Best precizion mini lathe for $1000. Proxxon?

[samim]

I am in a market for a high quality precision mini lathe and my budget is $1000. I am leaning heavily toward the Proxxon PD 230/E. The other one I can think of is the LATHEMASTER 8x14. I considered the Sherline but it is mostly all aluminum. I like the Proxxon because I can put in my small hobby room. The Lathemaster would most likely end up in the garage. I have read a lot of good reviews on the Lathemaster.

The parts I will be turning are aluminum mostly in 1-2” diameter which are for my model airplane hobby. I have yet to find any review of the Proxxon on the web.

Does anyone have any experience with the Proxxon? Is there any alternative in this size?

Thanks.

[pastera]

The Proxxon seems to be smaller than even the HF 7x10.

My opinion is that the accuracy is not really in the lathe - it's in the operator.
When I first got my 7x12, holding ±0.005 made me happy. Now I shoot for tenths in stainless on the same exact lathe! The only different is time.

For $1000, you could be set up with both a 7x12 and a SIEG X1 micro-mill including a decent amout of tooling. Both are light enough to move alone. With the Proxxon, your still going to need to invest in tooling.

Aaron

[samim]

I am sure there is difference between a $1000 German made lathe vs. $300 Chinese. From everything I read, the 7x12 are a “kit” which must be reworked to make anything decent.

Operator aside, I am looking for a lathe that is high quality and ready to go right out of the box.

Thanks

Samim

[pminmo]

The proxon is a smaller lathe, more along the lines of a taig or sherline. At 30lbs vs. 90lbs of the 7 x 10. Can't speek to the quality. You might look at the Grizzly 7 x 12 or the microlux 7 x 14 which are supposedly a little better finished than the HF. http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=82710 The microlux also has a tach. My HF 7 x 10 does the job, but I can't say it's without some frustration. The proxon also has metric dials, the mircrolux has decimal. As far as RC parts, which is also why I got the 7 x 10, it hasn't stopped me from anything I wanted to do. My biggest beef with my 7 x 10 is I wish I had 4 more inches of clearance, and I should spend the money on a 4 jaw chuck, and quick change tool post. The other thing you will gain with one of the 7 x (10,12,14) is a lot of support of tooling that I don't think you will find with the proxxon.

[SyilAmerica]

I've personally been impressed with the Microlux lathe. Smooth, and fairly rigid for it's size. I like the camlock tailstock as well.

It is surprising at how deep a cut I can make in aluminum. Amazing little machines.

We will have a CNC version of this in the next few months.

[philbur]

If you really want small high quality check this one out. They also come up second hand from time to time.

http://www.cowells.com/

In the USA:

Cowells USA
Post Office Box 843
Richmond, KY 40476-0843
(606) 624-9269, (606) 625-1191 (FAX)

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by samim I am in a market for a high quality precision mini lathe and my budget is $1000. I am leaning heavily toward the Proxxon PD 230/E. The other one I can think of is the LATHEMASTER 8x14. I considered the Sherline but it is mostly all aluminum. I like the Proxxon because I can put in my small hobby room. The Lathemaster would most likely end up in the garage. I have read a lot of good reviews on the Lathemaster. The parts I will be turning are aluminum mostly in 1-2” diameter which are for my model airplane hobby. I have yet to find any review of the Proxxon on the web. Does anyone have any experience with the Proxxon? Is there any alternative in this size? Thanks.

[philbur]

Have you looked at:
Emco, and
Prazi (Hobbymat).

Phil

Originally Posted by pastera The Proxxon seems to be smaller than even the HF 7x10. My opinion is that the accuracy is not really in the lathe - it's in the operator. When I first got my 7x12, holding ±0.005 made me happy. Now I shoot for tenths in stainless on the same exact lathe! The only different is time. For $1000, you could be set up with both a 7x12 and a SIEG X1 micro-mill including a decent amout of tooling. Both are light enough to move alone. With the Proxxon, your still going to need to invest in tooling. Aaron

[samim]

Is the Microlux better then Lathemaster?

With cost of delivery, the Microlux is $660. The Lathemaster is $918.

Samim

[pastera]

Originally Posted by samim I am sure there is difference between a $1000 German made lathe vs. $300 Chinese. From everything I read, the 7x12 are a “kit” which must be reworked to make anything decent. Operator aside, I am looking for a lathe that is high quality and ready to go right out of the box. Thanks Samim

The "reworking" on mine involved a simple teardown, clean/deburr, and reassemble. Took between three and four hours to complete. The idea of them being a kit is that you can buy one cheap and tweak it for little money into a very nice machine (for the money). They will never be a monarch or southbend or hardinge etc. but if thats what you require then you will need a lot more than $1K. They are quite capable out of the box, well after the packing grease is cleaned up.

Just because it is German made does not automatically mean high quality. Look at the economy difference, once the labor costs are equalized I wouldn't be surprised if they come out to be almost equal in cost.

Aaron

[Runner4404spd]

i'd be leary turning 1 or even 2" material on these small lathes. the 7x10 and 8x14s are ok but i would really lean towards getting a 9x20. they aren't that bad and need similar tweaks to a 7x10. in the long run the 9x20 will be more versatile and they can be had for about $700 from harbor frieght.

[pminmo]

Originally Posted by pastera The "reworking" on mine involved a simple teardown, clean/deburr, and reassemble. Took between three and four hours to complete. The idea of them being a kit is that you can buy one cheap and tweak it for little money into a very nice machine (for the money). They will never be a monarch or southbend or hardinge etc. but if thats what you require then you will need a lot more than $1K. They are quite capable out of the box, well after the packing grease is cleaned up. Just because it is German made does not automatically mean high quality. Look at the economy difference, once the labor costs are equalized I wouldn't be surprised if they come out to be almost equal in cost. Aaron

I kind of concur with Aaron, I haven't done much to my 7 x 10 and it is a very usefull tool. However, I would add that it's not perfect by any means, there are frustrations that I'm sure on a higher dollar machine wouldn't be there. Out of the box, my chuck runout is less than .0005 which is smaller than I can measure, but on the downside the cross slide backlash is a few thousands, and the tail stock, well it's kind of a pain. I think the point is that with a few extras, and a little work, they can be really sweet. But they are very usefull after cleaning the gunk of straight from the box.

If I had to do over again, I would still by a 7 X and put the extra money into tweeks and tools. I just wish HF or somebody would come up with a 7 x 14 in with a $400 price tag. I keep debating on just buying little machine shops 14" mod kit.

[BobWarfield]

The 8x14 is just the 9x30 with less between centers. Either lathe is dramatically more rigid than the smaller lathes being discussed, and are quite a bit more rigid than a 9x20 too. In fact, unless you step up to a 12x30 or so, they're probably the most rigid lathes out there. Their chief disadvantage is no quickchange gearbox for threading--you're stuck using change gears. That's hardly a biggie for most folks.

I would go for the 8x14. BTW, they're available from more places than Lathemaster, I believe Harbor Freight even has one.

I can't personally see much advantage in the really small lathes when you could get an 8x14.

Best,

BW