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Just wondering people's thoughts on the mini lathes. I was thinking of buying one very soon but I have seen mixed feedback and now I'm not sure if it is worth it.

I don't have a place to put a bigger lathe, and they can be a lot more money but if the mini lathes are no good for making model engines then I would rather save the money.

I have access to a large lathe but I can't really get there at the same time as the owner and then spend enough time there to learn and get my projects done. So was really considering the mini lathes but if I can't make crankshafts, cylinders, valves and guides so on then I'd rather save the money and just ask someone to make it for me till I get a proper workshop.

So can a mini lathe do the Job or should I just forget it till I get a workshop for a bigger one.

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Percy is spot on Tartan, it is not just big and small lathes

An accurate mini lathe is available at a price.

The highest quality materials within the lathe construction make it turn true and for a long time.

A low cost mini lathe will do you for general bits and bobs and soft materials

But for steel and cast iron, to be machined accurately, you need to aim high

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Depends on what you call 'small' and how big your engine projects will be,you can do a small job on a big lathe.........

I would say a 3 1/2" with a gap bed that will give you a max of up to a 9" face plate,I have a couple of Myfords a (knacked) ml7 &super 7 with screw cutting gearbox plus a Warco WM 18 mill

However,if you want some real advice from people who actually know what they are talking about go to the Model Engineering site at bottom of this page

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First and foremost, there are numerous 'mini lathes' available on various websites including Ebay, there's some rubbish about!

If you are serious about buying and have the cash, I'd recommend you buy a Sieg C3 from ArcEurotrade...( I'd also add that I have no connection other than a satisfied customer).

I have such a machine and it meets all my needs.... ( I also have 2 other larger lathes and 2 milling machines in my workshop...I'm on the ME website mentioned..)

but...dont forget tooling. You can spend a fortune...Depends what you want to do with it.

Second user machines? Buyer beware...warn/broken missing bits etc...

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A lathe was something I always yearned for for some reason. Some years ago I spotted an ML7 with screw cutting on ebay for 700 quid so I bought it. Good job that went to collect it in my van because I had no idea just how large they are and weigh 300cwt (about 140kg). Still trying to work out how to use it properly but I have so far made a number of parts which I could not otherwise have done. Doubt very much that I would make loss were I to sell it on. luckily I had a spare steel bench to bolt it to.

If you decide to take the plunge then only buy the accessories that you really need.

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I have the Proxxon 400 with the milling attachment. It was second hand from Lancaster Model and Hobby world. I need to have something very small due to my workshop being the spare bedroom in our flat. I have a number of Proxxon tools like Percy and have had great service from them but a big plus for me with the lathe is that it came with a big box of accessories. Accessories are expensive and can eventually end up doubling the amount eventually paid.
The general motto is that you can do small jobs on a big lathe but can't do big jobs on a small one. Ideally I would have liked a bigger lathe but do not have the space.
There are a lot of good imported Chinese lathes for home workshop use but buy from a reputable dealer. If buying second-hand get someone along who knows their business.
There are pages and pages of good advice on the model engineering forum as J2Wings suggested. Here is the link

Levanter

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This is something I've recently looked into as I have a plan /materials to build the "Matador" (60-size) 4-stroke glow engine. I think by "Mini-lathe" a lot of modellers will mean something that fits on a bench top (I certainly do as I don't have room for a 'free-standing' one like a Myford ML7 used by a lot of model engineers. Hence, bench stability /strength may be an issue.

Secondly, the plan's dimensions are all imperial. So, if your lathe indexing is metric-only, you may have a lot of maths to do before machining starts ! Second-hand could be ok if you can take someone with you to assess wear etc. The lathe needs to be running and you'll want to try some fairly 'heavy cuts' (I would suggest using cast iron or high-carbon steel) to see if anything is rattley. The cheaper Chinese lathes will probably pass this test but will wear out quite quickly.

Do you want to go CNC or manual ? Some manual lathes can be retro-fitted with CNC sensors /equipment at a later date. CNC is useful for producing the same part many times over (eg conrods /pistons /liners on a multi-cylinder engine anyone ?). For CNC you'll need to learn CAD plus (probably) G-code for the CAM bit.

What about milling attachments ? For occasional use this may be ok but for real accuracy a separate machine may be better. Yes, someone mentioned tooling - this can easily cost as much as the lathe itself !

Try and work out what sort of projects you'll want to cover first. Then look at tooling. Then a suitable lathe /mill that will carry it out. Don't forget vertical drilling and some bench grinding - all part of the mix !

Dave

ps If a s/h machine has a worn bed you can often get these re-ground. Use this as a bargaining tool when it comes to price

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Posted by Dave Cooper 3 on 08/10/2018 23:21:24:

ps If a s/h machine has a worn bed you can often get these re-ground. Use this as a bargaining tool when it comes to price

Regrinding lathe beds is not without problems.....the fit of the apron/saddle can be affected depending on how the regrind goes....can also affect the mesh of the leadscrew with the apron gear....so unless you have lots of cash to spend on repairs I'd be inclined to steer clear

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Hello Percy

I have the Proxxon drill press. It was one of the first things I bought along with the smaller table saw and the disc sander. These are my three most used tools by far. I would like the larger saw sometime as the tilting blade would be very useful as well as the extra blade depth.

I also have (in the Proxxon range)
Router
Spindle moulder
Bench grinder

The most useful part I have made on the lathe is a tow release mechanism made in brass which also doubles as the nose weight in a Sophisticated Lady.

Levanter

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I would generally agree with John Rudd here. The assessment /re-grind does need to be done by experienced professionals. I used to run a small sportscar engineering business and we had a Colchester Student. (This came from a secondary school's metalwork dept). We were lucky and wear was fairly minimal (surprisingly), we only needed a 'light re-grind' and we did the strip down, with the professionals doing the rebuild. Cost, I seem to remember, was about £250 (2005 prices). Was it worth it ? It was for us as we needed the extra accuracy. For home /DIY use maybe not...

Dave

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Whether a bed regrind is needed or not it is best to look for a machine that has the various clearances maintained by shims or gib strips/screws. Some at the cheaper end of the market do not have these and there is no provision for taking up normal wear and tear.

I rebuilt a Myford ML7 which needed a bed regrind (0.011" removed) but the adjustment strips and shims easily accommodated the material removed.

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There are an awful lot of people out there happily using their minilathes to produce nice accurate work, blissfully unaware that the machine they are using is complete garbage, according to experts on internet forums.wink

Buy a minilathe, but get it from one of the established suppliers advertising on the ME forum.

I personally bought an Amadeal 210 lathe in the end after looking at minilathes and comparing prices.

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Posted by Tim Chambers on 09/10/2018 12:48:18:

There are an awful lot of people out there happily using their minilathes to produce nice accurate work, blissfully unaware that the machine they are using is complete garbage, according to experts on internet forums.wink

Buy a minilathe, but get it from one of the established suppliers advertising on the ME forum.

I personally bought an Amadeal 210 lathe in the end after looking at minilathes and comparing prices.

yes Very true for most hobbyists and many successful engineers. If repeatability is not a major requirement then it is easy to make matched parts and other dimensions do not matter if they are in fresh air. Ingenuity is rampant and time is rarely that important. Fabulous turning has been done on pillar drills.

Levanter

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I've been using my lathe (Smart & Brown Sabel toolroom lathe) for well over 35 years on and off (it was lent to and used by a friend for some years when I had nowhere for it) with results that are perfectly acceptable for my models and motorcycle parts. It was bought from an aircraft engineer who used it for making such things as incidence pins for gliders and rigging parts for the odd Pitts Special which he used to build fuselages for and eventually decided that he ought to update so I acquired it for a reasonable sum. There is (and was when it was still making aircraft parts) noticeable bed wear but it doesn't prevent usable results with a little extra effort to make small adjustments for critical fits.

I really don't know how I would manage without a lathe.

Edited By Martin Harris on 09/10/2018 15:08:14

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I've had 4 lathes (and 1 CNC Mill).

I'm getting smaller as time goes on.

I've a TAIG/Peatol. Useless, and not man enough for other than clock making, and even then, it's pretty crude.

Confined to a shelf.

I've currently a Warco lathe, the digital read outs. It's my 3rd. Warco have been one of the better importers, ensuring that their quality is reasonable for the price point, and back up of suitable tooling.

They have quite a rnage. I'm sure that you'd find something suitable there.

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