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Hi,
I am thinking of getting a mini lath and wonder which is the best for
the money, I can't spend a lot but don't mind paying for value. I
would like to get a good one. I have been working in a machine shop
for 40 years and know a little about the work..
thanks

Hi,

Well, the first question to ask is what do you plan on doing with it, e.g., size of stock to be turned? Max diameter? Max length? Turning gun barrels or pen casings?

Take care,
DBN


machinest80 <machinest80@...> wrote:
Hi,
I am thinking of getting a mini lath and wonder which is the best for
the money, I can't spend a lot but don't mind paying for value. I
would like to get a good one. I have been working in a machine shop
for 40 years and know a little about the work..
thanks






---------------------------------
Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check.
Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta.

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was the best
buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it comes with
is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras for $399. For
the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm (with key, (2)
Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face Plate, (5) 5
piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total $103, so unless
you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got for 10% off at
their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2) Face plate,
(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6) Follow rest,
and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128 separately, so
I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but what really
swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was real slow to
answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the lathe was in
stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they went from
Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning (Monday) to
see if they got the order and was told it was being shipped. Got email
with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled for
delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the MicroMark
(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead screws, and a
digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered (some think
it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor Freight
(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is available in
stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 + sales tax. (The
coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212) with the recent
30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then any of the others
(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only has a 6" usable
swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now, but the HF adds
a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the chuck, so
without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from the spindle, the
largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it back, though I
haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier, the HF 9x20
(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz G0602 10x22,
which is really more then I should spend, but a much better (and better
equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

What I didn't say in my previous post was that I had decided the HF
8x12 was probably the best buy, but I just couldn't bring myself to
pay the current price after it had been on sale for $429 for the past
couple of years. If you weren't happy with HF's 7x10, you probably
won't like their 9x20 either - it had some of the worst reviews that I
saw.

Had I not decided to go small (and cheap) at first (with the Homier),
I would have bought the Grizzly 10x22.
Ed

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4" face plate
to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and associated
kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what I was
sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@...> wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212) with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now, but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier, the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better (and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@...> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm (with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total $103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2) Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6) Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning (Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled for
delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the MicroMark
(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered (some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor Freight
(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 + sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My only problem with the HF is it's size. When I can get the Homier for
basically the same price ($20 more including shipping & tax) the HF doesn't
seem like much of a value, even at 30% off. While I haven't actually run
into any real problems with the size of the 7x, I do see some potential
issues... I bought the 5" 4 jaw chuck from LMS & even with nothing in the
chuck & the jaws virtually centered, the lathe shakes pretty bad at low
speeds. I can't imagine actually trying to bore something off center on it,
and I don't think it would be much better on a 7x12.

I had also decided on the 8x, and am in pretty much the same boat as you. I
would still jump on it, except that my local HF won't honor the coupon on
the 8x & they will on the 9x. The 9x20 seems to get mixed reviews, but the
biggest complaints seem to revolve around the cross-slide screw & lack of a
tumbler reverse. These are both fixable, and the latter appears to be true
of the Grizzly 10x22 as well, unfortuantely (please correct me if I'm
wrong... The only mention of reversing the carriage in the manual involved
reversing the spindle rotation as well).

Mike

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm just annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the machine. I'm
sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense, but there
is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only possible way
to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features (granted, I
think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside the point).

It is only relatively recently that Health and Safety regulations on both sides of the pond have led to the fitting of the safety guard on a machine that was never designed with it in mind and this makers "bodge" has affected the capacity. My 3 YO machine came without and the full 7" is useable and I dont think that the lack of a guard is an issue.

All machinery is inherently dangerous for the careless and unwary.

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "Mike Payson" <mike@...>
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: Re: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:58:17 -0700

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm just annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the machine. I'm
sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense, but there
is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only possible way
to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features (granted, I
think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside the point).

On 3/19/07, born4something <ajs@...> wrote:

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4" face plate
to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and associated
kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what I was
sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@...> wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212) with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now, but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier, the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better (and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@...> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm (with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total $103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2) Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6) Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning (Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled for
delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the MicroMark
(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered (some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor Freight
(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 + sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

Be sure to check out for small mills

and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

_________________________________________________________________
Solve the Conspiracy and win fantastic prizes.

Sorry Gerry,

I can't let 'em off that easy. They could have added a chuck guard
that retained the rated capacity of their product. I agree a chuck
guard is mainly nuisance value BUT SIEG STUFFED UP.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "gerry waclawiak"
<gerrywac@...> wrote:

It is only relatively recently that Health and Safety regulations

on both

sides of the pond have led to the fitting of the safety guard on a

machine

that was never designed with it in mind and this makers "bodge"

has affected

the capacity. My 3 YO machine came without and the full 7" is

useable and I

dont think that the lack of a guard is an issue.

All machinery is inherently dangerous for the careless and unwary.

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "Mike Payson" <mike@...>
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: Re: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:58:17 -0700

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm

just

annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the

machine. I'm

sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense,

but there

is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only

possible way

to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features

(granted, I

think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside the

point).

On 3/19/07, born4something <ajs@...> wrote:

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4" face

plate

to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and

associated

kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what

I was

sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@>

wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212)

with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then

any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only

has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now,

but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from

the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier,

the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz

G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better

(and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was

the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it

comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm

(with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face

Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total

$103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got

for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2)

Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6)

Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with

accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but

what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was

real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the

lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they

went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning

(Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being

shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled

for

delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the

MicroMark

(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead

screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered

(some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor

Freight

(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is

available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 +

sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for

small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Be sure to check out for

small mills

and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

_________________________________________________________________
Solve the Conspiracy and win fantastic prizes.

Hi John,

I can't say I've seen their bodge other than in photos so don't know whether there was another better way of doing it. I'm guessing that what they did was the cheapest way of doing it, not the best.

Is it a case that a lot of people will not do any work of a size where it becomes a problem and how easy would it be to remove the shield and overcome the interlock , either temporarily or permanently?

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "born4something" <ajs@...>
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:02:58 -0000

Sorry Gerry,

I can't let 'em off that easy. They could have added a chuck guard
that retained the rated capacity of their product. I agree a chuck
guard is mainly nuisance value BUT SIEG STUFFED UP.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "gerry waclawiak"
<gerrywac@...> wrote:

It is only relatively recently that Health and Safety regulations

on both

sides of the pond have led to the fitting of the safety guard on a

machine

that was never designed with it in mind and this makers "bodge"

has affected

the capacity. My 3 YO machine came without and the full 7" is

useable and I

dont think that the lack of a guard is an issue.

All machinery is inherently dangerous for the careless and unwary.

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "Mike Payson" <mike@...>
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: Re: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:58:17 -0700

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm

just

annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the

machine. I'm

sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense,

but there

is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only

possible way

to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features

(granted, I

think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside the

point).

On 3/19/07, born4something <ajs@...> wrote:

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4" face

plate

to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and

associated

kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what

I was

sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@>

wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212)

with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then

any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only

has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now,

but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from

the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier,

the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz

G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better

(and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was

the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it

comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm

(with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face

Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total

$103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got

for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2)

Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6)

Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with

accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but

what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was

real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the

lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they

went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning

(Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being

shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled

for

delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the

MicroMark

(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead

screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered

(some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor

Freight

(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is

available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 +

sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for

small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

Be sure to check out for

small mills

and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

_________________________________________________________________
Solve the Conspiracy and win fantastic prizes.

_________________________________________________________________
Txt a lot? Get Messenger FREE on your mobile.

On my lathe the safety switch connected to the chuck guard closes contacts
at about halfway. When I need to turn large pieces (18cm max, about 7") it's
just a matter of tying it half open, using a piece of thin chain and a nail
purposely fitted on the wall behind the lathe.
Probably, the guard could be removed simply by unscrewing the two bolts
keeping it in place, the supporting rod turned into the 'closed' position by
hand.

Also, on my lathe, the engine can be started when the guard is fully open,
providing I'm keeping a finger on the start switch, to keep it pushed down.
The safety circuitry only prevents me from 'normally' running the lathe
without closing the guard.
After the initial surprise, I got used to that: it's very handy when, after
chucking a piece, I want to have a look at how well (or badly) it is
centered.
Is it a common feature on the 7x lathes?

Marcello

On the HF, the lathe guard mount itself is 3" from the chuck center. In
order to turn something larger then 6", you would need to permanently remove
it.

Hi Gerry,

True, few actually swing a 7" workpiece. However, you can't even mount
their 6 - 1/4 " face plate under the guard. Nor can you simply remove
the guard from its pivot arm. The pivot arm itself is inside the
faceplate swing area. I dismounted the pivot arm temporarily to true up
the faceplate once. I dangled it precariously to have the microswitch
activated. I'm generally reluctant to remove a manufacturer's fitted
safety devices but this one's not likely to stay in its present form.

The really damning thing is that there was plenty of room to make the
guard follow a 7" diameter arc, fully retaining the original working
area. Cheap? Not really. They only saved themselves a few grams of
plastic. I assume the real saving came from recycling a part from a
smaller machine. I must have a closer look at what they've done on the
C0.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "gerry waclawiak" <gerrywac@...>
wrote:

Hi John,

I can't say I've seen their bodge other than in photos so don't know

whether

there was another better way of doing it. I'm guessing that what they

did

was the cheapest way of doing it, not the best.

Is it a case that a lot of people will not do any work of a size where

it

becomes a problem and how easy would it be to remove the shield and

overcome

the interlock , either temporarily or permanently?

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "born4something" ajs@...
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:02:58 -0000

Sorry Gerry,

I can't let 'em off that easy. They could have added a chuck guard
that retained the rated capacity of their product. I agree a chuck
guard is mainly nuisance value BUT SIEG STUFFED UP.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "gerry waclawiak"
gerrywac@ wrote:

It is only relatively recently that Health and Safety regulations

on both

sides of the pond have led to the fitting of the safety guard on a

machine

that was never designed with it in mind and this makers "bodge"

has affected

the capacity. My 3 YO machine came without and the full 7" is

useable and I

dont think that the lack of a guard is an issue.

All machinery is inherently dangerous for the careless and unwary.

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "Mike Payson" mike@
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: Re: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:58:17 -0700

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm

just

annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the

machine. I'm

sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense,

but there

is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only

possible way

to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features

(granted, I

think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside the

point).

On 3/19/07, born4something ajs@ wrote:

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4" face

plate

to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and

associated

kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what

I was

sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@>

wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212)

with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then

any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually only

has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now,

but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from

the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it

back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier,

the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the Griz

G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better

(and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research was

the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it

comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras

for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm

(with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face

Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total

$103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got

for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2)

Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6)

Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with

accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but

what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was

real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the

lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they

went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning

(Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being

shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's scheduled

for

delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the

MicroMark

(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead

screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered

(some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor

Freight

(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is

available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 +

sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for

small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Be sure to check out for

small mills

and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

_________________________________________________________________
Solve the Conspiracy and win fantastic prizes.

_________________________________________________________________
Txt a lot? Get Messenger FREE on your mobile.

Their next version will probably satisfy all the safety requirements
by making it impossible to cut anything;-)

Roy

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "born4something" <ajs@...>
wrote:

Sorry Gerry,

I can't let 'em off that easy. They could have added a chuck guard
that retained the rated capacity of their product. I agree a chuck
guard is mainly nuisance value BUT SIEG STUFFED UP.

John


--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "gerry waclawiak"
<gerrywac@> wrote:

It is only relatively recently that Health and Safety regulations

on both

sides of the pond have led to the fitting of the safety guard on

a

machine

that was never designed with it in mind and this makers "bodge"

has affected

the capacity. My 3 YO machine came without and the full 7" is

useable and I

dont think that the lack of a guard is an issue.

All machinery is inherently dangerous for the careless and unwary.

Gerry
Leeds UK

From: "Mike Payson" <mike@>
Reply-To: 7x12minilathe@...
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: Re: [7x12minilathe] Re: mini laths
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:58:17 -0700

I'm sure it would be easy enough to remove the chuck guard, I'm

just

annoyed
that I have to in order to use the advertised capacity of the

machine. I'm

sure there is some bizarro world where the 10" part makes sense,

but there

is no way that this should be sold as a 7" swing when the only

possible way

to use it as such is to permanently disable the safety features

(granted, I

think the chuck guard just gets in the way, but that's beside

the

point).

On 3/19/07, born4something <ajs@> wrote:

Hi Mike,

And I think you'll find they will happily supply a 6 1/4"

face

plate

to fit this lathe despite the fact that the guard and

associated

kill switch must be removed to use the faceplate. That's what

I was

sold to go with my 7x12.

John



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@>

wrote:

FYI, I bought the newest incarnation of the HF 7x10 (93212)

with

the recent

30% off coupon. It's bad enough that it is 4" shorter then

any of

the others

(& two inches shorter then advertised), but it actually

only

has a

6" usable

swing. I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's

now,

but

the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the

chuck, so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from

the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6". I'm taking it

back,

though I

haven't yet decided whether to replace it with the Homier,

the HF

9x20

(which they will honor the 30% off for, so $560) or the

Griz

G0602

10x22,

which is really more then I should spend, but a much better

(and

better

equipped) lathe.

Decisions, decisons... Any suggestions?

On 3/19/07, Ed <edo@> wrote:

I just ordered a Homier for which based on my research

was

the

best

buy I could find. It costs $299 and the only accessory it

comes

with

is a fixed center.

Cummins sells the same machine but it comes with extras

for

$399. For

the extra $100 you get (1) Tailstock Drill Chuck 1-13mm

(with

key, (2)

Moving Steady, (3) Fixed Steady, (4) 6 1/4" diameter Face

Plate,

(5) 5

piece cutting tool set. Bought separately, these total

$103, so

unless

you need all of them, I didn't see it as worth it.

Homier also sells an Accessory Kit for $99 (which I got

for 10%

off at

their eBay store). It includes (1) Tailstock chuck, (2)

Face

plate,

(3) Lathe dog, (4) Rolling center, (5) Knurling tool, (6)

Follow

rest,

and (7) Spindle center. I figured these would cost $128

separately, so

I thought it a better deal than the Cummins with

accessories.

Shipping for the Homier was $6 cheaper ($49 vs $55), but

what

really

swayed me to Homier was the customer service. Cummins was

real

slow to

answer emails, 3 - 4 days, and never did tell me if the

lathe

was in

stock.

I ordered the Homier on-line Friday night when I saw they

went

from

Out of Stock to Supplies Limited. I called this morning

(Monday)

to

see if they got the order and was told it was being

shipped. Got

email

with UPS tracking number this afternoon and it's

scheduled

for

delivery Wednesday.

If I had the money, my first choice would have been the

MicroMark

(82710), $673 delivered. It's 2" longer, has inch lead

screws,

and a

digital speed readout.

Other options are the Grizzly (G8688) at $700 delivered

(some

think

it's worth it for the better customer service) and Harbor

Freight

(33684) which is a 7x10 (2" shorter). It's $419 but is

available

in

stores and with a 30% off coupon can be had for $293 +

sales

tax. (The

coupons come out every few months.)

Hope this helps, and let us know what you decide.
Ed








Be sure to check out for

small

mills and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Be sure to check out for

small mills

and

lathes.
Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

_________________________________________________________________
Solve the Conspiracy and win fantastic prizes.

On the HF, the lathe guard mount itself is 3" from the chuck center.
In order to turn something larger then 6", you would need to permanently
remove it.

Thank You, Mike, now I've got a clearer picture of the machine.
That would mean you cannot simply unscrew the guard because the rod would
stay in place.
Would it be possible to cut off part of the rod and modify the guard in a
way it would fit safely on the remaining piece? That would let you keep that
'safety feature' of the machine during normal work, to have it quickly
removed only when it prevents you from doing the job.

Marcello

--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "MZT.Groups" <mzt.groups@...>
wrote:

Would it be possible to cut off part of the rod and modify the guard

in a

way it would fit safely on the remaining piece? That would let you

keep that

'safety feature' of the machine during normal work, to have it quickly
removed only when it prevents you from doing the job.

Marcello

Hi Marcello,

I reckon you could easily fabricate a bigger mounting block for the rod
and microswitch to place the rod further out. Say 3 1/2" from spindle
centre. The problem is the clear plastic guard itself. Perhaps you could
heat form some clear polycarbonate over some large pipe or turn up a 7"
wooden former (with the guard removed). The original is semi-enclosed on
the h/s end with a partial reinforcing web. That's easy for an injection
molding machine but less than easy to fabricate. I guess transparency of
the end isn't so important so you could improvise with sheet aluminium.
Here in Oz we have some 3 litre soft drink cans about the right size to
do the whole thing in tinplate.

At the end of the day it's gonna look real ugly no matter how you go.
You'd have to be really committed to keeping a chuck guard to go for it.
Yet it would have been so easy for Sieg to mold one the right size.
Perhaps if we all pester their tech support they'll put out a 7"
accessory guard. And if we all returned our machines to suppliers for
refunds (not 7" as advertised) they'll fit them for free! Dream on...

John

G'day Mike et al.
CHUCK GUARD.
You have to seriously wonder at the value of the chuck guard.
Somewhere in OH&S regs they say all rotsting pats must be guarded. On
automatic machines its presence is justified but on manual machines
it adds little to safety and may in itself create a hazard. It
obscures you vision when sighting how close the tool is to the chuck
and puts you at risk of crashing the tool into the chuck.

My lathe has a guard, thankfully without a kill switch so it is
always up; I only put it down if coolant is being flung about by the
chuck.

I have seen others in this group advocate leaving the change gear
cover off. I do not endorse this because it would be easy to let your
fingers stray towards the gears when using the lathe. The chuck guard
is another matter.
Let's do a JSA (Job Safety Analysis)
First danger: leaving the key in chuck; this should be overcome by
developing good habits; also starting slowly means the key drops out
rather than is flung out (this is inherent with the speed control
needing to be reset.
Second danger: clothing being caught in the chuck dragging in the
operator; overcome by wearing correct clothing, short sleeves, no
ties ec.
Third danger: ring finger getting caught, ripping off portion of
finger; overcome by taking rings off.
Forth danger: Swarf etc flung from chuck into eyes (it does happen);
overcome by wearing safety glasses.

The list goes on but each risk can be controlled by correct practices.

IMHO, take off the chuck guard and bridge out the limit switch.

As a professional I am safety focused, here is a very recent example.
I had a family from our church over for a meal. The son is doing
metal work at school and together we turned up a quicky widget on the
lathe. The corners need rounding so I showed him how the file must be
used left handed and stressed that your arms must not cross over the
chuck and the file should be on a line passing outside the body. Next
day he went to school and was using a lathe with a file. He
apparently followed my instructions much to the surprise of his
teacher who asked how he learned the correct way. Response, "The
pastor of our church showed me!"

My point. We must learn SAFE PRACTICES along with the skills we
master and, using groups like this, we must pass them on. the chuck
guard does little to enhance safe practice, it is appropriately
named, chuck it away!

One good turn deserves another.
Regards,
Ian




--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "Mike Payson" <mike@...> wrote:

I'm not sure if it's standard to all of the 7x's now, but the HF adds

a chuck saftey shield that is only 3" from the center of the chuck,

so

without removing it, somehow moving your work 3" or so from the

spindle, the

largest work you can possibly turn is 6".

I reckon you could easily fabricate a bigger mounting block for the rod
and microswitch to place the rod further out. Say 3 1/2" from spindle
centre. The problem is the clear plastic guard itself. Perhaps you could
heat form some clear polycarbonate over some large pipe or turn up a 7"
wooden former (with the guard removed). The original is semi-enclosed on
the h/s end with a partial reinforcing web. That's easy for an injection
molding machine but less than easy to fabricate. I guess transparency of
the end isn't so important so you could improvise with sheet aluminium.
Here in Oz we have some 3 litre soft drink cans about the right size to
do the whole thing in tinplate.

I think you could use the existing guard if you were to build a riser
block to raise it by about 3/4". Shouldn't be to terribly difficult to
fix, but it really should have been done by SIEG, not by the end user.