Help me buy my first Mini Lathe

[Highfly]

I'm so excited I can hardly wait to get started but I don't want to rush this purchase.
First off let me tell you I have little to no experience with a lathe. I have operated one before (Large industrial) but it was set up for me and a way I went. I am however comfortable with running machinery. I worked in an industrial shop for 11 years setting up and running all sorts of CNC equipment (Mostly turrets and brakes) and now I work for a large CNC manufacturer as a technician.
The reason I'm interested in a mini lathe is I want to make my own 1/25th scale model parts. I'm HEAVY into model building and aluminium parts are so expensive it wont take long for this lathe to pay it's self off. I'm sure I will find all sorts of neat things to make with it(and maybe even change my interests a bit) but the scale parts are my focus right now.

I started off looking at hobby lathes. I found this Taig. http://www.hobby-lobby.com/taig.htm Not really much of a lathe.
Then my boss pointed me to this site and I started looking around. Well I found for a bit more money I can get A LOT better lathe!
So now I'm looking locally in Calgary and I found this 7X12 Force for $1000.00 http://www.houseoftools.com/product.htm?pid=18461
I checked it out and they have something like a 30 piece tool package to go with it. I saw a 4 jaw chuck and some other items wraped up but am unsure what all comes with it. Then from this site I found Busy Bee and they have a 7 X 8 on for $600.00 http://www.busybeetools.com/ (I can't seen to link directly to the page)(Model B1979C)

I'm a bit scared of the Force because it has digital readouts and no scale increments on the dials so If something goes wrong with the digital side I'm in a pinch. The lathe at Busy Bee is a bit smaller but do I really need the bigger one. That is where I hope you guys come in. I'm sure bigger is always better but I'm already busting my budget at the ones I'm looking at. Am I on the right track with the ones I'm looking at? I'm hoping to find one locally to save on Shipping, duty,exchange etc.

Can you please guide me in the right direction.

[TinkerDJ]

I live in Red Deer and checked out the Force lathe and it isn't much diffrent then the busybee lathe. But if it comes with the right chucks and enough extras it may be good for you. When i looked into the house of tools lathes i wasn't very impressed with there price. Some of the stuff that comes with deals like that can be real junk so look over it very well. I will be ordering a harbour frieght lathe and mini mill and have it waiting for pickup were my parents can pick it up on there way back from the states in march. With exchange and all that the busy bee lathe is not any diffrent then buying a lathe in the states. 370us for a harbour frieght lathe of the same size is basically 600 dollars cdn with tax and exchange. When i looked at the two lathes they looked like they were made at the same factory. If your in Calgary go look at both lathes. Run them, look at how well the cross slide and apron move.It basically comes down to what the best bang for your buck is. Hell for the 1000cdn why not buy the busybee 10x18 lathe. Another place to find out some really good info is in the 7x12 lathe yahoo group. As fo the taig lathe you'll have to find some of the guys that use them. I've never seen one any were other then on the internet. Keep asking questions if you want to know the answers.

[yukonho]

Nice to see that busybee got real with their prices. I posted a thread not long ago looking for another canadian supplier for the minilathe, and came up dry.
The 7 X 8 is kind of short, but would be very rigid.
I agree that if you want to spend a grand, go for the 10 X 18 lathe without question.
Now that the price has come down I may consider the busy bee lathe. I want to CNC it but also keep it small. I would rarely if ever cut something between the centres, so I could take the tail stock off and have some room to move.
There is a wealth of info about the 7 X 8 - 10 - 12 lathe's online. And there are a million mods and parts available for it. They are all made in the same factory (from what I have read) to different specs. metric leadscrews are a nice feature of the busy bee lathe (for me anyway)
cheers,
Colin

[Highfly]

Thanks guys I appreciate the feed back.
The Taig isn't an option any more......not after I found out what is available on the market.
I have went and looked at the Force. It's the first mini lath I have ever looked at so I have nothing to compare it to. I'm hoping Busy Bee has theirs in stock so I can have a look at it as well.
Are the Digital dials on the Force anything to worry about in your opinion?Or is it a bonus (Inch and metric)? How much would that increase the value of the lather (trying to justify the $1000,00)
TinkerDJ, How big of a truck does you mom and dad have LOL J/K

Colin I saw your post, that is how I found Busy Bee....Thanks!!
Converting to a CNC would be right up my ally but can't see doing it for a while.
The only reason I was considering the Force was because of the tools included. I would love to get the bigger one . I and a bunch of my friends run dune buggies and we are forever wishing we had a lathe to turn parts.Which brings up a question. What does 7x8,10,12 stand for? largest diameter that can be turned is 7" and the 8 , 10 or 12 is the length of the part?
We have always wanted to convert our buggies over to disc brakes but a lath is required to do it. Also we don't run front brakes so turning the drum off so all we have is a flat mounting surface reduces unsprung weight . The drums are are approx 10.5 inches in diameter but I could cut them down to a smaller diameter if the largest lath would allow it.
What are necessities and what are options as far as tools go? Is a 4 jaw really necessary to get started. I need an idea what to allow for tooling. If not a whole bunch maybe I can swing the 10X18. Also will this bigger lath do everything and more than the little one. Keep in mind I want to be able to make 1/25th scale model parts. So for example a pulley on a motor would be just under .25" and require v groves etc for the belts.
I have heard of collets. Are they for grabbing small parts in the chuck?

Sorry so many questions................ I do have more :-)

[TinkerDJ]

In lathe terminology, the 7 inch is the swing. This means the largest round part that will fit on the lathe is 7 inches. In other terms from the center of the spindle to the bed of the lathe is 3.5 inches. The 8-10-12 is the distance between centers or the longest part that will physically fit on the lathe. Another height you want to keep in mind is the height above the cross slide. This tends to be much less then the swing. Which means even though you have a 7x12 lathe does not mean you can machine a part 7 inches round and 12 inches long. The 10x18 lathe is a better choice for larger things. Collets are generally used for holding tooling or very small parts in the lathe. If your primary goal is to use this lathe for making very small parts the smaller lathe may fit the bill. But if you want to use the lathe to do other things then get the bigger lathe. A 4 way chuck is used for holding oddly shaped peice's or for machining offset pieces such as the idea of rod bearings on a crank shaft or an off set pin on a shaft. Deffinitly some thing you can have but probly not gonna need it for awhile until you get very proficient with the lathe. Most lathes come with a 3 jaw chuck and 4 jaw chucks vary in price and quality. As for the digital readouts. I have used both the digital readout and the old style and found that either works just as fine. Most of the time if your making a very fine part you will want to check it with a micrometer and not just follow what the instruments says. Although the lathe that had digital readouts was a full dro lathe and not the style that is on the force. So if you have the grand you need to make a decision on exactly what you want the lathe for, if you buy the 10x18 then you have a far more versitile lathe, but then to do all the very small detail you want to do you may need a very small chuck or a set of collets. But if you do go with the smaller lathe then i would look at the busy bee just out of getting your moneys worth. Then spend the rest of the 1000 on buying tooling for the lathe. You need to go and price out your options.

[Highfly]

Awesome thanks. This helps a lot.

What tools would you recommend to get started? http://www.jjjtrain.com/vms/cutting_tools_lathe.html#4 Live center? If I don't need a lot of tools to start off with then this might might make my decision easier.

I'm really stuck on this size thing. I'll be kicking myself if I go with the small one and wish I had the bigger one. But I don't want it to be a pain every time I want to do a small part. HMMMM Is the bigger one that much harder to make small parts on or once I get the collets or smaller chuck it would be the same?

On the main slide (Left to Right) I noticed some play when I turned the handle on the 7X12 at the Tool Place. Is this normal? Can it be adjusted out? I'm sorry I don't know what all the Axis are called. I saw a neat page on the web that you clicked on a part and it gave you a description but I can't find it again. I'll keep looking.

[Torsten]

The Dro can be retrofited its available at
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=2222
Yes if you can aford it go with the bigger machine.
It will do everything the smaller dose and some the smaller can't.
It is very comon for a job to come up that requires just a little bigger then
what your machine can handle.
You too will run into this on occasion regardless wich one you get.
Good Luck

[eums]

I was going through the same issue.

Untill i found a used lathe in good shape, a 9x14 southbend for cheaper than a 8x12 HF, and alot cheaper than the small busybee. also another thing the southbend is mounted on a nice table + a little bit of tooling (maybe $150 in tooling and the table is worthing something also).

i would recomend looking for used, just be sure you know what to look for in the machine if/when you look at used. + most of the time the used lathes come with tooling / extras and with what ever lathe you get your going to be doing modifications to it also.

here is a picture of the lathe i am getting
http://www.eums.net/lathe/full-lathe.jpg

good luck finding the right machine for your needs !

[Highfly]

Thats pretty reasonable for the Dro's. I'm going to go look at this lathe tomorrow and hopefully this will help after I see it to make a decision.
Never thought of going used. I have some time so before I do anything I will have a looking around.

Thanks again everyone.

[pminmo]

Have you looked at the micromart 7 x 12"?

Phil

[Highfly]

I'll look locally for one but I can't see purchasing over the border as the freight, exchange and duty will kill me. At least this is my thoughts. Anyone brought such a large item over the border?

[osdhillon]

Hpw about lathemaster's 9X20 lathe
http://lathemaster.com/LATHEMASTER9x20Lathe.htm

Looks great to me. I am considering to buy this one. Any opinion please?

Thanks
onkar