Busy Bee 10x18 lathe

[Ace12GA]

Hi everyone, this is my first post; having said that, I feel like a complete newbie.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has some information on the Craftex 10x18 lathe that Busy Bee offers here in Canada. http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...&NTITEM=B2227L

Unlike the 9x20 that seems to be rebranded by almost everyone out there, I cannot seem to find a whole lot on the 10x18 Craftex. This page is probably the only source of info I could find aside from a couple of cryptic forum posts, and the Busy Bee page. http://users.eastlink.ca/~howarde/Lathe..html

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out.

[vulcom1]

I was looking at this one when I purchased my mill/drill from them. Not sure if I remember right but I don't think you can mount a 4 jaw chuck. I would check as it comes in very handy along with a faceplate for mounting. Even though the bore is a shade smaller on the larger one I would probably go there if you can't mount the other accesories.
John

[JWOOD]

I have the 10x18 from busy bee and have been using it for almost 2 years. The lathe is fairly well built and quite rigid for its size. For the price it is a good deal.

That said there are a few problems I have found with it:
Leadscrew is an odd 7TPI
Feed screw dial on cross slide says inches but are really millimetres
Leadscrew handle graduations are not even close, I have never actually used it.
Motor is underpowered but that could be me, when your used to removing a 1/4" per pass at work you don't always take it easy.

When I first turned the lathe on it ran for all of 5min. then their was a nice puff of smoke from the motor. That said busy bee was good and expressed posted a new motor to me no questions asked.

As for mounting a four Jaw chuck I just made an adapter plate out of a cast iron barbell weight from walmart I think it cost me $6.88. They do have a face plate for it but I'm cheap. I would recommend buying the steady rest for it.

So far the only modifications i have done are to add a QCTP and modify the stand from a 3 in 1 machine to fit it.

The main thing i find to be a pain is not having a QC gearbox, that said most of the time i can cut the threads with a die.

For only a thousand buck it's a good deal. I had it pay for it's self the first 3 months.

[Ace12GA]

So after a nice long visit with 2 Busy Bee location today (Concord, and Pickering) there isn't a single one of these available in Canada right now. Heh. Looks like I am waiting atleast a month, probably more. Apparently its one of their best sellers; to which I can't understand why there isn't more info on the next about them.

In regards to mounting a four jaw, I was pretty much planning on making my own plate. I never thought of using a cast iron dumb bell plate though, thats a great idea.

Thanks guys. If anyone else has some more info, bring it on.

[BCwanderer]

http://www.lathemaster.com/LATHEPRODUCTS.htm
It is worthwhile checking out lathemaster.

Also Harborfreight
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...267&pricetype=

and Grizzley
http://www.grizzly.com/products/cate...t=metal_lathes

Also read the comments at
http://www.mini-lathe.com/

It may be worthwhile importing from the USA
The Busy Bee prices are not cheap in Canada
And today our Dollar is up to $0.90 whoopeee!!!!

[Mcgyver]

Jwood, you must have lucked out with a good dumbell, as the metal has really no other function than to be heavy, they use the worst crap they can find, I have tried to enlarge the hole in one once and found it almost not machinable - chill spots that ate carbide

Personally, I'm bearish on the bee. Never owned a machine of theirs, but what i have bought as been of such poor quality it wasn't usable. I recognize there's a price/quality continum, but for my money i'd spend that month looking at some used stuff. heck the the spind bearings alone used in a run of the mill north american lathe, say standard modern (which you can find in the gta) would cost more than the bb lathe, but then again its the mini forum so maybe thats a non started for you.

KBC have some small lathes don't they? not sure if the are the same or better the bb's though, but worth checking out

and wanderer, stop pumping the dollar, its killing our economy!

[JWOOD]

The dumb bell worked really good, i had no problems machining it what so ever. As for KBC thier prices are rediculous for thier equipment considering I can by identical machines from other local suppliers for 2/3's the price. Here in B.C. I have found the used machine tool market to be slim pickings. What is available is in pretty bad shape unless you spend almost as much as new for an import machine.

You guys in Ontario and Quebec are lucky, you have alot more for used equipment, trust me I've looked both for myself and work. I also looked into importing equipment from the US but at the time our dollar was alot lower and with the duties it was not going to be a good deal.

Had I been able to find a good used lathe in my price range it would have been my first choice.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by Mcgyver and wanderer, stop pumping the dollar, its killing our economy!

Never mind your economy; I am an exporter ... it's killing me!

[Ace12GA]

Well guys, the main reason I am looking at this lathe is two fold. First off, I don't have a lot of money. There are many reasons for this, but essentially if I save up more than say $1500, my wife will be on me to spend it on our new house, and not a hobby. Sadly I can't argue with her logic. The second reason is simply the fact that of all the mini lathes I have read up on, including all the 9x20 models floating around out there, this one appears to be the best made one. Not to mention its got a full gear head, as opposed to changing gears and belts to adjust the spindle speed. My understanding is that the tool post is also quite rigid compared to the vanilla 9x20. All those factors are whats bringing me in this direction.

Would I like an american made tool room size lathe? Hell yes! Can I find one in reasonable shape for a reasonble price? Not at all.

As for looking into getting one from the states, if I could find a place in the states that carries the same model I would check into it. As it stands I have no interest in the 9x20, especially after using one. The tool post was so wobbly I thought it was going to break the cutter. I didn't even get into adjusting spindle speed. And that nylon final drive gear made me cringe. Sure, it comes with a stand here, some tools, etc.. Well, I'm not sure what my point is, but my mind is pretty much set on the 10x18 model. Now, if I happen across a nice little tool room model in the next month for around $1000, then I will be all over that. Since I have been looking locally for the last year for one, I can't imagine thats going to happen this month. Its nice to dream however.

Oh, and to be more specific, I will probably be machining mostly aluminum with this, maybe some brass, but almost certainly not steel. I'll be hoping to keep a .005" tolerance on everything I make, but can live with .010".

[Mcgyver]

thats what i mean Geof, Canada sells more to the US than we do to ourselves - our lower dollar compensated for lower productivity. unless there is a corresponding increase in productivity, a rising dollar will hurt exports, specifically manufactured goods (resource to a lesser degree)

Jwood, you must of got one of the free cutting ones.

on the used machines, depending on the machine, paying as much as new (import) or several x's that still could represent excellent value, but I hear you if its an area of slim pickings, I've just always like the old iron but your right, if its not available don't have a lot of choice. You hear about people driving across country to trek home their finds, great if you have the time but can't see it myself. The best stuff seems to be at auctions or through networking, again something that takes time and investment....still if, for example, you're picking up a machine in great shape that sold for 15k 20 years ago for $2500, its compelling. Who knows, chatting up the local model engineering club guys might turn up myford or such.

The other gta place that has some smaller lathes and accessories is Ford Machinery in Richmond Hill. I'm of two minds in giving the recommendation, he usually has a good selection, but thinks its made of gold (maybe thats why he has a lot )

[acrook]

Hi Guys

Here are some of my thoughts on Craftex Lathes. I bought a Craftex CT089
13 x 24 lathe some 6 months ago and so far it has been at best a so so lathe. The Busy Bee web site claims that this lathe is "Ideal for professional metal workers, light industry shops and gunsmiths" ha what a bad joke. Have you ever tried cutting a thread on a lathe without a thread dial indicator sure it can be done by setting the clasp and cutting in both directions but don't try this with this lathe the gear train is so loose that if you try to reverse the motor at the end of a pass that the tool bit will not run in your original pass and it will cut an entirely new set of threads with every change of direction, back to taps and dies again. Here's the real clencher though has anyone ever heard of a lathe with plastic/nylon gears? I know I havn't but I found this out the hard way when I was parting off a cast iron coupling and I must have advanced the bit to agressively (I really didn't think that .0025/rev was agressive) and I heard a nice loud bang from the gearbox and my chuck stopped turning. I opened up the gearbox and found that my nylon gear had broken in 2 and was sitting in the bottom of the gearbox. So I called up Busy Bee and the said that they would be happy to send me another gear, big deal, Ihave been using metal lathes for some 30 years and this is the very first time I have even broken anything on any lathe on any ship or workshop that I even been. I also asked as why would anyone been so stupid as to put a nylon gear in a metal lathe and the clerk just laughed at me. Iguess the jokes on me for buying a Busy Bee lathe and trying to save some money as far as I'm concerned go buy anything else but their stuff the extra money will be well spent. Well I'm off to change the crappy nylon gear and I guess I should order a couple of dozen more for the future before Busy Bee stops making them.

Cheers Al

[Ace12GA]

I'm sorry to hear your troubles. I've had mine for a while now, thats the B2227L model, and so far its been pretty solid. The gearbox is fully metal gears, no plastic anywhere in the drive train on mine. I haven't put anything serious on it yet mind you, just aluminum, but I have done some pretty heavy facing with 3" dia aluminum bar stock, that certainly made it work.

Originally Posted by acrook Hi Guys Here are some of my thoughts on Craftex Lathes. I bought a Craftex CT089 13 x 24 lathe some 6 months ago and so far it has been at best a so so lathe. The Busy Bee web site claims that this lathe is "Ideal for professional metal workers, light industry shops and gunsmiths" ha what a bad joke. Have you ever tried cutting a thread on a lathe without a thread dial indicator sure it can be done by setting the clasp and cutting in both directions but don't try this with this lathe the gear train is so loose that if you try to reverse the motor at the end of a pass that the tool bit will not run in your original pass and it will cut an entirely new set of threads with every change of direction, back to taps and dies again. Here's the real clencher though has anyone ever heard of a lathe with plastic/nylon gears? I know I havn't but I found this out the hard way when I was parting off a cast iron coupling and I must have advanced the bit to agressively (I really didn't think that .0025/rev was agressive) and I heard a nice loud bang from the gearbox and my chuck stopped turning. I opened up the gearbox and found that my nylon gear had broken in 2 and was sitting in the bottom of the gearbox. So I called up Busy Bee and the said that they would be happy to send me another gear, big deal, Ihave been using metal lathes for some 30 years and this is the very first time I have even broken anything on any lathe on any ship or workshop that I even been. I also asked as why would anyone been so stupid as to put a nylon gear in a metal lathe and the clerk just laughed at me. Iguess the jokes on me for buying a Busy Bee lathe and trying to save some money as far as I'm concerned go buy anything else but their stuff the extra money will be well spent. Well I'm off to change the crappy nylon gear and I guess I should order a couple of dozen more for the future before Busy Bee stops making them. Cheers Al