Little Machine Shop Products?

[Kroll]

Guys has anyone purchase items from Little Machine Shop,if so how was the product?I read about buying the cheap items and the run out is terrible on some things then read about how good they are for the money. I am looking at buying 6 piece 5C collets and looking at their drill chucks the prices has my attention and couple back plates.I know get what you pay for but for this weekender maybe LMS products will work.What is ya'll thought on this,before I place an order?

 

[RJSakowski]

If you are looking at work holding for the collets, you should be considering a set by 32nds at minimum and preferably by 64ths. I made the mistake of buying a set by 16ths and cannot find a set of the odd 32nds so I will have to buy individual collets to fill it out. 5C collets have a very limited grip range so invariably, you will have stock that is just slightly larger than your collet but the next size up won't close down enough. Murphy's Law, ya know.

 

[darkzero]

I've purchased from them online & and in person, I was just there last week. Great company. Many of their items are typical China quality. I've never purchased collets or drill chucks from them though & probably never will.

 

[francist]

I've bought several items from them over the years and have always been pleased with the service. As far as quality goes, I think they are the same as many other places in that they will carry a couple different price points. Picking the cheapest one and expecting the quality to match the more expensive one is not usually an effective shopping strategy in my experience.

What I do find at LMS is that they often have items geared towards smaller machines as opposed to other tool suppliers that carry product for the full-sized or industrial machines. As for collets specifically though, I have not bought that product from them.

-frank

 

[projectnut]

The holding range of 5C collets varies by the company that made them. I have a set of Harding collets in 1/32" increments. They grip+.007" to -.008".

Like RJSakowski mentioned I should have purchased a complete set by 1/64". Instead I bought Shars brand "High Precision" collets to complete the set. While they have acceptable run out of .0005" the grip range is different. They grip from +.000" to -.015". No big deal, but you have to remember the grip range of the different brands when choosing which one to use.

 

[Mikkell]

I like them, just bought a 8.5x20 High Torque Lathe.

 

[higgite]

I’ve bought quite a bit of stuff from LMS, including a bench lathe (just like Mikkell's), a bench mill and some accessories to go with them. Generally, like Will said, they have 2 price points for a lot of tools, fittings and accessories. There is a difference in quality, the lower priced items typically what you would expect from China, but they do have some American products as well. I bought their “better” grade QCTP and drill chuck for my lathe and some R8 collets and X-axis drive for my mill and couldn’t be happier with them. Their customer service is second to none. If you have a complaint, call them, they’ll make it right.

Tom

 

[markba633csi]

Their return policy is a good reason to shop there- they give you a prepaid label to ship back UPS
Buying on Ebay or Aliexpress you won't get that

 

[tmenyc]

I know it's not a lot of money, but they're the only seller (of anything) I know who will refund extra shipping payment. I was amazed to pay a reasonable shipping level and then get money back. The opposite of all those companies that charge a flat priority payment regardless of weight and size because they're too lazy to think about the customer.
Tim

 

[Mikkell]

LMS is Great, when I ordered my Lathe I waited a Little bit, like an Hour or so and decided I need the Chip tray too. They strapped it to the top of the Crate and Refunded me the Shipping. Awesome Service IMO.