benchtop lathe sugguestions?

[isaidno]

Hello all im looking for something that isnt huge a micro lathe strong enough for metal or wood thanks for all your help.

 

[DocsMachine]

That's... kinda vague. Your requirements could include anything from a $200 Atlas to a $25,000 HLV-H.

I'm assuming you're new at machining in general, so the question is, what do you plan to do with it? Or what do you want to be able to do with it?

The general answers to "what lathe?" tend to be to find a good, used, American lathe, like a 9" Southbend, a 10" Sheldon or an 11" Logan- or one of a myriad range of similar sizes and brands.

That's not always possible- large areas of the states were never really 'industrial' and so machine tools in general aren't common- and when they do appear, there's generally a lot of competition from other home-shop types.

In that case, the answer is generally to try and find a decent new import lathe. A popular one for people that don't need large parts done, is a 9x20, made by Grizzly, Jet, Harbor Freight, and about a dozen other sources.

Personally, I tend to recommend "buy American" myself, but I also know that's not always easily possible. I also believe that any lathe is better than no lathe, and I'd rather have a HF 9x0 than nothing at all.

But, again, we need a bit more data.

Doc.

 

[gtae07]

I scored a HF mini-lathe off craigslist a few years ago. It's not perfect but it does the job; I've cut aluminum and even hardened steel. You just need to take your time and use good cutters...

 

[Bradc1989]

I have a little machine shop 7x16. Decent little machine. It does take a little clean up and stoning and adjusting before being ran. I’ve cut everything from delrin to a2 tool steel to 316 stainless. When cutting things like the latter two, you can’t be I. A hurry, small cuts only.

 

[cvairwerks]

Wood and metal lathes are going to be two significantly different animals....Yeah, you can do wood on a metal lathe and vice versa, but it's really abusing them hard. You need to define what you want to do, what materials and what your planned work size is going to be. From there, it's much easier to give guidance.

 

[jonesg]

Hello all im looking for something that isnt huge a micro lathe strong enough for metal or wood thanks for all your help.

Precision on a budget,
I'd go with $700 sherline but educate yourself on swing over bed, that will dictate how big a machine you need.

Larger and accurate get a used south bend A with 9 inch swing. $1K used.

not as acurate but cheaper, HF chinese machine.
Some chinese machines are more accurate such as enco.

 

[jonesg]

You might want to watch a few hrs about first lathes on youtube,

 

[liliysdad]

I have an Atlas built Craftsman Commercial 101.28990 12x36. Its not the heaviest duty lathe out there, with a threaded chuck and flat ways, but it does everything I need to do. Super simple to run, accurate enough to cut threads and make parts for around the shop. Parts are available from Clausing....I don't figure I will need anything else.

 

[isaidno]

mainly metal work is what im planing and yes i am new to it all dont have alot to spend also but me and a friend want to try make some edc knife beads out of gun barrels most of the metal is 4140 steel going to be using around 4 inch sections once i cut them down to size also thought of making other ideas . hope that helps explain more

 

[jfleisher]

I have a Little Machine Shop 7x16 with lots of upgrades. Does everything I need it to do…

 

[Bradc1989]

I have a Little Machine Shop 7x16 with lots of upgrades. Does everything I need it to do…

is that the stand available from lms? I opted not to get it for my 7x16 and made my own but I like that one alot better. How rigid is it?

 

[isaidno]

that little machine looks like it might be what i need now to save up and make space for it thanks all for the help

 

[csp]

I picked up this 1970s Craftsman 12x36 a few weeks ago to replace a 6x24 and it's as accurate as I would ever be. Without doing much adjustment it has 0.0008" taper in 10" and I'm sure I can get that down once I have time to clean it first then play with it.

 

[jfleisher]

is that the stand available from lms? I opted not to get it for my 7x16 and made my own but I like that one alot better. How rigid is it?

Yes it is. It’s really solid, and can be bolted to the floor as well. The first one they shipped me arrived with some damage, but the replacement was easy and fast.