i was at princess auto yesterday and clung onto a 7amp variable speed router on sale for 38 bucks ,it comes with a 1/4" and 5/16 collet ,11500 -34000 rpm , perfect for the router project

fugured i d post this for you diehard princess shoppers ,

did you happen to see the mini lathe they are offering too????
I bet they start selling mills soon too.
Quality on their products are hit and miss...but you
Can't beat their pricess for that special tool you need to do a job only once.

Cheers

your kidding me ??
ive never seen any kinds of lathes there , cool if they get into stuff like that,
your right about the hit and miss , though they are good at honouring their products for a long period of time

They used to sell a lath quite a few years ago. Probably you guy's where to young. But if they get back into them it would be good but the problem before was they did not carry any supporting items. Back then they where a good deal for the hobbyist but you had to pay through the nose for attached items. Now there is Busy Bee in a lot of places so there may be hope.
John

Now there is Busy Bee in a lot of places so there may be hope.
John


I bought their B1972 Mill/drill, basicly another rongfu knock off, but it does the job ok.:p

Quality is very bad, but they have no questions about returns.A friend purchased a 15 amp router, it lasted 4 hrs.I purchased 10 air quick connects, everyone leaked some were not tightened, they could have blown off in an employees face.Stick with Milton quick connectors.I have found that with any machinery from China or tiwan you should check all bolts and fittings that they are secure.More often than not there is something wrong.
I did not plan a long responce but my experiences with Chinese Machines may help save someone from an accident.
Shaper rated 5HP/575 volts,Motor plate says 3amp this is only 3HP.The height locking wheel did not lock. I had to completley dissamble the machine to fix it.
Power feed.All axis would not lock.Had to drill and tap castings to put in bolts for locking.
Really I am not complaning as the price is very good, but be prepared to possibly have to make adjustments to Chinese machinery to make it preform properley
Larry

where are you guys from in Canada? I live in Zephyr Ontario

TO
Larry

Toronto eh Larry thats not far from me.

Rob

I have the 1977 mill/drill and had problems with the motor when I first got it. Replaced with a new one with no problems. Worked fine for 20 minutes then would quit. Besides the usual snugging up my only complaint and it is my fault is it has the round post. When you loosen the head it makes it a lot more work to find the same position. I want to figure out a lock that will allow it to be raised and lowered without moving but that will be later. Am I happy, yes as it goes along with my old Atlas lathe.
With the play in them it always brings to mind a phase as a gunner when in the Force's. Always lay in depression.
John
ps: I am in Alberta

Milton

The only hole above ground...... Georgetown :D

Vulcom1 I was thinking about building a bracket to put on my round colum mill which would hold a round piece of drill rod or the like, and then build a second bracket to hold a bushing for it (the drill rod) to glide up/down on so that I would not lose position. But like everything else I have here, it is on the 2dolist.

I agree Princess is touch and go, but you really can't beat their prices for those tools you need to get you out of a bind once, or a tool that you know you will destroy in completing a job.
As an industrial mechanic, I have destroyed alot of their stuff, but 9/10 you can still take it back after you have used it and get your money back. I can't count how many times I needed an absurdly large wrench or specialty tool, something that would cost my left arm from snap-on

Was at the store in Calgary yesterday and could find nothing for milling or turning. I rotate between Calgary and Lethbridge stores as I am in the middle. Neither one has anything like a mill or lathe. Wish they did but with them lots of times it is hit or miss. I would also like to see some large steppers in there surplus as they used to carry the small ones.
Like a lot of mechs when I was in the field half the time I used a lot of there tools. Especially the 3/4 drive set. Lot cheaper when I lost one in the dirt and in the shop usually Mac or Snap-on. Medically retired now from one of those incidences but still have the tools.
John

Intresting, They advertised them in a flyer back in august. they were mini lathes, 8x12, chinese in origin, and I think identical to the ones at harbour freight in the states? like this...http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44859

some of their stuff has to be ordered , they don t stock everything in the store ,

They have them listed in their current Cat. Page 19 of 38 on this PDF link
http://members.shaw.ca/DL0003/SHOP-CAN.pdf [warning its like 3mb]

Just by looking at it, you'd think its the same unit as what BusyBee sell's?
I guess $800 is cheap enough.. I'd want to look it over pretty closely before buying it.. If its relatively tight, someone should design and sell a CNC adaption kit.. they'd sell like hot-cakes if it was all priced reasonably.

Busy Bee's Lathes are here http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/product10?&NMCLASS=00164&NSBCLASS=00269&NETID=1501201008061188824 for comparison..

If someone does end up buying one of these, let us know what kinda quality it is..

Jerry [I'd buy one if I knew it was worth it...]

I was in Calgary last week and could not see anything like that lathe in Princess. You would think in that place they would carry one as it is a new location. Busy Bee is a couple of blocks away and they have them on sale also. I have been looking at the ones with the belt driven with the gap beds and the twin carriage drives. As I have a 12" Atlas I do not want to be smaller. You can always turn smaller items with the larger machine but it is very hard to turn large items in a small machine. The reason for the belt drive is that if you gouge into something by mistake it won't usually break to much but just slip. Done that.
Another point to me is that the Bee deals in shop tools so they may keep parts in stock or have parts available fairly quick. Between the 2 places they are always competing on items. I wait for the sales flyers and then buy. Attachments and cutting tools come up usually every second quarter and that is when I stock up if needed.
A tip for buying the small lathes that I got info about was the spindle mount. It is a good idea to check that you can add accessories with out any problems. Some only have the 3 jaw chuck with reversible jaws. That is a pain in the butt when trying to centre a sqare object. No 4 jaw.
John

Hey Trublesht

You said you were from Goerge Town and you bought a mill from princes auto. What princes auto was that and how much did you pay. Also was it a round collum or square collum.

Thanks

I was in Calgary last week and could not see anything like that lathe in Princess.

The mini lathe is also shown in the Princess Auto fall & winter 2006 catalogue, bottom of page 202.

Stock #8120974.

Their web site has a downloadable version of the catalogue.

Happy searching! :)

Where in Canada were you, I live in Halifax and would like to check that out

Thanks

Wineryrjd

Hey Trublesht

You said you were from Goerge Town and you bought a mill from princes auto. What princes auto was that and how much did you pay. Also was it a round collum or square collum.

Thanks

HI,
I'm in Georgetown Ontario. I bought the Mill from BUSY BEE in Mississauga.(B1977 model) round collum.....go with a square one if you are looking at buying a mill, alot less hassel if you need to move the whole spindle up/down with different sized tools, you lose your positioning if you are have way through a project.

I have only seen the lathe at Princess auto, no milling machines there?.