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Re: Different Prices - such a range!
Living in Canada, even a mini-lathe was out of my budget range, since there are few low-priced options here. I was lucky to accidentally find a used 7x14 for sale nearby for $500CAD and I grabbed it. I'd already figured that I shouldn't spend more than 1/3 of my budget on the lathe, since the tooling and 'optional accessories' would add up to a lot more. My MicroLux 7x14 'TruInch' hasn't been sold for years, so this is a bit off-topic, but I wanted to mention the motor mount. The motor on mine is on a pivoting 'hinge' mount, which seems much more solid than the two bolts in slots style I see in Youtube videos. It also has a 'real' half-nut setup with two half nuts. Things like that aren't usually listed in the specs, so probably one needs to 'trust' that the sellers of higher priced lathes like LMS and MicroMark have specified better features from the Sieg factory. It's a bit of a gamble. Having said all that, I would find it fun to 'fix up' even a lower quality 'bargain' lathe, since I don't yet have any real ambition to make machine shop projects (clock, steam engine, etc..). So I can learn while doing 'mods' to the lathe and making knurled knobs for other tools around the shop. :) |
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Re: Extending cross slide travel -- what is the currently accepted best method?
I'll try again to post a pic of my slide mods:
Sharp-eyed readers may spot the green masking tape at the left. That's covering an opening where the motor controller box would normally be mounted - I still have the 'temporary' off-lathe controller wired to the lathe motor, even though I have the stock controller back from the repair service "Old UHF Guy". Also, I repainted the black 'drip tray' and 'backsplash' to white as it makes it easier to see the work in the chuck. |
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Re: Extending cross slide travel -- what is the currently accepted best method?
On Sun, Feb 20, 2022 at 04:19 PM, Tony Jones wrote:
Googling I can find lots of approaches and I'm struggling with what is considered the best approach in 2022 (ideas tend to evolve).Tony- I just joined this group, so you probably have decided what to do in the month since you posted that question. However, I thought I would add some thoughts as I just completed mods on the compound and cross slide on my 7x14. One method that didn't make your list is the very well thought out set of ideas from 'grepper' in this post: It's well worth a read. I used his method to change the compound (I made a new leadscrew and retainer 'block', saving the original parts). It worked so well that I modified the cross slide using the same ideas. I had already 'milled' the slide to extend the travel, so the work involved making a new leadscrew and an extended retainer block with bearings, a bushing for the dial to ride on, and a key for the handle. I'm really happy with the results. |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
Chris Albertson
What is the 0.01 mm spec mean?? What is being measured?? ? The cheapest grade of bearing, ABEC-1 is better than 0.01 runout. (it is 0.0075.)? Typically machine tools will use ABEC-7 bearing with runout spec'd at 0.0025. You should?not read much into "marketing specifications" if they don't state how the measurements were made. On Thu, Mar 17, 2022 at 12:46 PM Kaj Wiik <kaj.wiik@...> wrote:
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Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI¡¯d want confirmation that it does in fact have tapered roller bearings installed. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe them, it¡¯s that I don¡¯t believe everything just because it says so on the Internet. ? As far as myself the factory bearings are just fine for what I do with my lathe. But if I were to replace them I would go with ¡°angular contact bearings¡± instead of the tapered roller. There¡¯s no modification required, and they¡¯re less noisy. ? Michael - California, USA Micro-Mark MicroLux 7x16 LMS 3990 Hi-Torque Mill with power feed ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kaj Wiik
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2022 12:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [7x12MiniLathe] Mods, was Different Prices - such a range! ? Anyone have experience of Vevor 7x14 lathe, they state that "Spindle is supported by precision tapered roller bearings, spindle accuracy within 0.01 mm.", so no need of spindle bearing mod? ? Cheers, Kaj ? ? On Thu, 17 Mar 2022 at 13:54, Craig Hopewell via <cch80124=[email protected]> wrote:
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýAt that price ($550 US at todays exchange rate ) I am going to take a wild guess and say either a) they mistranslated the Chinese language description or b) they¡¯re lying.?
--? Bruce Johnson "Wherever you go, there you are." B. Banzai, PhD |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
Anyone have experience of Vevor 7x14 lathe, they state that "Spindle is supported by precision tapered roller bearings, spindle accuracy within 0.01 mm.", so no need of spindle bearing mod? Cheers, Kaj On Thu, 17 Mar 2022 at 13:54, Craig Hopewell via <cch80124=[email protected]> wrote: On Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 07:45 PM, OldToolmaker wrote: |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
On Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 07:45 PM, OldToolmaker wrote:
I like plastic change gears. They are more quiet and are the weak link in case of a crash.Never broke a plastic change gear.? ? My current 7x does not have headstock gears, but never had a problem on a previous 7x with 2-speed headstock.? ? There are many issues with these lathes - the plastic gears are not one of them.? ?JMO ? -- Lone Tree, Colorado? ?USA |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
Ok, when I talked gears and one breaking it was because I had the lead screw engaged. As my lathe has a brushless motor,? I do not have gears internally for speed changes, etc. I misunderstood the op post. george
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 06:27:03 PM PDT, Chris Albertson <albertson.chris@...> wrote:
Why bother changing out a gear that works?? ?If it breaks then think about what to replace it with.? ?? But you know what?? ?There is a Youtube video with this machinest?who uses the name "tubalcain".? He replaces a metal gear in his full size? lathe with a plastic 3D printed gear then tries to break the gear?by making cuts that are too large.? ? ?The 3D printed gear does not break. There are also good engineering reasons?to use plastic in place of metal, The plastic might be designed to shear before the iron casting breaks.? So the designer might be using plastic?as a kind of mechanical fuse to prevent damage if the operator leaves the chuck key in the chuck. The BEST solution is to not have?gears at all.? A good 3 phase spindle motor?would?run all the way down to zero RPM and lead screws are better when powered by a computer-controlled servo or stepper than change ears. I think one of the things Elon Musk said about engineering is true "the best part is no part".? If the part is designed out then it need not be manufactured, it will never break and you don't have to pay for it. On Tue, Mar 15, 2022 at 7:19 PM Stan Gammons via <buttercup11421=[email protected]> wrote:
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Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
Chris Albertson
Why bother changing out a gear that works?? ?If it breaks then think about what to replace it with.? ?? But you know what?? ?There is a Youtube video with this machinest?who uses the name "tubalcain".? He replaces a metal gear in his full size? lathe with a plastic 3D printed gear then tries to break the gear?by making cuts that are too large.? ? ?The 3D printed gear does not break. There are also good engineering reasons?to use plastic in place of metal, The plastic might be designed to shear before the iron casting breaks.? So the designer might be using plastic?as a kind of mechanical fuse to prevent damage if the operator leaves the chuck key in the chuck. The BEST solution is to not have?gears at all.? A good 3 phase spindle motor?would?run all the way down to zero RPM and lead screws are better when powered by a computer-controlled servo or stepper than change ears. I think one of the things Elon Musk said about engineering is true "the best part is no part".? If the part is designed out then it need not be manufactured, it will never break and you don't have to pay for it. On Tue, Mar 15, 2022 at 7:19 PM Stan Gammons via <buttercup11421=[email protected]> wrote:
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Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThanks for the comments on the gears. I thought it best to stay with the plastic gears for reasons mentioned in this thread.At some point, I may go with the 16" bed that LMS offers to upgrade my 7x10. The bed was out of stock when I checked the other day. Stan On 3/16/22 18:49, mike allen wrote:
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý??? ??? Plastic gears don't disintegrate like Zamak gears ??? animal On 3/16/2022 11:51 AM, Bruce J wrote:
This! the plastic gears are much easier to replace than metal parts of the lathe! |
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Re: Different Prices - such a range!
"Given I said 'buy the cheapest,' I modify that to say, not the HF 7x10" On the other hand, that's what I originally bought and I used it for many years before buying the LMS bed-extension kit.? The big weakness of that lathe is drilling from the tailstock with larger drills, because there just isn't room to put a drill chuck in the tailstock spindle, hold a large drill in it, and have room to hold the work in a chuck. Often I wound up holding the drill bit in alignment with the tailstock center, using a lathe dog clamped on the drill to keep it from turning. (I even made a special tailstock center that sticks out less then a regular center).? I also got fairly adept at holding work on the faceplate which sticks out much less than a chuck. But all those little tricks have turned out to be good to know, and I still use some of them, even though I bought a 14" bed years later (and a big, 11" Logan lathe many years after that). So if a little HF lathe comes your way at the right price, it's well worth it. Mike Taglieri? On Wed, Mar 16, 2022, 10:45 AM Craig Hopewell via <cch80124=[email protected]> wrote: Given I said "buy the cheapest", I modify that to say, not the HF 7x10 which is really an 7x8 when measured by the method used to spec every other 7x mini-lathe.? ? It is too short and "crowded" compared to other versions.? ?A 7x12 or 7x14 is adequate for most all work. |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThis! the plastic gears are much easier to replace than metal parts of the lathe!In one of his lathe videos Mr Pete mentions this is one reason why they made the change gears for old Atlas lathes out of Zamak: it was dead easy to cast very accurately and it would be the weak point in case of a jam.
--? Bruce Johnson "Wherever you go, there you are." B. Banzai, PhD |
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Re: Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThanks for clearing that up Brian. ? Michael - California, USA Micro-Mark MicroLux 7x16 LMS 3990 Hi-Torque Mill with power feed ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian VanDragt
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:00 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [7x12MiniLathe] Different Prices - such a range! ? Oops, it was 2006 but I have a 7x14 not 16. I know it was the longest one available at the time, but I didn't realize that they snuck a longer one in since then. It has the old brushed motor. Now it is going to be too short for the next job I want to do. ? Brian? ? ? -------- Original message -------- From: Michael Jablonski <michaeljab@...> Date: 3/15/22 7:05 PM (GMT-05:00) Subject: Re: [7x12MiniLathe] Different Prices - such a range! ? Hmmmm, are you sure about that year (2006) for a 7x16? I was looking for a mini lathe and I recall Micro-Mark releasing the 7x16 in the spring/summer of 2010. Micro-Mark was the only place that was selling a 7x16. ? Just looked it up and mini-lathe.com shows the 7x16 as a ¡°New¡± lathe in 2010. < > ? Michael - California, USA Micro-Mark MicroLux 7x16 LMS 3990 Hi-Torque Mill with power feed ? ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian VanDragt ? My Micro Mark 7x16 was $496 in 2006, but they have been improved since then. ? Brian
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
Many?thanks, Ryan! Martin On Wed, 16 Mar 2022, 10:59 Ryan H via , <ifly172=[email protected]> wrote:
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Re: Different Prices - such a range!
Given I said "buy the cheapest", I modify that to say, not the HF 7x10 which is really an 7x8 when measured by the method used to spec every other 7x mini-lathe.? ? It is too short and "crowded" compared to other versions.? ?A 7x12 or 7x14 is adequate for most all work.
-- Lone Tree, Colorado? ?USA |
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Re: Mods, was Different Prices - such a range!
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý? I work also? in wood?? late ? And ?for? very long?? work ? We ?just? put? x2? late? front? to front ? Probably ?not realy? a good? solution? for? metal? work ? BUT ? A real solution??? if? you have? a second late ? ? Or ?back to back ? Jack 47 71 ? ? I have a 7x14 and on a couple projects a x16 would really have come in handy. Using a live center in the tailstock really eats up space. On the x14 with a center in the tailstock I made a new 10 3/4 inch long cross slide feed screw but it was tight. The extra couple inches would really have been nice to have. 7x16's weren't readily available when I got my lathe but if I was buying now I'd get the longest bed available. Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it but if you need it and don't have it you're in a bit more of a tight spot.? On Mar 15, 2022, 11:29 PM -0400, Ralph Lehotsky <ralphlehotsky@...>, wrote:
I run metal gears in place of the 80 tooth gears.? They are noisier but I'm a bit hard of hearing, so I don't mind. ? ralphie |
OldToolmaker