Author Topic: Advice on small lathes  (Read 15340 times)

Online Kim

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2019, 05:48:32 PM »
I took a look at Taig lathe, the one you're talking about is a Micro-Lathe-II ? Because they also make a TaigTurn which is heavy and seems like an hybrid between a lathe and a mill.
The Micro-Lathe-II seems really cool, I'll try to see if it's possible to have it in Europe to compare.

Yes, I was talking about the Micro-Lathe-II (http://www.taigtools.com/mlathe.html), which is the one Gerrit is showing in his picture.

The milling attachment I was talking about is much simpler (and less expensive) than the TaigTurn.  It can be seen here: http://www.taigtools.com/c1220.html.  This is an attachment that attaches to the Micro-Lathe-II and gives you some nice milling capability, but with a fairly small work envelope.

Their micro mill can be seen here: http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html

And based on what Gerrit said, I googled Peatol and came up with this: http://www.peatol.com/

Again, I'm not trying to sell you on one or the other, just provide you some alternatives so you can make the best decision for what you want.

You'll enjoy either of those machines, I have no doubt!
Kim


Offline Roger B

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2019, 06:48:29 PM »
Where in France are you? I am near Zürich and have a Chinese mini lathe that I am not using. You are welcome to borrow it to see what you think. It is bigger than the Taig/Sherline but is easily liftable//carryable.
Best regards

Roger

Offline Florian Eberhard

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2019, 09:28:01 PM »
Hi Mehdi

If you also consider buying a slightly larger lathe than a sherline, a Hobbymat would be a very good aquisition.
This still also qualifies as a tabletop machine though it has quite some weight already.
They show up sometimes here and there.

Or if you can find one - a Technika lathe. I think they come from russia but they are built pretty simliar to the hobbymat  and they are very rugged - at least from what I heard about them (and what they look like)

Florian

Offline nats

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2019, 10:29:28 PM »
I have a Taig, nice machine. Easy to make add-ons such as ER32 collet chuck as they have spindle mount blanks available.
I think in EU (at least in UK) they are branded Peatol.

The Taig is very suitable to condo/apartment living.

I bookmarked your blog a lot of interesting resources  :)

Where in France are you? I am near Zürich and have a Chinese mini lathe that I am not using. You are welcome to borrow it to see what you think. It is bigger than the Taig/Sherline but is easily liftable//carryable.

That's really nice of you ! Sadly I'm a little too far (I live near Paris).

Yes, I was talking about the Micro-Lathe-II (http://www.taigtools.com/mlathe.html), which is the one Gerrit is showing in his picture.

The milling attachment I was talking about is much simpler (and less expensive) than the TaigTurn.  It can be seen here: http://www.taigtools.com/c1220.html.  This is an attachment that attaches to the Micro-Lathe-II and gives you some nice milling capability, but with a fairly small work envelope.

Their micro mill can be seen here: http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html

And based on what Gerrit said, I googled Peatol and came up with this: http://www.peatol.com/

I was looking at the UK catalog but I got hit by an "important" question, I don't find reference about a metric version, does it exists ?
[Edit: I have a few dial indicator so if I find a way to fix them on the build it could be even better]

If you also consider buying a slightly larger lathe than a sherline, a Hobbymat would be a very good aquisition.
This still also qualifies as a tabletop machine though it has quite some weight already.
They show up sometimes here and there.

There is a currently a yellow hobbymat on the french craigslist (leboncoin) @ 500€, my main concern is about compatible tooling.

At that point I'm considering a good occasion like a schaublin if by chance I find one at an incredible price ;) otherwise a Taig if it exists in metric (the kit concept and the modularity are really cool) and if not I think it'll be a sherline.

Obviously I'll let you know ! :)

Thanks again for all the great advice !
« Last Edit: February 04, 2019, 11:13:04 PM by nats »

Online Kim

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2019, 05:27:22 AM »
Hmmmm Taig in Meteric... I've not considered that.  I've never seen any reference to metric either.  I did a quick google search and came up with nothing.  Looks like the recommendation from people is to use a DRO or just measure in metric.  If this is important to you (which I can certainly see) then that may answer your question about whether a Taig is the right choice for you!

You can always write to the Peatol dealer and see if they have a metric version.  Though I didn't see it listed on that site either, and everything was referred to in inches.

Does seem like a bit of a gap for Taig there, doesn't it?

Best of luck in your search, Mehdi!
Kim

Offline Roger B

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #20 on: February 05, 2019, 07:25:05 AM »
Best regards

Roger

Offline nats

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #21 on: February 05, 2019, 08:42:56 AM »
I think I can use dial to turn the Taig metric.

I found that: https://www.leboncoin.fr/vi/1559710495.htm/ it's an used hobbymat near my home but I don't know what to ask in order to see if it worth it.

Offline Roger B

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #22 on: February 05, 2019, 09:16:51 AM »
From the pictures and description that Hobbymat has been modified with a new motor and variable speed drive. There are none of the normally supplied accessories shown such as, tool holder, change gears for screw cutting, tailstock center, internal jaws for the chuck. You could ask if these parts are included, but I don't think that it is worth EUR 500.

I paid GBP 600 for a Hobbymat with 'everything', four jaw chuck, faceplates, rotating center, drill chuck, collet chuck, quick change tool holder, steadies, etc.
Best regards

Roger

Offline Florian Eberhard

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #23 on: February 05, 2019, 09:46:38 AM »
Proxxon also sells Hobby Lathes by the way. Although they are rather expensive for what you get.

Offline Flyboy Jim

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2019, 02:30:55 PM »
Mehdi,

Good work on the research you're doing. As you're finding out there are some great choices out there for small machines. However, in evaluating them it can be a problem of "not knowing what you don't know".

In a "perfect world" one would have each of those machines set up in your shop and then do the same simple project on each of them. By the time you got done, I'm betting you would know which machine and tooling was going to work best for you. Short of that I can recommend the late Joe Martins book "Tabletop Machining" :https://www.sherline.com/product/5301-tabletop-machining/ as a way to gain some insight into the operation of these small machines.. Joe Martin was the owner of Sherline, so it's obviously slanted toward Sherline machines and accessories. Not altogether a bad thing, since it does provide a baseline for evaluating your other choices. Also spending time looking at applicable build threads here on MEM will really help.

disclaimer: I have a Sherline lathe and mill with lots of accessories that I'm totally happy with. At this point I can't imagine starting out my machining journey (as a complete novice) with any other system. But then again I also "don't know what I don't know".

Jim
Sherline 4400 Lathe
Sherline 5400 Mill
"You can do small things on big machines, but you can do small things on small machines".

Offline steamer

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2019, 05:35:13 PM »
"......not knowing what you dont know".....

None of us do!.....lol.
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline nats

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #26 on: February 07, 2019, 09:41:33 AM »
Hello,
Sorry for the late response but I took few days to dig and read more :)
I think I made my choice and I'll try to explain why, it may be useful to an other newbie down the same road !

I quickly ruled out used lathe on ebay and craigslist, why ?
Because I'm a newbie and it causes a lot of problem, the first one is how to know if the lathe is indeed in a good working order. It's hard to check that especially in case the  bed or the leadscrew is slightly damaged like twisted bed. Second point, in case of problem I'm still unable to fix it and I don't know how to use a lathe to make tooling for old lathe.
Final point, an used benchtop lathe in a good shape is often still expensive (close to the new price).

I ruled out hobbymat and similar lathe, why ?
Because of space :) I live near Paris so in a small apartment and I wanted something heavy to use without much noise and that can be enclosed in a small space. For someone with a small basement or a dedicated room it could be a good solution.

So here we are basically Sherline vs Taig, for what I saw on Internet it can quickly turn into rumble, not the nice one at the end of the rugby match more the religious rumble :)
So keep in mind it's what i'm thinking with my knowledge on that field being ZERO :)

I think I'll go for the Taig, I have a lot of reason for that. The first one is the price, it's low for an apparently really good quality, and if I quickly realize I need something more than a micro lathe it'll be less money lost, but that reason is far from being the main one. I like the look and feel of the Taig, mainly because it gives me plenty of idea for modification like a lot of Taig user, and I agrees with something I red, it's easier to modify a Taig than a Sherline, the Sherline is so clean and beautiful you don't want to drill holes in it :)
The main drawback I see in Taig now is the lack of metric version, but I think I can use dial and caliper to compensate for that, and i'll certainly try to change their leadscrew to a metric one later.
Again as a newbie I don't know what I'll need in the future and I think on that, Taig is better because it's sort of an evolving tool, so let's see how it goes I'll try to contact peatol in UK to see what I can get !

Thanks all for all your advice, I'll keep you posted about my journey in that passionating world :)

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #27 on: February 07, 2019, 12:49:34 PM »
That sounds like some logical decision making Mehdi. Keep us posted on what you find out as to availability.

Bill

Offline Flyboy Jim

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #28 on: February 07, 2019, 03:47:56 PM »
Mehdi,
That's good you're spending the time to research this.

I'll throw this out. Remember this is just my personal opinion. The lack of a metric version would be a deal breaker for me. I tried to imagine using my inch lathe in the metric system and it would be a real hassle for me. Way too much conversion. I'm surprised that Taig doesn't have a metric version. The other thing I'd miss (that the Sherline lathe has) is the zero adjustable dial on the carriage handle. I use it all the time for moving the carriage an exact distance for cutting shoulders, etc.

That said the Taig looks like a sturdy unit. I'd love to work with one sometime for comparison. I've also heard that their mill is a little heavier duty than the Sherline mill..........although my Sherline mill has done great for everything I've asked of it.

Here's a link to Carter Tools with lots of Taig information (if you haven't found it already):  http://www.cartertools.com

Jim
Sherline 4400 Lathe
Sherline 5400 Mill
"You can do small things on big machines, but you can do small things on small machines".

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Advice on small lathes
« Reply #29 on: February 07, 2019, 04:07:21 PM »
Mehdi, When I bought my Cowells lathe I knew it was a metric machine even though I do mostly inch work. To solve that problem I fitted it with an inexpensive DRO set-up documented here:
http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,7177.0.html

Something you might also consider even though your situation is the reverse from mine...inch machine that you want to do metric work on.

The DRO allows easy switching between metric and inch regardless of the machines basic set-up.

Bill

 

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