9*19 lathe capability?

[Orionrising]

Saw a shopfox 1059 9*19 lathe on FB marketplace. Looks like the generic lathe sold by a bunch of brands jet enco etc as 9*19 or 10*20.

I am having a hard time judging what it is capable of as it's bigger then the usual mini lathes but still small.

Can it do steel at all really?
Painfully thin cuts?

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[Willie Makeit]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

normally, 9x19 + 9" swing and 19" between centers

 

[Orionrising]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

Yes I understand that, but know the really small minilathes at least are mostly suitable for aluminum and bronze etc vs steel due to rigidity etc.

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[Toold_up]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

What flavor steel? I have a Jet 920 and it will do any leaded steel, CRS, and I recently did some ductile iron that turned out nice. What are you planning to do?

As far as aluminum and brass, yes you are correct it does that well.

It all comes down to condition of the machine, rigidity of your setup, and condition of your tooling. What is acceptable to you? Do you have good measuring equipment? You can only produce what you can measure. A good machinist can do a lot with sub-optimal equipment.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

Depends on how heavily it is made. I have seen some 10 x 20 old iron that looked very robust and capable. Most of my turning is done near the chuck, so, as an amateur, I personally find that the amount of swing is generally more useful than the amount of length.

 

[Orionrising]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

Hobby ish stuff. Building a band sawmill first probably so some fairly small threading, modifying threaded rod etc mostly. Maybe some 2" or less turning for guide bearings etc. Precision not very critical. practicality and not being so slow from limited depth of cut that I quickly hate it more of an issue.

I am brand new to metal lathes, and having a issue judging them just based on YouTube footage etc as so much of that is sped up footage and close-ups.. Most of what I found to watch on this size lathe is small upgrade projects on the machine itself vs other projects that would give a better sense of capability.

There are some larger old lathes around for similar money, but then you get into the transport issues to get em.

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[Toold_up]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

It will suit a hobbyist well. Threading is possible, sometimes a bit nerve wrecking (the lowest spindle speed is ~130 rpm). You can always use a die to make threads on the lathe if you aren't comfortable threading.

Parts are available for these machines. Lots of parts are interchangeable from different manufacturers. They are very simple lathes to run and maintain. That means: Great for learning!

I don't know the asking price of one you are looking at, but you could probably buy it and later sell it for the same price.

As far as larger older iron. Sure I have a big old iron lathe too, but each machine has it place in my shop. Don't get discouraged by guys who will try and put you down for having a small chinese bench lathe. This song comes to mind:

 

[Orionrising]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

they are asking 1k for the shopfox 1049 with some tooling and an added quick change, supposedly 2 years old. its about 60% of current new price.
Though now that I look again a what looks like a southbend 10 has appeared today not too far away.

 

[Toold_up]

Test drive em both.

What tooling are they offering?

The shop fox should come with a steady rest, follow rest, 3 jaw, 4 jaw, and a face plate. The South Bend comes with whatever they have. What model 10 is it?

Post up a picture or two if you are comfortable with that.

 

[VocaTexas]

The first lathe I bought was a little Central Machinery 9x20. It's not a bad machine to learn on, but it does have it's limitations. The compound isn't very rigid, so one of my first projects was to make a new compound base (plans are all over the internet).

Unless you plan on turning a lot of stainless steel, I'd steer clear of insert tooling. It's expensive and a lathe that small really doesn't have the power to make use of the advantages it provides in depth of cut or feed rate. Grinding your own high speed steel tools isn't hard at all. Mr. Pete, among others, has lots of videos on You Tube showing how it's done.

Over all, they are decent starter machines. Another good point about them is if you crash it and break anything, parts are fairly readily available and relatively inexpensive.

 

[Orionrising]

both are listed on facebook marketplace within 60 miles of auburn, maine
southbend in effingham NH I think may be a heavy 10 or its a 13 but it has crappy pictures, and by the way roads are around here is over an hour an a half drive, I assume it will be gone before i can go look at it this weekend. Shopfox is closer. There is also a listing in brunswick for a I dunno what

 

[Toold_up]

both are listed on facebook marketplace within 60 miles of auburn, maine
southbend in effingham NH I think may be a heavy 10 or its a 13 but it has crappy pictures, and by the way roads are around here is over an hour an a half drive, I assume it will be gone before i can go look at it this weekend. Shopfox is closer. There is also a listing in brunswick for a I dunno what

I don't do facebook so I can't see any of that. The South Bend would probably be a better lathe in the long run (- or + variables).

The Shop Fox has a goofy spindle thread, but there are backing plates available for you to machine for any flat back chuck you would want to use.

Any lathe is better than no lathe.

 

[dutchgray]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

Depends on how heavily it is made. I have seen some 10 x 20 old iron that looked very robust and capable. Most of my turning is done near the chuck, so, as an amateur, I personally find that the amount of swing is generally more useful than the amount of length.

Some old 10 by 20 lathes weigh up to about 2 tons, my recently bought French lathe which is an 11 by 20 is 900kg or about 2000lb. These are proper toolroom or engine lathes for actual industrial work
The Chinese ones aimed at the hobby market are not that heavy or rigid, but they are brand new and affordable.

 

[Toold_up]

Re: 9*19 lsthe capability?

Some old 10 by 20 lathes weigh up to about 2 tons, my recently bought French lathe which is an 11 by 20 is 900kg or about 2000lb. These are proper toolroom or engine lathes for actual industrial work

Yeah a Monarch 10EE fits into that category. I think that's out of scope for the original poster.

The Chinese ones aimed at the hobby market are not that heavy or rigid, but they are brand new and affordable.

And probably acceptable for the OP's use case.

 

[Orionrising]

ironically there was a 10ee for sale an hour or so from here a week ago for like 2k.