I can't spend a penny over $700 (daily limit on CC), what's the biggest and best lathe I can get? I need the lathe mainly for threading and the other things that can't be easily done with a CNC converted Sieg X2.

I'm currently eyeballing the MicroLux 7x14 (Sieg C3) and HF 8x12 (is this a mislabeled 8x14?). Space is not an issue, I'd go with a 9x20 if I could find one under $700.

Thanks.

i would definitely go with a 9x20. i personally love mine. i hear the 8x14 is a good machine and yes the 8x12 and 8x14 are the same. i don't believe the 8x14s have the quick change gear box.

I never used a 9X20 but it is $699 at Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45861

I was looking at one yesterday while at Harbor Freight and it does look allot heavier than my 7X12.

Chris

http://www.annisquamgranite.com/lathecomparo.htm
Has a comparision of a few small lathes the 8x and 9x inculded.
I have a 8x12 from HF. Awesome little machine for the money. I got mine for $460 last May with a 15% coupon and if you order from the local store there is no freight. It doesn,t have a quick change box but if you put the 9x beside the 8x the 8x is a much beefier machine. http://home.earthlink.net/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=560&linkpath=http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ehf8x12/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dcp_1330r.jpg&target=tlx_new Shows a picture of a 9x steady perched on the 8x bed, as you can see the 8x bed is much wider.
You can change gears pretty fast though, so its not that limiting.
HF thas a mailer out with the 15% coupon right now - thats the only reason I signed up for it. :)

I never used a 9X20 but it is $699 at Harbor Freight.

That's over $700 after you tack on shipping. The wife won't go for that. (nuts)

http://www.annisquamgranite.com/lathecomparo.htm
Has a comparision of a few small lathes the 8x and 9x inculded.
I have a 8x12 from HF. Awesome little machine for the money. I got mine for $460 last May with a 15% coupon and if you order from the local store there is no freight. It doesn,t have a quick change box but if you put the 9x beside the 8x the 8x is a much beefier machine. http://home.earthlink.net/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=560&linkpath=http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ehf8x12/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dcp_1330r.jpg&target=tlx_new Shows a picture of a 9x steady perched on the 8x bed, as you can see the 8x bed is much wider.
You can change gears pretty fast though, so its not that limiting.
HF thas a mailer out with the 15% coupon right now - thats the only reason I signed up for it. :)

Yeah I read most of the reviews for the 8x12/14 today and I like what I see. Does anyone know where I can get accessories for the 8x lathe... and what accessories are must haves? and how did you get the 15% off coupon, I don't have a HF store near me.

My advice, call Grizzly and have one ordered from them. 9x20 or bigger. ( 10x22 is really nice). You can call your bank and ask for a temporary addition to your daily limit. I do this all the time. And sometimes I need it to go several factors higher than my normal limit. :)

I have the g0516 that has the 9x20 lathe and the x2 milling head. I paid $1095 for it out the door and have no regrets.

You can also call the vendor and tell them that your daily is $xxx and they will usually offer to charge the amount over a couple of days to make the sale. Dell does this automatically on their website as a "upsell" tactic.

No matter how mad your wife will be, imagine how mad you will be that you didn't get enough tool on the 1st $700 when you could have had the right toll for $900 to $1k.

The 15% Coupons are for store use only. You have to sign up on haborfreights website to get the cupons. The good ones get sent in the mail and arrive about every three months.
http://da.harborfreight.com/cpiweb/emailopt/presentOptions.do

If you not close to a store though they may not help as there is allot of specials that are "in store"

Little Machine Shop, HF and Lathemaster are all sources for parts and extra goodies.
http://www.lathemaster.com/LATHEMASTER9x30Lathe.htm
If your considering a 9x lathe - Lathemaster has the 9x30 thats much stouter than the HF 9x20. It shares allot of parts with the 8x12/14.
The cost is much more though. Thats why I whent with the 8x12 Its not perfect but for the $$ There really wasnt a close 2nd for what I wanted to do.

No matter how mad your wife will be, imagine how mad you will be that you didn't get enough tool on the 1st $700 when you could have had the right toll for $900 to $1k.


You could apply that reasoning to any machinery - small, big or HUGE! There is always one more step up. Everything has limits and so do most of us - with me its money, space or time.

Agreed, but I have never seen anyone complain because they bought to big of a machine. ;) (unless they have to move it.):cheers:

It is always that it isn't big enough when they complain, or that they didn't get some option they thought would never be needed. I also know that the common thought is that; "if I buy the small one, I can always sell it when I need the bigger one and use that money for it."

I have never been able to sell any thing that I bought the "Small stuff" first. I always say I will use it, and then set it aside for another project. I might be a half-millionaire if I actually sold the stuff I don't use. But that would mean that I had to find it all again. :drowning:

Nothing like having a 9x20" lathe and then realizing you want to do some work on a gun barrel that is 24". Then saying to myself that I should have got the 30". Instead of wishing forever, I found a great deal on a Southbend lathe that would handle it and bought it. Don't regret a thing.

Really, were talking about $200 to $300 here. Not something like a $200k Bull Dozer so you can level off a driveway once. :D

Regardless, if I want something bad enough, I will work hard enough to get it. My wife doesn't give a flip what I buy as long as everything is paid for from the start.

Go with the 9 x 20, however you'll need to upgrade a few things. I'd also look into a QCTP, big plus plus!!!!:)

I can't spend a penny over $700 (daily limit on CC), what's the biggest and best lathe I can get? I need the lathe mainly for threading and the other things that can't be easily done with a CNC converted Sieg X2.

I'm currently eyeballing the MicroLux 7x14 (Sieg C3) and HF 8x12 (is this a mislabeled 8x14?). Space is not an issue, I'd go with a 9x20 if I could find one under $700.

Thanks.

hello! welcome!
first off, let me say i am very new to machining so forgive noobish answers. I got a micro-mark 7x14" lathe a week ago for my 16th birthday. It shows it's weakness while spinning large, 12" long 2.25"diameter copper, as it struggles, but overall it is a very good lathe. i think you need to ask yourself what are you going to be using this for? on longer items, you can but them on the inside of the chuck, and if its 1" or so in diameter you can feed it through the rear of the headstock(near gears) so you can spin much longer pieces.
The harbor freight 9x20"(or is it 9x19"....) can be had on sale for 699.99$. You can pick it up at a local HF to avoid shipping. i was going to get it, however it felt a little on the "cheap" side. I know nothing of its performance, but i have had a tendency to break almost everything i have gotten from harbor freight. (while being somewhat careful (nuts) ), so i avoided it. The first thing that caught my eye on the HF was how much "play" there was on the carriage knobs. each one turned 45-90 degrees.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/9-x-19-Bench-Lathe/G4000
You said 700$ is your budget, so you really need to calculate in all the tools, et cetera you will also need.
Digital caliper
Depth finder
Grinder+ many tool bits (for making custom bits)
Live end(comes in handy)
(possibly) 4 jaw chuck with adapter
tailstock drill chuck
centers for drill
lubricating oil
and so much more.. Seriously it adds up. So keep that in mind and you may want to go even cheaper then the micro-mark. However the digital tachometer is very accurate, and the lathe itself is very "sound" and feels of very high quality to me. Its 680$ shipped, and unfortunately doesn't come with to many features.

So really decide what your spinning. If you don't need the extra length or if yoru spinning thin diameter and long peices so you can feed through headstock, i would get the cummins 7x12" lathe, which comes with lots of accessories, for 400$. Win/Win.

Regards,

Reed Teyber.

P.s. sorry for any spelling mistakes, its 11:30 here and im sick:confused:

You said 700$ is your budget, so you really need to calculate in all the tools, et cetera you will also need.
Digital caliper
Depth finder
Grinder+ many tool bits (for making custom bits)
Live end(comes in handy)
(possibly) 4 jaw chuck with adapter
tailstock drill chuck
centers for drill
lubricating oil
and so much more.. Seriously it adds up.

The $700 budget is just for the lathe... I know from experience that tooling adds up, my mini mill was $500 and then I spent $1700 on accessories and upgrades for it.

I ordered an 8x14 from HF last week, hopefully it will get here before xmass. I'll post my opinion on it here once I get it.

Good Luck and Good turning. :wee:

Hi all, one of the most important things on a lathe is the 'ole up the spindle.
If the spindle bore is on the smallish size, (most of the old lathes had small spindle bores), that will limit the material diam that can be held, and will mean you will have to saw off pieces that are too big to pass down the bore, which means you will always have to allow a bit of material length extra for the chuck, and so a lot of scrap material.
It's like having a small exhaust pipe on your car, everything else becomes of secondary importance.
Ian.

Good Luck and Good turning. :wee:

Yes, after having this lathe for 7 months I have to say it was money well spent. Now I've got my eye on the new Lathemaster 9x30 Lathe, a super sized version of the 8x12/14. I think Eagle Industries Ltd. (www.cneagle.com) is the company that makes these lathes.

The main problems I've had with this lathe:
* The motor is not powerful enough. Don't get me wrong though, it will get the job done... It's just that it might take awhile if your turning large chucks of steel. I don't think it would be too difficult to swap out the standard 3/4-HP AC induction motor with a more powerful one. IIRC the 7x lathes use special DC motors and controllers making this difficult to do.
* 4" 3-jaw chuck not big enough for all my needs.
* The threading indicator dial stopped working. I haven't looked into fixing it because I've never needed to thread anything yet.

The size of the lathe has not been a major issue for me, this is mainly because my CNC mini mill limits the size of projects I can complete. I could definitely take advantage of a 9x30 lathe though, especially if It came with a horizontal milling attachment. The only thing I regretted buying for my shop was the bench top drill press with a motor so weak I can stop it with my bare hand and the half-assed combo shear, press brake and slip roll (Harbor Freight: 43353).

The main problems I've had with this lathe:

* 4" 3-jaw chuck not big enough for all my needs.



Lathemaster sells a 5" 4 jaw that bolts on. Its about the same quality as the stock 4" three jaw... I dont remember what I paid for it but I remember it was reasonable. I also got the gear reduction pulley set from LM.

Hi NB, the advantage of a bigger 3 jaw chuck is the ability to hold work better due to the longer jaw length of the chuck with better gripping force, and the bigger hole in the chuck body, but you will still be at a disadvantage when doing longer bar work if the spindle hole is much smaller.

There is also a tendency to "power on a bit" using a bigger diam chuck, and this just highlights other weaknesses that are present in the smaller lathe.

However I have a 5-1/4" chuck on my 4" swing mini lathe (with 1" risers), I built years ago, and although it is only really suitable for small diam work, 3/8" diam rod through the spindle, it comes into it's own by being able to hold short lengths of much larger diam in the chuck body.

Your main worry will be the drive train, from the increased torque required to turn the larger diams, as some of the smaller lathes have really piddly thin vee belts.
Ian.

Hi NB, the advantage of a bigger 3 jaw chuck is the ability to hold work better due to the longer jaw length of the chuck with better gripping force, and the bigger hole in the chuck body, but you will still be at a disadvantage when doing longer bar work if the spindle hole is much smaller.

There is also a tendency to "power on a bit" using a bigger diam chuck, and this just highlights other weaknesses that are present in the smaller lathe.

However I have a 5-1/4" chuck on my 4" swing mini lathe (with 1" risers), I built years ago, and although it is only really suitable for small diam work, 3/8" diam rod through the spindle, it comes into it's own by being able to hold short lengths of much larger diam in the chuck body.

Your main worry will be the drive train, from the increased torque required to turn the larger diams, as some of the smaller lathes have really piddly thin vee belts.
Ian.

The drive train is not a problem. I had no problem turning 4" steel round stock... (about a foot long and 40+ pounds)... after I finally got it to fit in the chuck. I run the lathe spindle at 620rpm for most jobs. IMO The 8x12/14 and 9x30 bench lathes are scaled down versions of a production lathe... The 7x lathes, with their plastic gears and such, I consider as toys now.

Another thing to note... (I just did a major tear down and rebuild of the lathe):
1. Turpentine substitute won't damage the red paint on the 8x12 lathe and it works great for dissolving oil and grease.
2. Chain saw bar oil works great on a lathe!.. Bar oil has extra additives that make it stick to moving parts and it leaves a nice film for rust prevention.
3. The threading dial on the carriage comes off with one screw, removing it gives the carriage an extra 2 inches of travel!!!
4. Do no use an air compressor (on full blast) to clean the oiler values! The ball will pop out and it's a major pain to get it back in.
5. Grease and snarf will accumulate on the lead screw half nut, be sure to clean it out every so often.
6. The tailstock moves side to side if you want to make tapers. I didn't realize this until I took it apart for cleaning.
7. Take your lathe apart... It's the quickest way to figure out how everything works... I'd say do a complete tear down after 10 ~ 20 hours of operation, It comes from the factory ready to use so you shouldn't do a complete tear down until you get a feel for it's normal operating conditions... It's probably not a good idea to mess with the main spindle or chuck mounting unless you have a problem with it... The spindle bearings are sealed units so theirs nothing to really do anyways.

I can't spend a penny over $700 (daily limit on CC), what's the biggest and best lathe I can get? I need the lathe mainly for threading and the other things that can't be easily done with a CNC converted Sieg X2.

I'm currently eyeballing the MicroLux 7x14 (Sieg C3) and HF 8x12 (is this a mislabeled 8x14?). Space is not an issue, I'd go with a 9x20 if I could find one under $700.

Thanks.

The 7x14 lathe I have is barely useful for turning threads, but seems okay for turning and facing of aluminum and steel., and even facing of RC60 shafting, but that is a challenge, given how hard the material is. The other thing I don't like about the smaller lathes is the pre-maintenence in keeping the thing tight enough to work reliably, but this too as of yet has been non-critical for my needs. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased a more robust lathe with a longer travel.