Which lathe to get?

markba633csi said:
Be forewarned you can spend much more on tooling than the machine itself! :big grin:
Measuring tools, cutting tools, the list is long
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And we are here to help you do just that :)

But seriously so far I don't think there is any info here that is excessive.

David
 
Thanks a lot, guys. I absolutely cannot WAIT to get my lathe. It's like being a kid on Christmas morning all over again.
 
Just a quick word of caution here. Before buying a lot of tooling, choose a simple project and turn it. Tooling is so project dependent, and you need to build up tools to do what you want to do, not me or anyone else here. If you are into building steam engines, then you will use boring bars a lot sooner than others, for instance, Take it slow - it is easy to buy hundreds of dollars of tooling you will never use.

After all, it isn't about have the most completely tooled lathe. it is about the projects you make with it.
 
Yeah, I just want the basic stuff and the must-haves for now and I'll work my way up. The knurling tool, though, is something I've needed quite a few times, but couldn't get it done because I didn't have a lathe.
 
The quick change tool post is nice, but it is just a time saver. You can pretty much do everything with the standard tool posts until you get sick of them.

I'm not sure what the standard tool posts are on your lathe but I used the standard tool posts on mine for 2 years just fine. I did finally break down and get a quick change type from Little Machine Shop and it is a nice thing to have.


You might want to look into using high speed steel tooling instead of carbide. It works well on the small lathes and is cheaper. You can grind them yourself as well as resharpening them. There is a great thread about grinding your own tools here.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/models-for-grinding-hss-lathe-tools.62111/


You will also find that you can make a lot of your own tools from plans and kits, and often just by eyeball for simple things.


As far as delivery, these little lathes are not that heavy, most are well under 100lbs so no need for special equipment beyond maybe a hand truck to get it into your shop.

Tons of good educational lathe videos on youtube.
 
Aaron_W said:
The quick change tool post is nice, but it is just a time saver. You can pretty much do everything with the standard tool posts until you get sick of them.

I'm not sure what the standard tool posts are on your lathe but I used the standard tool posts on mine for 2 years just fine. I did finally break down and get a quick change type from Little Machine Shop and it is a nice thing to have.


You might want to look into using high speed steel tooling instead of carbide. It works well on the small lathes and is cheaper. You can grind them yourself as well as resharpening them. There is a great thread about grinding your own tools here.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/models-for-grinding-hss-lathe-tools.62111/


You will also find that you can make a lot of your own tools from plans and kits, and often just by eyeball for simple things.


As far as delivery, these little lathes are not that heavy, most are well under 100lbs so no need for special equipment beyond maybe a hand truck to get it into your shop.

Tons of good educational lathe videos on youtube.
Click to expand...

The reason I went with the carbide tooling is because I'll be working on stainless and other hardened metals. I want to make screwdriver bits and I think those are made of chrome vanadium.
 
Winegrower said:
I think you will quickly find that the best accessory you can get for your lathe is a mill. :)
Click to expand...

Ah, don't get me started... it'll be awhile before I can justify another big tool purchase. Maybe in 6 months or so..

Just looked up pricing.... seems like mini mills are lot more expensive than mini lathes.
 
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The rabbit hole deepens...
That's a nice little starter lathe, you'll have fun with it
 
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