8 x 12 Import Lathe Question

[wwendorf]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about buying the 8 x 12(or 14) lathe, the non-Seig one. One of the reasons I want a better lathe (I have a sherline right now) is that I want threading capabilities. The problem is that the lowest that the 8 x 12 goes to is 12 TPI, and I need to be able to do 8 TPI.

Is it possible to change out a gear to give me a low end range of 8 TPI?

I know I can do it with CNC, but I won't have the money to CNC this lathe for a while and I am doing simple parts on it that are pretty easy and quick by hand.

So, that being said, what say you all?

Thanks,
Wade

[Mike Nash]

I just picked up my 8x12 from HF today. That sucker is heavy! Here's a link to a couple of pdfs showing all the possibilities for threading. It shows 28 combos for 8tpi w/ zero error. I'll leave it to you to determine if the needed gears are included. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/7x12mi...s/8x12%20Info/

He gives tpis for 5-193 and 0.3-5mm pitch

Mine's sitting in the floor. I don't have anywhere to set it up at the moment. I just bought it while the price was right for a future CNC conversion. BTW the web price just went up to $579.99, but the special order was still $549 at my local store (checked again today) and they took my 15% off coupon, so my total was ~$509.

Addendum: I just checked the HF manual and it actually shows the combo for 8tpi in their how to calculate example.

[wwendorf]

Hmm, i'm going to check the manual on HF's website. In all the wording on the website, it says 12tpi to 72tpi or something like that.

Thanks for the response!

Wade

[wwendorf]

You were right! Thanks much! Now I know for sure what lathe i'm going to buy.

Hey, can you email me a copy of your coupon that you used? Or post it in the forum?

Thanks,
Wade

[Mike Nash]

Sorry on the coupon, it was on a mailed sales flyer (name and address on it even) and has already been turned in.

I did use the 8x12 this evening. I only cleaned it up enough to give it a go and stuck the v belt on motor to spindle (625 RPM) w/o the toothed belt. Stuck a 3/8" cemented carbide bit on top of a 3/16" high speed bit (as a shim), called it close enough and turned some ratty old lawnmower lever bar into a couple of test fit pieces for another project. It was really nice and smooth and gave a great finish. Nothing like the 7x12 at all and I've spent _time_ on that sucker trying to make it better. I used the factory installed threading gears as a power feed and got no threading lines at all. I certainly wish this had been my first lathe, but I probably wouldn't have the 12x36 if it had been.