Newbie- New Member, new lathe owner.

[Chase]

Hello,

My name is Chase and I just recieved my first lathe as a X-mas gift. It is a Micromark Microlux 7x14.

I took it apart, cleaned it, and assembled it. I've been reading through old threads, and have researched small hobby lathes in general for some time. Most of the info I find on the Microlux is positive... but I did find a few negatives, mostly concerning roughness of the machined surfaces.

As a lathe newbie... what should I be looking for, and how do I correct it. The ways on my lathe seem to be very well ground, but the underside of the saddle is very rough. I think the gibs need adjustment I can feel tight spots on the cross-slide.

I read lots of posts about people grinding, filing, polishing, etc. to improve these lower cost Chinese lathes. I read through mini-lathe.com and gained some understanding, but I am still wary of messing up my lathe. I have no problem using grinders, files, and emery cloth as I have been building black powder gun kits for years.... I have however, worried about making the machine less precise by well meaning efforts on my part.

I have some time on my hands before I actually fire up my lathe. I'm working on custom workbench for my new garage, which includes a heavy-duty table for machine tools (looking to get a mill at some point). I really don't mind making some effort to "tune" my lathe if somebody can guide me in the right direction.

Also, I was looking on Little Machine Shop's website, and noticed they sell starter kits for mini lathes. For $150 you get the A2Z QCTP, a chuck for the tailstock, and an assortment of cutting tools. Do you think this is a good buy?

Thank you in advance

[tauntdesigns]

Welcome to the forum and the madness of machining. There's a lot of info here on the Zone. Happy hunting.

I'm not familiar with the Microlux, but I'm sure somebody who is will chime in and help.

Welcome,
Jack

[Jaime128]

Hey chase, first things first. Get that table made. I'm still kicking myself every time I go try and do something. I don't have a table and it's on this crappy table and I have been meaning to make something. Just never got around to it. It will save you grief and keep your tools covered. Trust me on this and at least you won't lose anything.

The other thing, I just used a fine sandpaper to take out the burrs on the lathe. It was all manuall and that did it. You're not digging to make it super smooth just take out the burrs lightly and that should work. It just takes a long time to do this so be patient and take your time. You'll be fine. Then just lube it up. I haven't done anything on it for months since I got it, I went out of town so not much use from me. My dad has used it a lot though, so I just buy him what he needs. I know I will need that too once I get my butt to work on this thing. I think the crosslide hole/screw is not straight, but I'm not sure yet since I haven't done much on it. Just came like that from the factory but again, maybe it's just me.

The tailstock on mine feels crappy meaning it seems to move too much, but that may just be me, others have similar experiences so don't worry about that too much. The A2Z kit seems to work fine. It's made out of aluminum and now I'm glad I got it. My other metal parts seem to get rusted since the room is cold so you don't have to worry about that on the a2z tool post/holders. One thing I would say is don't buy the 1/4 size tools, they are too small for the stock tool holder and you will need shims. Get the 3/8 or 1/2 since the a2z can accomodate up to the 1/2. I measured it and that's what it looks like but I don't have anything that big yet. I did notice the pricing on the 1/2 inserts might be a bit more than the 3/8 size so it's up to you as to what you want to get/spend I guess. You can replace the inserts with tin coated ones for tougher materials. It depends on what you are cutting but don't worry you will find out sooner than you think.

I was just looking at the kit and I don't know what size the turning tool kit is. I don't have any of the boring bars either. So if you need that, then this kit should be fine for aluminum and soft materials. I got a tail stock chuck but haven't really needed that yet. So it's really up to you if you feel like just going that way or getting picky which like me will spend too much time on this.

The last but not least go online sign up for the free catalogs. Once you have them it will be much easier to see what you need.

[Crevice Reamer]

I have my two minis mounted back-to-back atop a roll around tool box:

[Jaime128]

Thanks for that picture. That's always been my goal, to mount them on something that rolls. I don't have anything, but that does help. I see yours is a bit off the sides and since we have the 7x14 they may not be so stable if that thing rolls over. But it helps get my brain going.

Do you have any ideas on cutoff blades for an A2Z holder or 3/8 or 1/2 that are hard enough to cut a harden car bolt? I can't find anything hard enough, I got the HSS and tried the brazed too, but they didn't even cut anything. Even an indexable with tin coating inserts if I have to. Please let us know if there's something we can use that's tough enough for something like a car bolt. I checked with Grizzly, Enco and well, they didn't seem to have anything. So I'm searching. I don't know how or what everyone else uses for small tough metals. I know these can be turned with enough patience I just need to find the right cutoff/grooving blade or combination of holder and insert.

I just noticed that is the 7x14 sorry. That's really nice.

You got a point there. Can you take a picture to show both. You really got creative with those. I got an uneven floor that's why I mentioned that roll over part.

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by Jaime128 I see yours is a bit off the sides and since we have the 7x14 they may not be so stable if that thing rolls over.

Roll over? LOL! Doubt it. it's hard ENOUGH just to get it to ROLL! It doesn't even tip. There are tools and lathe parts in that tool box. It is HEAVY, and solid as a rock. Lathes are just sitting on rubber feet and can move either way. Someday, maybe I'll bolt them down.

Of course, It sits on a fairly smooth floor. I guess if you were going to push it along railroad tracks it might roll over.

CR.

1K

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by Jaime128 Do you have any ideas on cutoff blades for an A2Z holder or 3/8 or 1/2 that are hard enough to cut a harden car bolt? I can't find anything hard enough, I got the HSS and tried the brazed too, but they didn't even cut anything. Even an indexable with tin coating inserts if I have to. Please let us know if there's something we can use that's tough enough for something like a car bolt. I checked with Grizzly, Enco and well, they didn't seem to have anything. So I'm searching. I don't know how or what everyone else uses for small tough metals. I know these can be turned with enough patience I just need to find the right cutoff/grooving blade or combination of holder and insert.

Those are 5 inch wheels on that tool box. It would take a pretty rough floor.

I use a cutting disk, (There's one laying in front of the 7 x 12 in the pic) in a die grinder or angle grinder to part off hard stock. Maybe there's a more elegant solution, but that's mine.

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

BTW, if you are cutting a bolt, make sure you have a nut threaded onto it to straighten up the cut threads.

CR.

[Jaime128]

My dad and I were trying to turn it not just cut it. He works on cars so I was trying to get cutting tools to work with hard small items like that. Great advice on the nut part.

Originally Posted by Crevice Reamer BTW, if you are cutting a bolt, make sure you have a nut threaded onto it to straighten up the cut threads. CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Sounds like you may need a bigger/more rigid lathe.

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Or maybe a toolpost grinder.

http://littlemachineshop.com/product...2001&category=

CR.

[Jaime128]

Well, the parts are small enough for this lathe so I just have to find the right tool which is harder for the smaller machines now that I started looking. But like I said, I know I can probably go a little larger on the tool so I might have to take a look at that if I can't find anything smaller. I just figured I'm not the first person to try and work with something like this on the small lathe. But I am surprised that I don't see much in that respect which I can understand since most of the turning we do is on softer materials. Specially with the smaller machines. If I do find something or put something together that may work I'll let everyone know.

The grinder is nice, but we have one already, dad would like to turn or machine the harden steel. I said why, he said why not. What can I say. Then again, almost anything should be possible in machining, right? Okay I have to leave for now, but I'll check back later.

Originally Posted by Crevice Reamer Sounds like you may need a bigger/more rigid lathe. CR.