accessories end up costing nearly as much as the lathe itself. ;)



The attachments was the reason I mentioned the Amazon one with them all included seemed a really good deal to me but maybe too good, I don't think the 16" is available any more but nice to know your happy with


I've never used one of these, I've only ever used a Myford, which even used cost a fortune. However, I'd be a bit concerned about the poor reviews some of these Amazon ones have received. I'd be more inclined to think about the Clarke one available at Machine Mart, which has a lot of very positive user reviews.

Yes the Myford are definitely the ones if you have that kind of money and I agree with you about the Clarke one it looked very well made but the one I fancied was twice the price as the one I've been thinking about and not sure about their smallest and cheapest lathe
 
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When I was looking for a mini lathe for my saxophone repair shop I found this information useful Mini Lathe Comparison

I don't know if those brands are available in the U.K. or not. I ended up purchasing the 7 x 16 from Micro-Mark when it was on sale for a good price, and I really like it for what I do. Be aware that the attachments and accessories end up costing nearly as much as the lathe itself. ;)

Unfortunately, I'm afraid these are most likely very different on each side of the Atlantic. Even perhaps ea h side of the channel!

But I'm curious and I'll ask a good friend who used to be interested in those things when we were both in School, technical school of course. He has returned from China recently and I should be in touch soon. We created killer skateboards back in the days and I really mean deadly weapons shaped as skateboards!
 
I prefer a full size Americano but a lathe is OK with hazelnut syrup
 
Get a Myford, they are the Yas23 of lathes, they can be costly but they're easily reconditioned and you'll get your money back should you decide sell it on in the future.
I've had 4 of them over the years and would have another if I had room in my workshop.
 
Get a Myford, they are the Yas23 of lathes, they can be costly but they're easily reconditioned and you'll get your money back should you decide sell it on in the future.
I've had 4 of them over the years and would have another if I had room in my workshop.

Yes, I've got an early ML7 from 1949 and it's still going strong.
 
Have you checked out a chap called Xynudu on youtube? He uses a mini lathe, and has some good pointers on the subject.

I'd be inclined to spend as much as possible on the lathe itself and purchase the accessories as and when you need them. All this stuff costs money - so if you're getting an all-in deal for less than the price of a bare lathe from another manufacturer, I'd suspect some economies have been made.

You can do an awful lot with just a 3 and 4 jaw chuck and a live centre.

Once you have your lathe, look up metalworkingfluids.net and grab yourself a litre bottle of Castrol LLocut 486. It's neat (as in undiluted) cutting oil and is superb for use on small lathes where you don't want to be running a flood coolant
I'd also recommend Mobil Vactra No.2 as a slideway lubricant.
 
Have you checked out a chap called Xynudu on youtube? He uses a mini lathe, and has some good pointers on the subject.

I'd be inclined to spend as much as possible on the lathe itself and purchase the accessories as and when you need them. All this stuff costs money - so if you're getting an all-in deal for less than the price of a bare lathe from another manufacturer, I'd suspect some economies have been made.

You can do an awful lot with just a 3 and 4 jaw chuck and a live centre.

Once you have your lathe, look up metalworkingfluids.net and grab yourself a litre bottle of Castrol LLocut 486. It's neat (as in undiluted) cutting oil and is superb for use on small lathes where you don't want to be running a flood coolant
I'd also recommend Mobil Vactra No.2 as a slideway lubricant.

Yes that was my thought regarding economies will try to find Xynudu
 

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