Mini lathe discussion

Dhal22

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
1,827
I'm next in line. Of course I'm talking about mini lathe purchasing questions. I build radio control airplanes and have occasional needs for a mini lathe (and mill). Not that I wouldn't have regular needs.

Great reviews I see in lathes that interest me are the MicroMark 7x16, the LMS 7x16 and the LMS/Sieg 7x14. One timely question is are there Black Friday sales to consider?

Thanks in advance.
 
Be careful, your perspectives on which hobby is most important to you may change to machine work. My input may be a little off sided, I do model railroading and was an industrial electrical/motor inspector professionally. But models are models.

While my home shop is a 12X36 Craftsman and a 9X20 lathe (+ some other goodies), I needed a small machine for work. The Harbor Fright mini isn't much of a lathe, but it did well enough at work. I ended up giving it to a maker space in my neighborhood when I left the mill. Other than being cheap, there's not that much good to say about the Harbor Fright machine. But for a beginner that really isn't into machine work it does have that point about being disposable if it won't do for what you have in mind. Variable speed and threading were the selling points for me. The UniMat DB-200 wouldn't thread without some fancy attachment.

In my case, the 9X20 served me well as my first serious machine. The 12X36 was on hand and commissioned when I got into building some 1-1/2 inch scale wheels. I needed to swing something a fuzz larger (disk brake rotors) than the 9X20 could handle. For the application, model building, the work seldom exceeds a couple inchs out of the chuck. Rebuilding the Craftsman got me interested in machine work and it was down the rabbit hole from there.

.
 
Be careful, your perspectives on which hobby is most important to you may change to machine work.

.


:p

Probably a lot more metal parts to make in railroad modeling. We don't like heavy so not a lot of metal parts in model airplanes unless you are really into scale building. Which is what I need a lathe for. And probably a mill.

Even the little Taig is probably enough for me.
 
Thank you for your reply btw.
 
So, your only question is regarding Black Friday sales?
 
No, that is one of many I'm sure. Lots of opinions out there but just thought I would start a conversation for my needs. I will post photos of rc airplane work that might be in my future.

Thx
 
Probably a lot more metal parts to make in railroad modeling. We don't like heavy so not a lot of metal parts in model airplanes unless you are really into scale building. Which is what I need a lathe for. And probably a mill.

Even the little Taig is probably enough for me.

You would be surprised at the number of plastic parts I make. Mostly as insulators, I model small scale two rail. Insulation is critical there.

The most common is a washer with a shoulder, 0.086" ID, 0.140"OD and 0.200" overall. The plastic I'm not sure of, I think white nylon. It may be something esoteric, Xerox used it for bearings waayyy back. I salvaged the cutoffs and stashed them.

For woodworking and light plastics, I have seen a number of lathes on eBay for less than $100. They don't do threading though. But are cheap, in build as well as price. Although they claim to be light metal working, I wouldn't want any serious work done on them.

Convertables, if you find the right ones. Milling as well as lathes. Again, disposables... ... A link: essentially a modern day UniMat DB-200. Which I used for years.


.
 
Would the white plastic be Delrin? I have a couple of sheets of that (2' x 2' x 1/2") and rods. EBay, McMaster Carr sell it in blocks and tubes.

Dang that's a cheap lathe on eBay. For $100 it might work on Delrin.
 
Would the white plastic be Delrin? I have a couple of sheets of that (2' x 2' x 1/2") and rods. EBay, McMaster Carr sell it in blocks and tubes.

It may have been. ACC glue doesn't stick that well to it. I always thought of delrin as being blackish, maybe just my "old school" memory. It has the same characteristics as a roller (for sheet Al) that I'm pretty sure is delrin. At 6" diameter and 8" long though, I'm "saving" it for something where the size is necessary. Normally, I don't keep track of what type of plastic something is. Styrene is soft and flexible and doesn't make good screws, acrylic and lexan are clear and more rigid and not so easy to cut, ABS and PVC make pretty good pipe.

I have a "gizmo" made out of Sched 20 PVC that I can climb on, at 230 lbs. (6' 3")
http://www.hudsontelcom.com/uploads/DomeAdv.pdf
I wrote the instructions with help from an associate in the "survival" business. Some of the left handed perspectives were his, with me doing the technical details. (I'm hiding out) Y2K got a lot of questions about the gizmo.

In any case, the machine I have listed has a metal frame and supposedly cuts Al and Cu. Brass is mostly copper, with some zinc added. Hardware store aluminium is softer than copper, the alloying materials can make it almost as hard as steel. I'm not too impressed with the theoretical accuracy, it certainly ain't a South Bend or Bridgeport. But for work with wood or plastic, should give results within most model builder's tolerances of a few thou. But again, no threading capability.

Mostly, I'm trying to make a point. You are not getting into machining as a machinist, you need to make parts for your models. Accuracy is more to the point of "TLAR", that looks about right. The part I mentioned before is to fit a 2-56 machine screw. When I make the screws, I usually cut the threads with a die. Sometimes by hand, some times on the lathe. As long as the die fits, it'll work. Most times a chunk of coat hanger, occasionally a brass rod. If it's a few thou undersized or over sized, the die does well enough, so long as there is a semblance of threads. 00-90 threads are a little touchier, but the same standards apply. Mainly, I'm trying to convey that you may not need a full blown machine shop.

.
 
I agree on not needing a full blown machine shop.
 
Back
Top