Opinions on best deal on currently available mini lathes

[sunnyday]

Im a total newbie and heres what my needs will be for a mini lathe.

I would probably only be working on metal 6 inchs or less in
thickness/ roundness and 12 inchs or less in length. I would like to be able to precisely drill, turn, cut and thread . I dont know to much about other features but I do think electronic speed control would be a nice option . Is there anything around the $500 or less price range you feel would meet my needs and be a dependable unit ? I wouldnt be using this for daily use , just tinkering and hobby stuff. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated or any other features on a minil athe that make using it much simplier/ faster.



Thanks,

[blades]

I imagine a Harbor Freight 8x12 would fall in your category of price and size, assuming you can come up with a 20% off coupon from HF. Regular price is $550. You could get a 7x12, but in all honesty, the 8x12 is probably a MUCH more capable machine for relatively little extra cost. I opted for the 7x10 for it's small footprint and ease of moving by myself.
My guess is the 8x12 is going to be your best value in the $500 price range.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44859

Hopefully Teyber12 will chime in here, as I think he has this lathe and is pretty happy with it.

[sunnyday]

Thanks...I was looking at the 8 x 12 harbor freight unit and I have a harbor freight about 60 miles from my house, but im not sure if they stock that item. I wonder if the 8 x12 lathe from them has alot of slop in the movement or if there are any things that need to be fixed on the lathe before gettting it to work nicely { whcih is typical of many chinese mechanical products} .

[devincox]

I have the 8X12 lathe and it can be used straight out of the shipping crate. they even dropped mine from the back of the truck and broke the crate open and it still cut just fine. .However there is a lot you can do to improve the accuracy. It goes on sale from time to time and the price is hard to beat.

I have turned some 4" OD (outside diameter) stainless stock on it with ease, but I'm not sure about turning something up to 6" OD on this machine. All the chucks that I have seen, that fit this lathe, wont hold something 6" OD. You could probably do something between centers to hold 6" OD stock.

If I were you, I would go to smartflix.com and rent some of the videos on lathe use.

Check out these links for some good info on mini lathes and the HF 8x12.

http://www.annisquamgranite.com/8x12ReviewPg1.htm
http://www.fignoggle.com/
http://www.mini-lathe.com/

Good luck,
Devin

[sunnyday]

looks like its between the cummins 7 x 12 or HF 8 x 12

neither of which has auto speed control. Both are about same price..but cummins seems to come with more accessories.

[blades]

Unless machine weight is an issue, I would strongly recommend the 8x12 over the 7x12. Just for the simple fact that the 7x12 weighs 89 lbs, while the 8x12 weighs in at a hefty 254 lbs! That's a LOT more extra beef and that extra mass will result in a more stable and capable machine. All that for only $50 more. I love my 7x10, but I also needed/wanted lighter weight. I'd say call HF and see if they stock that machine. But I think any 8x12 owner would agree that the extra $50 is money WELL spent. BTW: the Cummins 7x12 is going to be pretty much identical to the HF 7x12.

[TroyO]

I don't think most HF stores stock the 8x12... however you CAN special order it to the store and use the 20% coupon. Plus, it's free shipping that way.

Go to the store and set it up... I think I had to go in person (To show the credit card.)

By the way, when I CALLED and asked at the regular 1-800 number if I could order it online and use the coupon, they said no. They also were going to charge shipping. They didn't volunteer anything about the order from the store and free delivery options. If I had not kept on following through and calling the store it would have cost me like an extra $180.

I'll also second the 8x12 as a good buy. I've never used the 7x units, but my 8x12 is definitely solid. I've read in various places that you just can't make heavy cuts with a 7x, but you can gouge out some material really quick on the 8x. It will make chips pretty much right out of the box and anything after that is just fine tuning.

If you need a 20% cupon you can shoot me a PM.. I pretty much always have one.

[sunnyday]

With the harbor freight 8 x 12 lathe...can anyone tell me what other accessories I would need to be able to accurately :

turn, thread, cut and drill round stock ? and does harbor freight sell all those items and are they made well enough to last for the hobbiest ?

[blades]

I would recommend LMS www.littlemachineshop.com for tooling supplies. I have seen a bit of lathe tooling in-stock at HF, but really not much to speak of for either the lathe or the mill.

You will probably want indexable carbide insert tooling for the lathe. You should be able to get whatever configuration you need for turning, and they should also have carbide insert threading tools so you don't have to grind your own threading tool. You'll really just have to look and see what they have vs. what you think you need for upcoming projects. Don't forget boring bars as well. Because the tooling you will want to buy will be carbide insert tooling, it is just fine for the hobbiest. It will most likely be China-made low end stuff, BUT it's MUCH cheaper than top-shelf tooling, costing just a fraction of the "good stuff".

[sunnyday]

it seems the HF 8 x14 lathe is currently priced $549.00 and all of them have to be special ordered and can be shipped for free to local harbor freight. Whats the cheapest anyone has seen this lathe on sale for in the past ? Im thinking if I wait till labor day sale, the lathe may go on sale for for under $500 and maybe I could get a 20% off coupon to use for it , bringing the price down substantially and can use that saved money to buy some nice drill bits or a nice chuck , etc.

[TroyO]

I think others have reported them being on sale at $450... so minus the 20% ($90) it's coming out at roughly $360.

I didn't manage such a good deal, LOL. That's a steal if you can wait for it!

I was pretty happy at $440 (On sale for $550, - 20% ($110) then plus tax.

[blades]

HF recently changed their policy, er, fine print on the 20% off coupons. Used to be able to apply the 20% off to sale prices, but not anymore. Still though, if you can get them to honor the 20% coupon on an ordered item, it will drop the price to $440.