Micro-lathe suitable as multi-function system for small workshop?

At the risk of causing confusion, here are my comments.

You will find that your horizons expand, and need a larger machine.

A Leadscrew allows you not only to screwcut, but to set up a power feed, which can improve the turned finish.

Although a mini lathe is liable to be Metric, a 63T gear will allow Imperial threads to be cut, should you need anything larger than those that can be produced using Taps and Dies..

The suggestion of having a mini lathe on a roller cabinet is a good one. The cabinet results in additional bench space, which can be moved around yo suit your requirements at the time.

My mini is on one and the drawers provide lots of storage for tools, a spare chuck. (3 or 4 jaw jaw, depending on which is in use ), ER collet chuck, faceplate, change wheels, etc.

You can get a Vertical Slide for the mini lathe which will allow a limited amount of milling.

if you require, a radius turning attachment, they are available.

By all means gain experience with a micro lathe, but a mini is likely to more useful as time goes on.

Howard

+1 on thinking big.

Best advice I ever got on the forum was to buy the biggest machine I could manage. Micro-lathes are good at what they're good at, but most hobbyists tend to go bigger as they gain experience, and small lathes can't do big work! The reverse is less true because big lathes can do small jobs, though they tend to be clumsy.

A mini-lathe weighs about 40kg, has rubber feet, will sit on an ordinary table, and is just about quiet enough to use in a home. They're an easy two small-person lift, and a fit man could move one on his own. (I'm not fit!)

If I may correct a misapprehension about far eastern mini-lathes: no need to buy a 63 (or 127) toothed gear. Metric lathes can cut imperial threads and vice versa.

The change gears provided with a metric lead-screw cut close approximations of most imperial threads, while the gears provided with an imperial lead-screw lathe get close to most metric threads. Incomplete list: my metric WM280 does 23.99, 16.05, 13.96, and 13.03 TPI. And much weirdness in between, like M2.039 aka 12.46TPI. which can be used to torment Myford owners!

The 63/127T gear is probably assumed because it's a neat way of adapting older pure imperial machines to do metric, not least because they make the sums easier! But a special gear isn't necessary on a modern lathe with change gears calculated to support both systems.

Dave

The Taig lathes do offer a power feed,and some people have come up with ways to cut short threads etc.

A guy who sells Cue making lathes in the USA Chris Hightower, is worth making contact with as well. He has a wealth of knowledge with Taig Lathes, and was the first to make a cue making lathe with the Taig lathe system. He has Riser blocks that allow for larger centre heights etc, as well as bearing steady rests, and support for things that hang out the back of the lathe. He also has an indexing plate that fits the spindle etc.

My cue lathe, I don't have the power feed or screw cutting options on it yet, but that maybe changing. I have done several model engineering things on the big bore Taig type lathe that I was not able to make in the Myford S7. Having the ability to hold Ø26mm bar has been the biggest asset, as most mini lathes are only able to hold 14mm or so bar to make bar stock parts from, unless cut into very short lengths.

Taig also make a little compound slide that has been most useful as well.

I would not get too hung up about thread cutting as most sizes used can be done with taps and dies these days. Sets even in HSS are not the commanding price that they used to be. Then there are die holders that you could make for the Taig tailstock arrangement. A friend has owned a lathe for about 28 years and only this year I showed him how to screw cut a thread that he could not get a die for off the shelf. There is the electronic leadscrew project, and oneday, it may well be available for the Taig or Sherline type lathes.

No matter what size lathe you get, one day you may need to make something bigger than it's capability.

Neil

DOC and speed of machining is a good point - "small cuts" seems to be the order of the day with micro lathes. I wish I could put in a larger lathe, but workshop space is at a premium. Alternative is I set up shop in my home office, but I'm not sure how I feel about machining indoors...

But, point taken about size. I'll first work out my space issue, see how large of a space I can scrounge up, and then work out what tooling would fit.

If faced with the choice between a larger lathe only or a smaller lathe plus a mill, I take it most would prefer the latter?

I agree, however DOC is pretty much interlinked with rigidity and big doesn't always mean rigid.

My Chinese mini lathe for example is so badly made there is slop and play all over the place. None of it can be adjusted out because it wasn't made to tight tolerances to start with!

Compare that to my tiny but beautifully made Cowells lathe, which believe it or not is actually more rigid!

I can press on the tool in my mini lathe with my hand and actually see flex in the compound and cross slide. No such problems with my Cowells! And this isn't an exception, I've had enough small Chinese lathes to know a lot of them are crap.

Just last week I had to finish machining a backplate I was making on my Cowells because my mini lathe couldn't cope! Go figure. 🙄

Yeah, I was just browsing the Cowell site, and they look like really nice machines. Get what you pay for, I guess.

Freight to California would be rough, I expect.

Yes, they aren't cheap and might not be a viable option if you are stateside.

If you are in California then the Sherline a very attractive proposition since they are made there! And it's obvious they are made to good tolerances and with pride! 👍 I really like mine, it's a joy to use!

Jan,

Despite what others have said, some people do turn out very good work on a small lathe. On the HMEM website, search for the thread "Building Kozo's New Shay locomotive" where Crueby does his turning on a little Sherline lathe. He does have a mill as well, but (in case you don't know) Kozo's Shay is a 3.5 inch gauge loco - so not "clockmaking"!

I have had a Cowells lathe from new and don't rate it. You can only take tiny cuts, so turning anything requiring significant material removal is a real pain! A few years ago I bought a second hand Myford S7 and now don't use the Cowells - I guess supporting the views of the "bigger is best camp".

Doubtless your final decision will be constrained by space, or funding (or a number of other things). Good luck with making the right call.

Regards Tom

The Sherline factory is an hour's drive from me, so maybe I should go have a look in person. Always more informative than looking at photos online.

I appreciate all the pointers and opinions people are giving me here. Knowing why a given machine is liked will be helpful when I finally decide on one myself.

DOC is an issue on small lathes, but the Taig (and I would guess the Sherline) are quite capable. I was taking 1mm DOC in EN1A mild steel today on my Taig with absolutely no protest.

My first lathe was a mini lathe (60 kg) and I used over 10 years before I bought a bigger one 360 kg).

The small lathe is as accurate as the bigger lathe, but it takes more effort (need to measure more often).

On the mini lathe I can cut hot rolled steel at 0.5 mm (even more) CD so each pass a mm diameter reduction. The the bigger lathe can do way more but that also means more chips flying around, so I normally don't go beyond 0.5 mm CD.

Work holding of larger parts, can be an issue. Nevertheless, I turned a 170 mm aluminium face plate that took me half a day. On the bigger lathe, it would be done in an hour.

The mini lathe can run 2500 RPM, the bigger one just 1850 RPM. For small parts, I still use the mini lathe because the small (80 mm) chuck and the higher RPM is more suitable for small stuff.

I suppose depth of cut is not really the best way to think about it, metal removal rate is perhaps a better term.

While 1mm DOC may be possible on small diameter work with a fine feed which gives a small volume removal rate the same may not be possible as diameter of work increases or if feed rate is increased from more than a snails pace.

With a smaller machine you will obviously be limited to the size of parts you can work on, take Chris's (Crueby) latest build as he has been mentioned a few times where the base of the engine is made up of six parts, whereas I would most likely have cut it from a single piece on my machines which are still hobby ones not industrial size so again more time to build up the part than it would have been on if done on something larger. He also uses a lot of easier to cut brass as steel or iron would slow the process down due to the need for smaller cuts.

The metal removal rate on my mini lathe is quit good. Checkout this link at 2:40

https://youtu.be/zH332Z-Lqhs

Normally I do not run under such conditions. The wear of the lathe (just a half nut) would be to large and I use it just for hobby!

Edited By Huub on 09/03/2022 08:25:02

Edited By Huub on 09/03/2022 08:26:21

Here is the link to Chris Hightower site. Worth looking at what can be done on the Taig system and the ideas that Chris has in what he sells. Not saying to buy that, but worth looking at for ideas etc. His stuff is all aimed at cue making, but the live tooling side of things is what industry is doing.

I really like the Sherline little 4jaw chucks, and also really like their little rotary table/dividing head. Used one when I was working in Pa for a few years. I should have got one while I was there, but did not think of an immediate use for it at the time.

https://www.cuesmith.com/cue-lathes-cue-smith/

Neil

Edited By Neil Lickfold on 10/03/2022 03:19:18