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- Nov 14, 2016
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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.
All of the machines you've listed are essentially the same lathe being based on the Sieg 7x lathe. Most likely all built in the same factory. The differences come from the re-sellers setting quality control standards and in some cases different specs, included items and what color they are painted.
The good part of that is they have good parts availability and community support because a mod that works for a Harbor Frieght 7x10, likely applies equally well to a Grizzly 7x12 or LMS 7x16. The bad part is they will all have the same limitations and issues being based on the same base machine.
The main difference between the base Sieg C3 7x14 and the two 7x16 machines is the larger motor, and an additional 2" between centers. None of them come with much tooling, basically just a chuck, center for the tailstock and a (assuming) a cutting bit. You will want to factor in several hundred dollars more for tooling, at a minimum a drill chuck for the tailstock, more cutting bits, and possibly a steady rest.
Grizzly is another vendor to look at, their versions are the G688 7x12, and G0765 7x14.
I don't have any of their machines, but I've bought tooling and accessories from Little Machine Shop and have no complaints with their products or service. I've bought a few things from Micro Mark, never had an issue with them either, but never bought a machine or machining products from them.
For just a little more at $1295 the Grizzly 0768 8x16 lathe is just a little larger, and heavier but gives you more power (600w vs 500w / 350w), slightly larger working envelope and comes with a much larger collection of tooling, 2 chucks, a steady rest and follow rest, 2 centers. Personally I think this is a much better deal than either of the 7x16 machines you are looking at, the extra $200 easily being worthwhile for the additional tooling alone. You would still want to add a drill chuck.
As it sounds like you are very much at the small side, do not overlook the Sherline lathes. They are in my opinion, and most every modeler I've talked with (including those who own different machines) the best small lathe for model building short of some very high dollar instrument lathes (Levin). For $850 you can get the 4100 3.5x17 lathe with their "A" package which includes a much more comprehensive set of tooling and accessories than any of those 7x lathes. Their "C" package is $1282 but includes just about everything you would want to get started. Sherline has excellent customer service, a huge range of accessories and their machines and tooling come with good instructions. Some accessories have company made youtube videos demonstrating set up and use. There is an active user community and aftermarket for these machines.
If the majority of your interest is parts 1" and smaller in diameter, very occasionally reaching upwards of 2" the Sherlines are great. If you expect much work at the 1-2" size they are being pushed. 2"+ is possible particularly with the use of riser blocks, but if you want to do much at this size you probably want to look at something bigger.
If you do get the $100 lathe, please report back on it. I've had a lot of modelers who don't have the budget for one of the more traditional mini-lathe options ask about it, but I've found nobody who has actually used one, to know if it is really an option for small plastic parts.
As far as Black Friday sales? I don't know specifically but there are sales from all of these vendors at times. Grizzly is the probably the most likely to have a significant BF sale.
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