Im gonna be a Harbor Freight guinea pig ....

[sunnyday]

and try some of their 8x12 lathe accesroies.

my first order will be their bullnose live center for $25 , its a special order online item only.


I will report back on if it is a good deal and reliable accesorry.

Maybe we could use this thread as a knowledge base for inexpensive accesories for the mini lathes from places like harbor freight on what to avoid and what is a good deal in lathe accesories.

Please add any input with your past experiences with any and all harbor freight lathe accesories.

[TroyO]

I have the bullnose... so far it works just fine. It looke like it's designed to take a grease fitting... not included. I haven't had to regrease mine yet, so haven't installed one.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40090


I've used the HF High Speed steel blanks.... again, they seem just fine. Your going to grind your own edge on it anyway. I've only used them on AL though, so it could depend on what your cutting.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40088

[saltytri]

HF customer service just told me that all 8x12 accessory parts are discontinued and sold out.

[USMCPOP]

We just recently tried to order some of the special-order accessories for the 8 x 12 (backplate, 4-jaw, steady rest, follow rest...) and were told the same. Some of these didn't have part numbers and none were ever stocked as far as I know. Too bad we didn't do it a year or so ago.

You can get some of these at Little Machine Shop, and maybe Lathemaster could cough up something.

Incidentally, don't assume that a "grease" fitting is for grease. It may require oil instead.

[TroyO]

HF let me put in an order for parts in Feb. (Through the parts department... the regular order line can't/won't help with that.)

I finally gave up in July, though. LOL. I did finally get the backplate though.... about a month after I got PO'ed and just told them to cancel the whole thing. (It arrived in August)

Anyway... I got the steady rest from LMS. The rest (Chuck, splash guard, follow rest) were't huge "Had to have it" parts for me so I just dropped it.

1) I would probably be better off with a decent 4 jaw anyway
2) I can make my own splash guard
3) I can make my own follow rest if I have to

I'm glad I got the steady rest though... it seems the raw stock would have cost more than the completed rest did anyway.

[Ziuck]

You have to order those parts from HF Parts not customer service. Then you have the wait for the slow boat from China. I ordered parts in January and March and they have finally been shipped to HF from the supplier. They kept getting put off and "on order" from the supplier.

My motor failed on my 8x12, well the capacitor. I requested a new motor in February under warranty and am still waiting for the motor! Thankfully I went to the local e-shop and picked up a new cap for it.

[Freddy Warbird]

Got my bench built. 4' W x 2' D x 3' H (11 gauge) steel top. That puts the centerline of the chuck @ 3' 11 1/2" which is nice and comfortable. It's pretty solid, and could rest and engine block on it no problem. Got my Mini lathe, all its associated parts, and my LM QCTP. I have an old pentium 3 PC laptop, and am talking to the people at YARDO. If possible, it would be kinda cool to have a laptop hooked up to the lathe, for DRO, browsing the net, or watching vids out in the gargage. Yardo doesn't have any lathe kits, but I think it will still be possible to use thier display controller with scales. Will just have to wait, and see.

[Freddy Warbird]

Going through this unit, there are quite a few places where the surfaces have been hand scraped. I've discovered on my particular 8x12 that portions of the tail stock, tool rest carriage, and saddle have been hand scraped.

Backlash is not that bad for such an inexpensive lathe. I found .0005" to .0015" on the middle saddle carraige lead, .001 on the tool carriage lead, .000" on the tail, and about .006" on the lower apron lead. However, I think the tool post carriage lead could be bushed for smoother operation for rotating by the wheel lever. It tends to bind some. If I rotate it by both levers, or by the hand wheel itself, its fine. The lead threads are cut pretty sharpe. I wonder if that has something to do with it.

Adjusting all the dials to make them turn with less effort was easy. They are nice and smooth now. Just lightly tap the spring bow, for each dial, a little at a time using a small ball peen, and your good to go.

Anyways, that's my report thus far.

[TroyO]

On the tool post cariage (I think that's commonly called the "compound") I found that there's enough play in the two mounting bolts that it can be mounted out of line with the threaded section of the compound base.

If you loosen the two bearing block mounting bolts, but leave them snug then turn the handwheel through several revoloutions so it can "find it's center" then tighten the bolts back up that slight binding can probably be eliminated.

I still don't get what hand scraping is, or why it's a good sign for a tool to have it? (I can see it as a corrective measure for something that was machined wrong.. but assuming it was machined correctly what does it do?)

[escott76]

Originally Posted by TroyO On the tool post cariage (I think that's commonly called the "compound") I found that there's enough play in the two mounting bolts that it can be mounted out of line with the threaded section of the compound base. If you loosen the two bearing block mounting bolts, but leave them snug then turn the handwheel through several revoloutions so it can "find it's center" then tighten the bolts back up that slight binding can probably be eliminated. I still don't get what hand scraping is, or why it's a good sign for a tool to have it? (I can see it as a corrective measure for something that was machined wrong.. but assuming it was machined correctly what does it do?)

"Machined correctly" is not a term that ends in every part being to dimension +/- 0.000 . Parts machined within tolerance pass, but may still benefit from some fine tuning. Hand scraping takes the high spots that can still be left by machining, and cuts them down. It's an extra step that goes beyond what you can accomplish by machining a surface such as a dovetail or box way, short of grinding to size.

[Freddy Warbird]

Originally Posted by TroyO On the tool post cariage (I think that's commonly called the "compound") I found that there's enough play in the two mounting bolts that it can be mounted out of line with the threaded section of the compound base. If you loosen the two bearing block mounting bolts, but leave them snug then turn the handwheel through several revoloutions so it can "find it's center" then tighten the bolts back up that slight binding can probably be eliminated.?)

I tried one method of realignment slightly different than you described. I'll give your method a go, and see if it improves.

I still don't get what hand scraping is, or why it's a good sign for a tool to have it? (I can see it as a corrective measure for something that was machined wrong.. but assuming it was machined correctly what does it do

Not only what escott76 had to say on this, but also oil retension.

[Freddy Warbird]

Blew the cap on my lathe today. i've been practicing cutting aluminum, brass, and the really tough one, "steel". I was working with the steel bar, and "POP"! I was like WTF Something almost hit me!

Here are some pics of the drama. The core of the cap shot out of the cover. I was doing pretty good at getting a good surface on the steel @ .860" down to just above .250" I been trying to make a 1/4" shaft, but the surface finish begins to go south just above .250". Steel is hard to learn how to cut. I am struggling with the feeds, and speed thing working with the diameter. Brass, and aluminum are easy peezy compared to steel.