My hobby is all 1/25th scale, brass, resin, plastic! This machine is magic. Big surprise for me was the accuracy! I would certainly recommend for this purpose.
Wouldnt most of us be more upset if we got a machine that DIDN’T require us to do some fiddling and fine tuning? It seems to be in our DNA to tinker and improve things. Great review, keep tinkering.
Thanks for a very thorough review. My father was a machinist and I've been using a lathe since I was five years old (and that was more than 60 years ago). I have a very old Craftsman 12 x 36 lathe in my hangar and I've been considering the purchase of a very small lathe for my home shop (hence the impetus to watch your video). Based on your comments, I think I will give some serious consideration to the G0602. One item to note: The centering of the chuck should be enforced by the fit of spindle flange shoulder into the bore on the chuck's mounting plate. If you're getting runout, it's because that fit is sloppy. Note two: English and grammar seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur. It was really refreshing (for a change) to listen to someone with decent grasp if these items.
About cutting left handed threads on the biggrr lathe. Put the tool in the holder upside down and spin the lathe chuck in reverse, using the ssme leadscrew nut engaging and direction(towards chuck). That is the way we used to make left handed acme threads.
This video is going on 2 1/2 years old and it is still just as useful and informative as the day it was first put on You Tube. I am in the process of purchasing my first metal lathe, I don't have a ton of money or the space for a large metal lathe and will most likely purchase a small or mini lathe. Not going to say I am ordering a Grizzly but it sure looks promising, especially after watching and listening to your in-depth video. You spoke using words that I understand and as such I learned a lot ! I will be watching more of your video's. Again THANK YOU SIR for taking the time to make this video !!!
This is an old video, quite well done. The standard answer to which lathe should I buy was his statement "the biggest you can afford." I very much agree with that. The cost of a lathe is less than half the cost of getting setup to do machining on it. Not only will you find it needs some improvements but you will be buying lots of accessories, tooling, measuring devices, etc. that may or may not be usable with your next lathe. I bought a much bigger first lathe. Had the space, power & $ to do so. No regrets. You will soon learn that you'd really like to have some way of milling. You can get, very limited, milling attachments for a lathe, to get started. But soon a little mill will be on your Xmas list.
Dude, that's ingenious. I was just thinking that a hinged "door" style cover would be inconvenient any time you had to replace the gears or work on/adjust anything behind the cover. Magnets would make it easy to remove the cover in less than a second. Simply brilliant.
well it's a lathe czcams.com/users/postUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.
Great review and walk through of the machine. About a year ago i almost bought this lathe i was in need of a small lathe to build parts to convert my car to fuel injection. Just before i pulled the trigger on purchases i found a 6x18 atlas with tooling and milling attachment. It might be 40 years old but it a great little machine. Accurate and runs as true as the day she left the factory. favorite part of machine is the thread speed 55 rpm. Keep up the good work.
What I would recommend to make this lathe a bit more ridged to to purchase a piece of 1" or 3/4" thick steel the width and length of your lathe and bolt the lathe to it. You should not bolt a lathe to a wood table. As the humidity changes the wood moves twisting the lathes' bed cutting a taper. If you really want to get into it first bolt the head end down. Put a good level (Starrett or Brown & Sharp) on the ways at the head stock end. Shim under the steel plate until the bubble touches one of the lines. Now move the level to the tail stock end and shim under the lathe at the tail stock. This will compensate for any twist in the steel. I did this on my 9" South Bend, Iron legs, bolted to a concrete floor. It is accurate to .0005" over 24".
Better not bolt to a steel plate as bed will probably twist/distort, you would need 'feet and bed machined parallel plus a precision plate which makes a cheap lathe more expensive than a full size one. Much better thing to do with a mini machine is bolt some 2x4 'stabilisers' extending to rear to prevent tipping and allow it to just stand on bench
For people wondering how to get the lathe bolted down. What my shop ended up doing was we drilled clamps into the table and clamped it down to the chip tray. Works really well for these light machines.
On observation that might be useful is that these lathes usually have castings that are really quite good. What they lack is proper finishing and fitting. Parts that are milled or machined are neither smooth nor flat even if they look good to the untrained eye. People that buy these lathes typically don't yet know enough to identify this as the cause of issues nor how to fix it. The problems with parts moving against each other are all related to this issue. It doesn't take much lapping time to flatten and smooth contact surfaces but it makes a world of difference in how it works. Your cross slide is a prime example. Gib screws are either too tight or too loose and never seen to hold when you've adjusted them to "just right". Pull it apart, clean everything really well. Fatten and smooth the shim and all mating surfaces. Apply light lubricant and reassemble. Run slide up so that the bearing block for the lead screw is all the way in closest to the captive nut, loosen and retighten the pillow block screws to align the lead screw with the nut. It's most critical when they're closest together. If there is only a washer or spacer fixed against the bearing, install a needle roller thrust bearing. They're cheap and will make a huge difference in adjusting out backlash while keeping smooth rotation. Check out YT vids on lapping and creating flat smooth surfaces. For areas you can't smooth consider a Teflon shim or tape. It's also a quick substitute for some of the above work. Once you have smooth flat bearing surfaces you'll be and to adjust the gib screws to eliminate free play and still have smooth movement more easily and abruptly. Hard to explain the feel. What you'll notice is the lack of that mixed "moves but drags too much" state that causes you to to loosen up more to move freely but then suffer too much free play. The simple explanation is that the flatter and smother the two surfaces are the greater the surface area that's in contact when they first touch. Conversely, the thinner the gap that is needed between them to ensure they are not touching at any point. Only a thin film of lubricant is needed to float between two smooth flat surfaces. The greater the hills and valleys the thicker film must be to fill the difference. Sometimes it is suggested to work part against part to wear them in to each other. It will smooth the surfaces but it will not solve flatness issues over distance. As you spoke about fixes and repairs I figured about 400 to 500 was spent in replacing plastic with metal, better bearings and hardware fasteners. If you put that money in up front would you look to buy a lathe without these problems? Budgets though are a consideration. At least you can fix things over a bit of time. The questions in my mind is how much time was lost to downtime? How much confusion or frustration learning to use the lathe to figure out which problems were yours and which the lathe itself? Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Personally, many years ago I went with the Big Dog Machine unit as their chucks are larger (4") and the unit has all that you have. I also added a 5" 5C chuck and collets for versatility. The Big Dog comes standard with both Steady and Follow rests and the tailstock is cam action as yours.
Great video, very thorough and objective. I'm looking at a small lathe and I am at the same point you were when you bought this one so this is a great reference for me.
Thanks for a rational, reasonable review. I'd wondered how those little lathes performed. I run a full size WWII era iron monster, but can see the appeal of the small machines.
Easy to re-gear the lathe for even more torque. Kit on ebay comes with both gears and a new belt that is easier to get than the original belt. Lowers the rpms of the lathe but you almost never need the full speed. After you re-gear the motor you can make way bigger cuts with no stalling.
I have a slightly smaller mode of grizzly lathe and it works ok for me. I would like to put a longer and more robust compound slide on it though. I do agree with you on that the compounder could be way better.
For the gear cover, sand off the green paint in an appropriate spot, weld or rivet a couple tabs to the inside or outside of it where it doesn't interfere with anything. Get a couple magnets with the countersink in the center, such as www.amazon.com/Manic-Magnets-Force-CounterSunk-Neodymium/dp/B01DYL12WQ/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1475808458&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=countersunk+magnet Attach those magnets to the tabs you added to the gear cover and you have your quick access cover that holds itself to the lathe.
And also, the magnets I chose are just an example. The pull force on those are going to be really strong. Something much smaller with less potential to interfere with the hall sensor or electronics in the box would be more appropriate. Not sure how small they make the ones with the countersinks, but you could always epoxy a small fridge sized neodymium to the tab.
Good ideal, could even use those magnets on the entire cover too, just put them where the screws go on the original cover. Do it to both covers(the motor cover and the gear cover) because he has a hard time changing gears without removing both covers.
Hey! I really enjoy your videos and this one in particular was pivotal in my decision to both buying one of these mini lathes and making a youtube video which fast forward 5 months has led to weekly videos and (at this point) 11k+ subscribers. So thanks :)
Jeff.... and anyone watching this video, FYI - instead of buying the individual headstock gears, you can now (also) have the option of getting either both in one package from Little Machine Shop (as Jeff mentioned) under Part.No. 3448... Or, you can get the whole steel gear set, including the headstock gears under Part No. 3446 for $209.95 but is currently back-ordered but expected to be back in stock after April 19th, 2018. This conversion kit changes ALL the plastic gears in the 7X10/12 & 14" - X2 Series Lathes. The Headstock gearset (2 gears - LMS Part No.3448 as mentioned above) also works with several Mini-Mills as well... ie; Grizzly G8689, and other branded, same mills.
Ok honestly i think that lathe is what you said it was, a good training machine to help you run a bigger lathe. What i basically see is smaller parts, smaller threads, etc. What i would like to see is its maximum capability. What kind of cut can it take? Does it turn threads with out chatter??? I can take your word for it but i would like to see some proof backing it up, but still some nice info on the modifications.
Page 12:00 compound scale limited span. My first generation Grizzly 7x14 has two of zero reference markings in front of the angle scale. The first is for 0-45 degrees. The second is for 30-75 degrees. The two markings are separated by 30 degrees. When use the second, minus 30 degree from a target angle then set it to 15 degrees on scale. If we can’t find the second reference, make one our selves. Blue ink then scribe, verify it give us 60 degrees and finish it with a permanent punch mark.
Hey, maybe would be possible to drive the power feed with a stepper motor and use a sensor in the spindle to keep track of the revolutions, that way you eliminate the need of changing gears
thank you. this was what i could afford when i bought mine. i mainly work with delrin, copper, aluminum, and acrylics and it is more than adequate for anything ive thrown at it, but again it has ONLY been used for very light work. i am going to be purchasing a few of grizzlys & little machines "upgrades" for mine so that i can do some work with steel and put heavy loads on it. i really appreciate all the the videos youve put out. you definitely helped me learn how to use mine. Very well done review, pretty thorough. I personally think the biggest "pro" for me is that if you own one of these, you can purchase or make any upgrade or replacement part for it, and to me thats a huge deal.
There are three points at the electronic board where you can change the tork power beside one with the speed power and beside these two one that makes the relation between tork and speed. If you mark the starting position to set it back afterwards playing with them can improve the tork but the the high speed goes down a little.. You have to try if you don't like it set it back to where it was.
Great video! Thank you. I also have one of these. The transmission has plastic gears, coupled with the powerful motor, mine ate the transmission and stripped out the key to the pulley gear on the motor. For about $100 you can upgrade all the gears to metal, and it takes about 2 hours to strip down the lathe and replace all the gears. I would have some way to press out the gear shaft bearings. I also had the power switch go Tango Uniform. It cost about $16 to get that fixed. I have also had to fix the RPM gauge wire which in the transmission area, as it got tangled in the gears, and got eaten. The power switch cover which has the RPM gauge is made of real cheap plastic. All my screw holes are cracking. I am going to have to beef it up soon. Other then that.. The metal parts are pretty nice. I am seeing roughly everything you point out.
I Suggest if you are not happy with the rigidity of your machine, get a mettle plate and bolt it below the catch plate. I suggest a 1/4" thick 12" wide and about 4" longer than your catch plate and place it under the catch plate, directly on your bench. this will add weight and rigidity to your machine
Great video. I see it is from 2016 so several years old. Still great info. It was very thorough and I very much appreciate your honesty in how you approached your review with both the pluses and minuses. The detail in the minuses you explained was excellent. I have wanted a lathe in my own shop arsenal for years. I had the opportunity to get a large floor mount 3-phase lathe for cheap back in 2009 but, unfortunately, had no where to put it, nor a way to provide 3-phase power. I'm toying with the idea of what would be reasonable and these mini lathes have been an interesting idea. However - as you said very well towards the end as to if you would recommend it or if you would buy it again - you out-grew it. That's exactly what I don't want - getting something "basic" that I grow out of, instead of grow in to. The quick-change tool holder is a no-brainer on any lathe, in my book. I would have never given any thought to the flex in an aluminum quick-change base. Thank you for pointing that out as well. Very well-done review!
The best accessories for my mini lathe... 5" chuck, live center and a live bullnose center for tailstock for doing larger stock and tubing. Plus of course quick change tool post and lots of tool holders. Saves so much time.
Depending on which type of 'horse power' you're talking about, my 550 watt version of this lathe is 3/4 horse power, so yours is about 17% more powerful. Since I bought mine barely used, and it's one of the 'deluxe kit' versions, it came with a lot of toys/tools that bump the new price close to $1,000. Fortunately for me (but not the seller) I paid just 1/3 of that! Overall my use of it will be to make new parts for not so new steam toys and miniature scale traction engines/steam rollers, mostly in brass and copper. Although it's capable of making new/improved parts in steel to make itself more precise! In the near future I intend to add the milling function to it. Then (fingers strongly crossed) I might be able to machine some metal gears to replace the silly plastic ones. My lathe came with a quick change tool post, but it's not much better than the standard one, so I've got a better one on order with extra inserts. The word on the street is, if you have the later metal headstock gears, the main bearings are now of the taper roller flavour. Mine has the gears, but I'm not going to strip it down to check the bearings. We should be thankful that China is still uprating/ugrading tools like this, rather than cutting corners - and quality - like a lot of Western companies. All I need to do now is move all that wood and the, now unnecessary, wood turning lathe to bolt this one to the same bench.
A Safety note for the Novice operator - Never run at high Rev's when using the Face Plate and spin it in FREE Spindle (Neutral) to check the Balance before starting the machine on power. If out of balance, the slots in the Face Plate are there to Add Counterbalance Weight. Too much Out of Balance can result in Injury or Death if the Spindle Breaks off due the Centrifugal Forces.
I've been able to bolt mine down. The way I did it was to take short bolts (I think they're M6) and screw from the top down through the feet for positioning. When they pass through the feet, use that to mark your workbench and drill through. Then once the holes are done, use bolts that are long enough to pass through the bench to the lathe feet and screw from the bottom. Use washers, lock washers and nuts to secure from the to secure from the bottom. I'm using the rubber feet for vibration dampening as well.
I know this is a 4 year old video but it sure gives me a idea of what I want. I basically am going to make knives and need to turn down stainless stain nuts for the pommels on the end of the knife. and maybe some other small items. I like how you give us a place to get parts and upgrades. I hope there still available at the time I see this. But again thank you for taking the time for this video.
Excellent review sir! You outlined your review at the beginning, stuck to it, and wasted zero time in expressing your opinions. I’m at the dreamer stage (no space or coin for a huge lathe), and learned a great deal about the “mini world” from this video. I’m subscribing and watching your other videos now!
I fixed my F/R/N threading bar detent lever by drilling shallow 3/16 holes where the dimples are on the body and then I turned the detent pin square on the end and brought it down to slightly under 3/16 and now I have a nice positive lock on it.
On the 4 way tool post. I've found they work much better when you actually put 4 of your favourite tools in at once, as they support each other. Used this way, I've found changing between tools much faster than using a quick change tool post.
That's a great point! I will admit I've never had the need for 4 types of tools that would actually fit in this post. Usually I go between a turning (or contour) tool, maybe a threading tool, but then boring and cutoff tools, which can be adapted to the 4 way toolpost, but not in a way I cared for. That makes a lot of sense though and thank you for mentioning it (and thanks for watching!!)
Hey Jeff. It's been over two-years since we've seen anything on this great little lathe of yours. Please consider a short tear down video of the control box, view of the panel and layout of the control switches. Would also like to see how the motor is mounted and wired to the panel. Cheers brother
You can replace the nuts on the gibbs with ones that have holes drilled for safety wire. Then safety wire and tension against the direction in which they would unscrew. Same method used in high vibration applications on aircraft.
Hi Jeff, thank you for your great review of your mini lathe! I´m located in germany and started with hobby machining last year. I`m using a sieg C2 7x12 mini lathe and a sieg mini mill SX2 (brushless, high torque 500 W) Both sold by our local internet reseller in germany, trade mark ROTWERK. I really enjoy your tutorials, Many thanks again. Greetings from Frankfurt /Main Germany, Armin
Armin, Thank you for watching! It's always very interesting to me to hear from other people around the entire world, it is always incredible to me how connected the entire planet is! I'm glad you enjoy the videos and it's interesting to hear that there are even more different suppliers of these machines in various countries. Thank you for the input and thanks for watching!!
Good review. I've had my 7x12 LMS for over a year and like it a lot. I do recommend these lathes for beginners and they still have a place even after upgrading to something larger. I found a 10K South Bend on Craig's List which is terrific. Still, my 7x is not for sale as I continue to use it often. They are so fast to set up for a quick project. To anyone watching this review I can say it is quite thorough and the man has done an excellent job with the good and not so good. If someone thinks these are too small, check out what people are doing with the even smaller Sherlines. Thanks for taking the time to do this and keep your excellent videos coming.
I had another clone of this lathe they are all made by SIEG Ltd in Shanghai my one was blue i had to decide to improve the power and rigidity because i made over 80% steel and thats not what its build for. Its a good little lathe for beginners or model engineers but has its limits and after a little thinking period after using it for 12 month I sold it for a good price for me and the buyer and gave him lots of specific tools that i can't use on a bigger lathe for free. I then bought a new 265kg lathe with 1,5kw power and a D 1,4 Camlock spindle.... What a difference...as long as you dont cut steel this little lathe is enough but the harder the steel gets the smaller the cuts are that you can take..it's a real lathe no toy but for real work its to weak with motor power and not rigid enough... But you can cut steel as long as the cuts are not to heavy and you are patient enough.
A small amount (and I mean a small amount) of blue loctite is amazing for holding your hardware in place but forgiving enough to make adjustments when needed.
That's a good point! There's a lot of things they're more forgiving of, and it's funny because there's also things that they are more difficult with, which I think makes for a better training tool.
This was an awesome review. I was originally thinking of buying the equivalent harbor freight version, but after your in-depth review I'm gonna go with Sieg.
I think I would build a dedicated workbench and pour a 3-4" slab for the top to bolt this machine to. I have used this method for my drill press and grinder to fantastic success.
I wish I had know of little Machine shop when IK owned the earlier version of this lathe. I made most of the upgrades by my own design. I remove the chip pan and welded the lathe to a piece of 8 inch channel iron to study it up.
Almost bought one,, but found a vintage atlas lathe,,12 x 36,, 400 lb beast,,, but got it for 650 dollars the tools I got was worth that,,and has the commercial quick change gearbox, bolt are clamp it down will make a big difference in performance for you.
My lathe has a stand but if I want to add a lot of weight to it I was going to mount a 100ltr drum and fill with cutting fluid. you get a lot of rigidity and just dump the fluid if you need to to move later.
Thanks! Plan on getting a mini lathe soon (learning the craft). I live about 90 minutes from Springfield (NW AR) so if the have it on sale it'll be an easy trip for me. Good luck.
Want a, "flat" table to make the machine more rigid? Get a scrap piece of ~ 1" thick counter top granite or quartz just a couple of inches bigger than the machine. This stuff is milled and finished almost optically flat and will really dampen vibration. The down side is that it is heavy.
Thanks for the video, nicely done. I have a very similar lathe, very happy with it so far. The plastic protractor on the compound slide is best removed and thrown away. I use a traditional engineer's protractor to set the angle, and I've scribed a couple of lines on the cross slide at 0° and 30° to help with setup, mostly I leave it at 30°. I know about the problem with the lead screw feed engage lever disengaging under load, if you remove the bush under the clamping screw then when you tighten it, it locks the handle nicely. I always tighten the clamping screw before threading and that has worked ok for me so far. I plan to make a pin that will engage in a brass plate to get around this, and make it easier to select feed direction. The biggest problem I had with the gearing was that the forward pinion gear had nearly seized on it's shaft, and the lead screw bearings were way out of alignment and binding, all of which put a huge load on the whole gear train. I had to shim the head-end lead screw bearing out by over 1.5mm (~0.06") and still it is a little stiff, and now the half nuts catch on the screw when I get really near the head end of the bed, fortunately has not been a problem so far. There are metal gear sets for these lathes, as you say, if you cut threads often then these are a good investment. It's good perhaps, to leave the forward/reverse pinion gears as they come (plastic) as it's better that they fail if the gears jam or you crash the tool into the chuck as they are cheap and easy to replace. Also, you should be aware that the graduation collars on the slides are usually marked '0.001" 0.025mm' - cannot be both! So make sure you know which is which on your lathe, use a dial gauge to verify. Small errors can multiply very quickly! I bought a 100mm 4-jaw chuck for around £50, but the jaws aren't parallel and need grinding. For that you need a tool post grinder... My advice to anyone thinking of buying a Chinese mini lathe is, be prepared to do some work on it before it's usable. If possible, take the entire machine apart and clean out all the 'shipping' grease (good for keeping out salt water but worth f#*k all as a lubricant), and reassemble with some good quality grease. Ö¿Ö
I threaded 2 barrels - one for 1/2 x 28, another for 5/8 x 24 using only cross slide which as you know is not a proper way as it requires a LOT more torque running at 60 - 80 rpm and it turned out fine. You just need to take finer cuts.
Hi Jeff, very nice thorough review! I purchased the G0752 this year, and unfortunately, I'm not sure I could provide as many "Pro's" about mine. Thanks for sharing!
Neil Smith agreed just purchased an x y table and had missing parts day 1, sent parts that were wrong and now 3 weeks later of a non useable tool there method of fixing issue was wait another week while they ship there chinesium parts and hope there right smh. Spend more buy american and the $ u save in down time and trying to get parts will pay for itself in no time yet alone the quality diff
@@chrisjones6165, Even if you could find a US made lathe for this ultra cheap price, it would be worn out. 2 years ago I decided to buy a lathe. I'm retired from my manufacturing business so have a lot of experience with tools. I ended up buying a much heavier lathe but still a Chinese made one. It does what I wanted but is not a production level machine, doesn't need to be for my use. He said he could hold .003 to .005 tolerance. In metal work that is pretty poor. That means you will likely not be able to do a press fit. Maybe with enough trail & error? If I had this machine, I'd try to mount it to a ridged base so I could true the ways. That can be done by shimming and bolting to a good stiff steel base. I wouldn't use inserted carbide tools because they add considerable stress to the machine. HSS tooling works very well for anything this lathe is capable of. Personally, I prefer to make stuff rather than fix my tools. Something else to consider, You will end up buying a lot of "accessories." This was a very straight forward review.
Hi: I used a 1 inch thick piece of pine just a little larger then the footprint of the lathe to help hold it still on my workbench. I can still slide the lathe around when I need to. This base wood really stops the wiggle of the machine. I hope this helps as you stated that you didn't know what to do about the lathe moving around.
Page 34:00. Conical roller bearings? Catches: there are two. (1) not permanent lube, requires routine lubricant. (2) no chip guard front and back. Other than that is OK.
nice review. one thing that will improve your rigidity/flexing is to mount the machine on its own base or stand. the weight of the stand should be double to three times the mass of the machine. so mounting it on an 10x10 I-beam with a set of adjustable legs should work really well. that will also take a lot of the chatter out your heavier cuts. simply bolting it to the workbench will work to a point but the harmonics problem isn't really resolved. the other thing i would recommend is to shitcan all of the bolts and screw that came with the machine from the factory and replace them with a good quality screw and nut. "ABC" brands.. anything but chinese work really well. the one thing that can't be overcome in shitty chinese made machines is the metallurgy. so copious amounts of loctite are your only real option beyond re-doing the holes and threads. drilling two holes in the compound to access the bolts that hold the compound in place would be a good idea instead of cranking the compound to the end of the lead screw all the time. just thread the holes and put in a flush cut screw with a slot on it so it isn't protruding that tool post is also not very good. i would recommend replacing it with a multifix style, there are plenty of indian and chinese knockoffs out there at a reasonable price there's my two cents worth cheers mike
The main gripe i have with these lathes is the lack of mass, lathes dating from 50s & 60s are usually mounted on a heavy cast iron base and it makes a hell of a difference to the rigidity
somewhat like your review but give mixed reviews, to start with when a fellow starts out doubt that he wants to spend a lot as you stated, I have two Harbor Freight 7X10 lathes I got the first one to make parts for a 12 inch Atlas now the fever has turned into 9 lathes, with the biggest 20" Swing with a 12' bed so it all how deep in a fellow wants to get, I can say that they are a very good machine for the cost, we can't blame the machine for mistakes that we make had to realize that, just smaller cuts and you talked about left hand threads, to cut them start at the chuck and machine toward the tail stock with the chuck spinning towards you and they will be left hand, don't be so hard on them, don't discourage the fellow just starting out, take care.
You will want a lathe big enough to As a Example after you learn your lathe you will be able to take a 6mm x 47 Bat Benchgun bull barrel off then cut, turn, rechamber & thread it to 16 Tpi to a Rem 700 in 243, then later you can take the same barrel off and cut the chamber off and rechamber and thread it to 20 tpi and rechamber to a 6 mm Dasher for a Savage action, then after you get sick of shooting that, you can take the same barrel off and cut, turn, rechamber and thread the barrel to a .8125-16 TPI for a barrel extension on it for a 6mm Grendal and make a Ar-15 barrel. This shows a little of the absolute dominance you can have when you master your lathe, taking a barrel off of one gun and rechambering and threading it for another totally different gun with a different size case but same bore dia. barrel. ebay has a 165 lbs 8x31 lathe with 38mm spindel bore cuts inch threads $ 1,799 www.ebay.com/itm/323871040489
great video! i just bought this lathe and am learning. i found that two utility knife blades dulled down on the grinder make perfect height shims for the 5/16" tools i bought lol probably not actually perfect but i am new
I've only watched a few of your videos so I might be missing a lot of background but since a lot depends on what one wants to do with a tool the question might be what you do with it and is it more of a hobby or a business. What direction are you moving in the future in terms of your tool needs? i think you gave the tool a very fair review, clearly the tool has limitations related to size and the need to reach (down) to meet a price point and an overall weight consideration. It would be nice if somebody did some of the upgrades before the purchase such as the steel internal gears, roller bearings, and maybe the alternative tool post. I've owned a number of things especially cars, where I wished that the manufacturer had put in a few hundred extra into it moving it from say acceptable to the good column. At least make that an option.
One mod I got to thinking about after you mentioned the door for your gear changes that you leave off. Why not drill out the screw holes and drop in a magnet down the shaft and then countersink one into the cover. That way you can pop it on and off really quick. My grizzly hasn't arrived yet but it's exactly what I did for my micro mill rear cover. Just a thought!
Hey that's a pretty good idea! I like it, I might try it out (Or I might just continue leaving the cover off, haha) Thanks for the input and thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing the internal metal gears, i'll buy those immediately. i have the same lathe for 6 months and I always complains why those gears are plastic and I had the same issue that you had first on the low gear.
+Nassar Mansour the steel gears are a must! Here's the video where I install them and the tapered roller bearings czcams.com/video/Kgane3DVGmY/video.html
Something that may help with your forward and reverse lever is altering the tip shape of the piece that engages with the metal on the machine and drilling the detents deeper. You may also try some high quality nuts and set-screws without the big heads on your gibs.
To make the side cover removable, just epoxy a couple of small, rare earth magnets, to the cover and to the lathe. The cover will snap into place and be easily removed when necessary.
Not to ruin your fun...but I don't know how anyone could be satisfied with such a small Lathe. I bought a 7x16 Duluxe model #5200 from Little Machine Shop this year and was very unsatisfied. All it did was make me want a lathe that would actually do something, so I bought the Grizzly G0776 13x40 and am very satisfied with it. Just beware, don't throw your money away like I did. I spent $1600 on the mini plus tooling.
BUT - what about size and weight? I want to make little pieces like coupling collars to attach to 1/4" shafts and make plastic knobs ... how big a machine needed to do that?
The price of this lathe has doubled since this video was made. I'm sure this is also true for most everything else you need to get set up. I wonder if the value proposition holds. I am looking at the smaller proxxon as I'm focused on tiny RC engines. When I price it out with all the extras I want, (4 head, HSS tooling, tail end chuck, live center, etc) it ends up costing about the same. In my view, I start with a higher quality machine by sacrificing automated thread cutting. I think I'm ok with that, but still researching.
I would be interested what machine you would recommend for a beginner in 2023 considering the changes in the machines and also a list of features that are a absolute must and stuff to avoid. Not holding out hope for a answer though.
It sounds like a good basic beginner lathe and would be even better if one found one used from somebody ready to upgrade to a larger model. I can't help thinking that if you bought it new and still wanted to do the upgrades to the headstock, tool holder, and adding a 4 jaw chuck that you might well find a better quality lathe used. I would definitely get this version rather than the Harbor Freight just because of the tailstock having the camlock. Most reviews I've seen of the HF one hate the need for a wrench to adjust it's position.
I had an idea you might consider for the covers you want to be able to remove quickly.. What do you think about putting some magnets on brackets? I have started using magnets more and find they come in handy for so many things. Anyways, thanks for the review. Very helpful points to consider.
Good review, I have one that I bought at Busy Bee, and I have also installed a larger chuck. I believe Little Machine shop Has a small Latch like ours with power cross feed.
The torque issue with the motor is so typically what these lathes are about...…..you can get the speed range but no grunt...…...UNLESS you get a bigger motor. That's the answer to it in a nutshell, no getting away from it. You have to compromise in that department and go to a 3 phase 1 HP motor with a VFD type of set-up. If the current set-up is VFD adjustable then it's just a bigger motor.....makes a huge difference. My micro lathe..... 50mm centre height..... that I built many years ago has a 3/4 Hp 3 phase motor and a VFD.
Thanks for sharing Jeff! @ 13:12 can you drill access holes and fab some magnetic plugs? @ 19:10 magnets on the shield @28:10 make a steel version .. def steel gears : ) any thoughts or knowledge on the Smithy Granite XT? ... Be Blessed
Actually it's not a SIEG version, I've contacted Little Machine Shop and I couldn't order parts that were intended for true SIEG, Grizzly told me that they have their own contract with manufacturer in China. It does have similar parts so some might be interchangeable with SIEG.
The difference in quality between the 7065 and the 8688 must be a lot more than I realized. The 8688 is unusable out of the box due to poor manufacturing standards of the compound and cross slide. I would have sent it back but since I know what is wrong with the 8688 and know how to fix it, I don't want to start over with another lathe. Your videos are very good and helpful.
Thank you for the input, William! I have no first hand experience with that model but you aren't the first commenter to mention it's shortcomings, which is very discouraging. Thank you for sharing and best of luck to you!
The quality wasn't entirely unexpected but does require me to purchase a milling machine sooner than desired. I purchased a set of gibs from minimachineshop.com and it made the lathe operational, however I still have to do a lot of work on the compound and cross slide to bring it up to my level of standards. Stay safe and keep your head down!
I'm looking for a small lathe that will allow me to re-line a .22 rifle barrel. Most small lathes have too small of a bore, but this one has 22mm, which is big enough to handle the barrel diameter. Standard practice is to re-bore the barrel half-way, then turn it around and finish through the other side. It seems this lathe would handle the task but you're obviously more familiar with this machine. Do you think it would work? Your video was impressive and I have subscribed. Thanks
Jeff, another great video. Thanks for the in depth review and opinions. Even with its "limitations" you put out nice work and I enjoy watching you working on it. Also been enjoying your mill work. How's the CNC conversion going?
+Fierceflyer55 thank you! That means an awful lot. The CNC conversions are moving, slowly right now because I'll be switching houses here in a month, but I've got the plans sorted out and have began sourcing parts and materials! Thanks for watching!
My hobby is all 1/25th scale, brass, resin, plastic! This machine is magic. Big surprise for me was the accuracy! I would certainly recommend for this purpose.
Exactly what my needs are!! Are these available for $550 -600’ish range?
Wouldnt most of us be more upset if we got a machine that DIDN’T require us to do some fiddling and fine tuning? It seems to be in our DNA to tinker and improve things. Great review, keep tinkering.
Thanks for a very thorough review. My father was a machinist and I've been using a lathe since I was five years old (and that was more than 60 years ago). I have a very old Craftsman 12 x 36 lathe in my hangar and I've been considering the purchase of a very small lathe for my home shop (hence the impetus to watch your video). Based on your comments, I think I will give some serious consideration to the G0602. One item to note: The centering of the chuck should be enforced by the fit of spindle flange shoulder into the bore on the chuck's mounting plate. If you're getting runout, it's because that fit is sloppy. Note two: English and grammar seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur. It was really refreshing (for a change) to listen to someone with decent grasp if these items.
About cutting left handed threads on the biggrr lathe. Put the tool in the holder upside down and spin the lathe chuck in reverse, using the ssme leadscrew nut engaging and direction(towards chuck). That is the way we used to make left handed acme threads.
This video is going on 2 1/2 years old and it is still just as useful and informative as the day it was first put on You Tube. I am in the process of purchasing my first metal lathe, I don't have a ton of money or the space for a large metal lathe and will most likely purchase a small or mini lathe. Not going to say I am ordering a Grizzly but it sure looks promising, especially after watching and listening to your in-depth video. You spoke using words that I understand and as such I learned a lot ! I will be watching more of your video's. Again THANK YOU SIR for taking the time to make this video !!!
This is an old video, quite well done. The standard answer to which lathe should I buy was his statement "the biggest you can afford." I very much agree with that. The cost of a lathe is less than half the cost of getting setup to do machining on it. Not only will you find it needs some improvements but you will be buying lots of accessories, tooling, measuring devices, etc. that may or may not be usable with your next lathe. I bought a much bigger first lathe. Had the space, power & $ to do so. No regrets. You will soon learn that you'd really like to have some way of milling. You can get, very limited, milling attachments for a lathe, to get started. But soon a little mill will be on your Xmas list.
An easy way to keep the cover for the gears in place is to simply epoxy some magnets on the body and on the cover.
Thread winner! Good idea ...
Dude, that's ingenious. I was just thinking that a hinged "door" style cover would be inconvenient any time you had to replace the gears or work on/adjust anything behind the cover. Magnets would make it easy to remove the cover in less than a second. Simply brilliant.
Yeah magnets BITCH!
Anthony Ferreira I have to agree with everybody else thank you very much for your comment and advice also thank you for watching my videos
If you turn any steel, some chips will find their way into the magnets and you will spend the same time cleaning them up
I can't believe I watched the whole video. It is exhaustively complete. Very well presented, thank you very much.
well it's a lathe czcams.com/users/postUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.
Great review and walk through of the machine. About a year ago i almost bought this lathe i was in need of a small lathe to build parts to convert my car to fuel injection. Just before i pulled the trigger on purchases i found a 6x18 atlas with tooling and milling attachment. It might be 40 years old but it a great little machine. Accurate and runs as true as the day she left the factory. favorite part of machine is the thread speed 55 rpm. Keep up the good work.
Very thorough review. That should give a prospective buyer some things to think about and sound footing for making a decision. Keep on keeping on.
Thanks Harold!
Yes. Excellent presentation. I'm a newbie so this was VERY informative.
What I would recommend to make this lathe a bit more ridged to to purchase a piece of 1" or 3/4" thick steel the width and length of your lathe and bolt the lathe to it. You should not bolt a lathe to a wood table. As the humidity changes the wood moves twisting the lathes' bed cutting a taper. If you really want to get into it first bolt the head end down. Put a good level (Starrett or Brown & Sharp) on the ways at the head stock end. Shim under the steel plate until the bubble touches one of the lines. Now move the level to the tail stock end and shim under the lathe at the tail stock. This will compensate for any twist in the steel. I did this on my 9" South Bend, Iron legs, bolted to a concrete floor. It is accurate to .0005" over 24".
Better not bolt to a steel plate as bed will probably twist/distort, you would need 'feet and bed machined parallel plus a precision plate which makes a cheap lathe more expensive than a full size one. Much better thing to do with a mini machine is bolt some 2x4 'stabilisers' extending to rear to prevent tipping and allow it to just stand on bench
For people wondering how to get the lathe bolted down. What my shop ended up doing was we drilled clamps into the table and clamped it down to the chip tray. Works really well for these light machines.
On observation that might be useful is that these lathes usually have castings that are really quite good. What they lack is proper finishing and fitting. Parts that are milled or machined are neither smooth nor flat even if they look good to the untrained eye. People that buy these lathes typically don't yet know enough to identify this as the cause of issues nor how to fix it.
The problems with parts moving against each other are all related to this issue. It doesn't take much lapping time to flatten and smooth contact surfaces but it makes a world of difference in how it works.
Your cross slide is a prime example. Gib screws are either too tight or too loose and never seen to hold when you've adjusted them to "just right". Pull it apart, clean everything really well. Fatten and smooth the shim and all mating surfaces. Apply light lubricant and reassemble. Run slide up so that the bearing block for the lead screw is all the way in closest to the captive nut, loosen and retighten the pillow block screws to align the lead screw with the nut. It's most critical when they're closest together. If there is only a washer or spacer fixed against the bearing, install a needle roller thrust bearing. They're cheap and will make a huge difference in adjusting out backlash while keeping smooth rotation. Check out YT vids on lapping and creating flat smooth surfaces. For areas you can't smooth consider a Teflon shim or tape. It's also a quick substitute for some of the above work. Once you have smooth flat bearing surfaces you'll be and to adjust the gib screws to eliminate free play and still have smooth movement more easily and abruptly. Hard to explain the feel. What you'll notice is the lack of that mixed "moves but drags too much" state that causes you to to loosen up more to move freely but then suffer too much free play.
The simple explanation is that the flatter and smother the two surfaces are the greater the surface area that's in contact when they first touch. Conversely, the thinner the gap that is needed between them to ensure they are not touching at any point. Only a thin film of lubricant is needed to float between two smooth flat surfaces. The greater the hills and valleys the thicker film must be to fill the difference.
Sometimes it is suggested to work part against part to wear them in to each other. It will smooth the surfaces but it will not solve flatness issues over distance.
As you spoke about fixes and repairs I figured about 400 to 500 was spent in replacing plastic with metal, better bearings and hardware fasteners. If you put that money in up front would you look to buy a lathe without these problems? Budgets though are a consideration. At least you can fix things over a bit of time. The questions in my mind is how much time was lost to downtime? How much confusion or frustration learning to use the lathe to figure out which problems were yours and which the lathe itself?
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
You can bond several neodymium magnets to the gear cover and lathe body. Makes detaching and reattaching fairly easy.
whoops, i shoulda read the comments. i just said this... and on a video thats AGES old. LOL
Personally, many years ago I went with the Big Dog Machine unit as their chucks are larger (4") and the unit has all that you have. I also added a 5" 5C chuck and collets for versatility. The Big Dog comes standard with both Steady and Follow rests and the tailstock is cam action as yours.
Great video, very thorough and objective. I'm looking at a small lathe and I am at the same point you were when you bought this one so this is a great reference for me.
Thanks for a rational, reasonable review. I'd wondered how those little lathes performed. I run a full size WWII era iron monster, but can see the appeal of the small machines.
I have a Sheldon lathe I want to rebuild. I'm a n00b, so I'm thinking of learning on a mini first. Your thoughts are appreciated and welcome.
Great review! I think you summed it up nicely at the end when you said "always buy the biggest lathe you can afford".
Easy to re-gear the lathe for even more torque. Kit on ebay comes with both gears and a new belt that is easier to get than the original belt. Lowers the rpms of the lathe but you almost never need the full speed. After you re-gear the motor you can make way bigger cuts with no stalling.
I have a slightly smaller mode of grizzly lathe and it works ok for me. I would like to put a longer and more robust compound slide on it though. I do agree with you on that the compounder could be way better.
For the gear cover, sand off the green paint in an appropriate spot, weld or rivet a couple tabs to the inside or outside of it where it doesn't interfere with anything. Get a couple magnets with the countersink in the center, such as
www.amazon.com/Manic-Magnets-Force-CounterSunk-Neodymium/dp/B01DYL12WQ/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1475808458&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=countersunk+magnet
Attach those magnets to the tabs you added to the gear cover and you have your quick access cover that holds itself to the lathe.
And also, the magnets I chose are just an example. The pull force on those are going to be really strong. Something much smaller with less potential to interfere with the hall sensor or electronics in the box would be more appropriate. Not sure how small they make the ones with the countersinks, but you could always epoxy a small fridge sized neodymium to the tab.
+Theball Player that's a really clever idea, I like it!
Good ideal, could even use those magnets on the entire cover too, just put them where the screws go on the original cover. Do it to both covers(the motor cover and the gear cover) because he has a hard time changing gears without removing both covers.
Hey! I really enjoy your videos and this one in particular was pivotal in my decision to both buying one of these mini lathes and making a youtube video which fast forward 5 months has led to weekly videos and (at this point) 11k+ subscribers. So thanks :)
That's awesome man, so glad to hear it!!
Jeff.... and anyone watching this video, FYI - instead of buying the individual headstock gears, you can now (also) have the option of getting either both in one package from Little Machine Shop (as Jeff mentioned) under Part.No. 3448... Or, you can get the whole steel gear set, including the headstock gears under Part No. 3446 for $209.95 but is currently back-ordered but expected to be back in stock after April 19th, 2018. This conversion kit changes ALL the plastic gears in the 7X10/12 & 14" - X2 Series Lathes.
The Headstock gearset (2 gears - LMS Part No.3448 as mentioned above) also works with several Mini-Mills as well... ie; Grizzly G8689, and other branded, same mills.
Ok honestly i think that lathe is what you said it was, a good training machine to help you run a bigger lathe. What i basically see is smaller parts, smaller threads, etc. What i would like to see is its maximum capability. What kind of cut can it take? Does it turn threads with out chatter??? I can take your word for it but i would like to see some proof backing it up, but still some nice info on the modifications.
Page 12:00 compound scale limited span.
My first generation Grizzly 7x14 has two of zero reference markings in front of the angle scale. The first is for 0-45 degrees. The second is for 30-75 degrees. The two markings are separated by 30 degrees. When use the second, minus 30 degree from a target angle then set it to 15 degrees on scale.
If we can’t find the second reference, make one our selves. Blue ink then scribe, verify it give us 60 degrees and finish it with a permanent punch mark.
Hey, maybe would be possible to drive the power feed with a stepper motor and use a sensor in the spindle to keep track of the revolutions, that way you eliminate the need of changing gears
thank you. this was what i could afford when i bought mine. i mainly work with delrin, copper, aluminum, and acrylics and it is more than adequate for anything ive thrown at it, but again it has ONLY been used for very light work. i am going to be purchasing a few of grizzlys & little machines "upgrades" for mine so that i can do some work with steel and put heavy loads on it. i really appreciate all the the videos youve put out. you definitely helped me learn how to use mine. Very well done review, pretty thorough. I personally think the biggest "pro" for me is that if you own one of these, you can purchase or make any upgrade or replacement part for it, and to me thats a huge deal.
Thank you for your input too. As you write, not everybody is into cutting steel or working cast iron ...
There are three points at the electronic board where you can change the tork power beside one with the speed power and beside these two one that makes the relation between tork and speed. If you mark the starting position to set it back afterwards playing with them can improve the tork but the the high speed goes down a little.. You have to try if you don't like it set it back to where it was.
8 years later. Still a great video.
Thank you for the great review and comments.
Great video! Thank you. I also have one of these. The transmission has plastic gears, coupled with the powerful motor, mine ate the transmission and stripped out the key to the pulley gear on the motor. For about $100 you can upgrade all the gears to metal, and it takes about 2 hours to strip down the lathe and replace all the gears. I would have some way to press out the gear shaft bearings. I also had the power switch go Tango Uniform. It cost about $16 to get that fixed. I have also had to fix the RPM gauge wire which in the transmission area, as it got tangled in the gears, and got eaten. The power switch cover which has the RPM gauge is made of real cheap plastic. All my screw holes are cracking. I am going to have to beef it up soon. Other then that.. The metal parts are pretty nice. I am seeing roughly everything you point out.
I Suggest if you are not happy with the rigidity of your machine, get a mettle plate and bolt it below the catch plate. I suggest a 1/4" thick 12" wide and about 4" longer than your catch plate and place it under the catch plate, directly on your bench. this will add weight and rigidity to your machine
Great video. I see it is from 2016 so several years old. Still great info. It was very thorough and I very much appreciate your honesty in how you approached your review with both the pluses and minuses. The detail in the minuses you explained was excellent. I have wanted a lathe in my own shop arsenal for years. I had the opportunity to get a large floor mount 3-phase lathe for cheap back in 2009 but, unfortunately, had no where to put it, nor a way to provide 3-phase power. I'm toying with the idea of what would be reasonable and these mini lathes have been an interesting idea. However - as you said very well towards the end as to if you would recommend it or if you would buy it again - you out-grew it. That's exactly what I don't want - getting something "basic" that I grow out of, instead of grow in to. The quick-change tool holder is a no-brainer on any lathe, in my book. I would have never given any thought to the flex in an aluminum quick-change base. Thank you for pointing that out as well. Very well-done review!
The best accessories for my mini lathe... 5" chuck, live center and a live bullnose center for tailstock for doing larger stock and tubing. Plus of course quick change tool post and lots of tool holders. Saves so much time.
Depending on which type of 'horse power' you're talking about, my 550 watt version of this lathe is 3/4 horse power, so yours is about 17% more powerful.
Since I bought mine barely used, and it's one of the 'deluxe kit' versions, it came with a lot of toys/tools that bump the new price close to $1,000. Fortunately for me (but not the seller) I paid just 1/3 of that!
Overall my use of it will be to make new parts for not so new steam toys and miniature scale traction engines/steam rollers, mostly in brass and copper. Although it's capable of making new/improved parts in steel to make itself more precise!
In the near future I intend to add the milling function to it. Then (fingers strongly crossed) I might be able to machine some metal gears to replace the silly plastic ones.
My lathe came with a quick change tool post, but it's not much better than the standard one, so I've got a better one on order with extra inserts.
The word on the street is, if you have the later metal headstock gears, the main bearings are now of the taper roller flavour. Mine has the gears, but I'm not going to strip it down to check the bearings.
We should be thankful that China is still uprating/ugrading tools like this, rather than cutting corners - and quality - like a lot of Western companies.
All I need to do now is move all that wood and the, now unnecessary, wood turning lathe to bolt this one to the same bench.
A Safety note for the Novice operator - Never run at high Rev's when using the Face Plate and spin it in FREE Spindle (Neutral) to check the Balance before starting the machine on power. If out of balance, the slots in the Face Plate are there to Add Counterbalance Weight. Too much Out of Balance can result in Injury or Death if the Spindle Breaks off due the Centrifugal Forces.
I've been able to bolt mine down. The way I did it was to take short bolts (I think they're M6) and screw from the top down through the feet for positioning. When they pass through the feet, use that to mark your workbench and drill through. Then once the holes are done, use bolts that are long enough to pass through the bench to the lathe feet and screw from the bottom. Use washers, lock washers and nuts to secure from the to secure from the bottom. I'm using the rubber feet for vibration dampening as well.
I know this is a 4 year old video but it sure gives me a idea of what I want. I basically am going to make knives and need to turn down stainless stain nuts for the pommels on the end of the knife. and maybe some other small items. I like how you give us a place to get parts and upgrades. I hope there still available at the time I see this. But again thank you for taking the time for this video.
Excellent review sir! You outlined your review at the beginning, stuck to it, and wasted zero time in expressing your opinions. I’m at the dreamer stage (no space or coin for a huge lathe), and learned a great deal about the “mini world” from this video. I’m subscribing and watching your other videos now!
I fixed my F/R/N threading bar detent lever by drilling shallow 3/16 holes where the dimples are on the body and then I turned the detent pin square on the end and brought it down to slightly under 3/16 and now I have a nice positive lock on it.
On the 4 way tool post. I've found they work much better when you actually put 4 of your favourite tools in at once, as they support each other. Used this way, I've found changing between tools much faster than using a quick change tool post.
That's a great point! I will admit I've never had the need for 4 types of tools that would actually fit in this post. Usually I go between a turning (or contour) tool, maybe a threading tool, but then boring and cutoff tools, which can be adapted to the 4 way toolpost, but not in a way I cared for. That makes a lot of sense though and thank you for mentioning it (and thanks for watching!!)
Hey Jeff. It's been over two-years since we've seen anything on this great little lathe of yours. Please consider a short tear down video of the control box, view of the panel and layout of the control switches. Would also like to see how the motor is mounted and wired to the panel. Cheers brother
You can replace the nuts on the gibbs with ones that have holes drilled for safety wire. Then safety wire and tension against the direction in which they would unscrew. Same method used in high vibration applications on aircraft.
Great video, thanks. I'm thinking about getting one as an entry to the rabbit hole of machining. Wish me luck.
Hi Jeff, thank you for your great review of your mini lathe!
I´m located in germany and started with hobby machining last year.
I`m using a sieg C2 7x12 mini lathe and a sieg mini mill SX2 (brushless, high torque 500 W)
Both sold by our local internet reseller in germany, trade mark ROTWERK.
I really enjoy your tutorials, Many thanks again.
Greetings from Frankfurt /Main Germany,
Armin
Armin, Thank you for watching! It's always very interesting to me to hear from other people around the entire world, it is always incredible to me how connected the entire planet is! I'm glad you enjoy the videos and it's interesting to hear that there are even more different suppliers of these machines in various countries. Thank you for the input and thanks for watching!!
Good review. I've had my 7x12 LMS for over a year and like it a lot. I do recommend these lathes for beginners and they still have a place even after upgrading to something larger. I found a 10K South Bend on Craig's List which is terrific. Still, my 7x is not for sale as I continue to use it often. They are so fast to set up for a quick project. To anyone watching this review I can say it is quite thorough and the man has done an excellent job with the good and not so good. If someone thinks these are too small, check out what people are doing with the even smaller Sherlines. Thanks for taking the time to do this and keep your excellent videos coming.
I had another clone of this lathe they are all made by SIEG Ltd in Shanghai my one was blue i had to decide to improve the power and rigidity because i made over 80% steel and thats not what its build for. Its a good little lathe for beginners or model engineers but has its limits and after a little thinking period after using it for 12 month I sold it for a good price for me and the buyer and gave him lots of specific tools that i can't use on a bigger lathe for free. I then bought a new 265kg lathe with 1,5kw power and a D 1,4 Camlock spindle.... What a difference...as long as you dont cut steel this little lathe is enough but the harder the steel gets the smaller the cuts are that you can take..it's a real lathe no toy but for real work its to weak with motor power and not rigid enough... But you can cut steel as long as the cuts are not to heavy and you are patient enough.
A small amount (and I mean a small amount) of blue loctite is amazing for holding your hardware in place but forgiving enough to make adjustments when needed.
Great review . Everyone should start on a mini lathe. They are more forgiving then the bigger units.
That's a good point! There's a lot of things they're more forgiving of, and it's funny because there's also things that they are more difficult with, which I think makes for a better training tool.
This was an awesome review. I was originally thinking of buying the equivalent harbor freight version, but after your in-depth review I'm gonna go with Sieg.
I think I would build a dedicated workbench and pour a 3-4" slab for the top to bolt this machine to. I have used this method for my drill press and grinder to fantastic success.
I wish I had know of little Machine shop when IK owned the earlier version of this lathe. I made most of the upgrades by my own design. I remove the chip pan and welded the lathe to a piece of 8 inch channel iron to study it up.
To anchor the machine to that bench you can buy or make 1/4" J bolts. Just drill holes along the perimeter and bolt down from the bottom.
Almost bought one,, but found a vintage atlas lathe,,12 x 36,, 400 lb beast,,, but got it for 650 dollars the tools I got was worth that,,and has the commercial quick change gearbox, bolt are clamp it down will make a big difference in performance for you.
My lathe has a stand but if I want to add a lot of weight to it I was going to mount a 100ltr drum and fill with cutting fluid. you get a lot of rigidity and just dump the fluid if you need to to move later.
Thanks! Plan on getting a mini lathe soon (learning the craft). I live about 90 minutes from Springfield (NW AR) so if the have it on sale it'll be an easy trip for me. Good luck.
Want a, "flat" table to make the machine more rigid? Get a scrap piece of ~ 1" thick counter top granite or quartz just a couple of inches bigger than the machine. This stuff is milled and finished almost optically flat and will really dampen vibration. The down side is that it is heavy.
Thanks for the video, nicely done.
I have a very similar lathe, very happy with it so far. The plastic protractor on the compound slide is best removed and thrown away. I use a traditional engineer's protractor to set the angle, and I've scribed a couple of lines on the cross slide at 0° and 30° to help with setup, mostly I leave it at 30°.
I know about the problem with the lead screw feed engage lever disengaging under load, if you remove the bush under the clamping screw then when you tighten it, it locks the handle nicely. I always tighten the clamping screw before threading and that has worked ok for me so far. I plan to make a pin that will engage in a brass plate to get around this, and make it easier to select feed direction.
The biggest problem I had with the gearing was that the forward pinion gear had nearly seized on it's shaft, and the lead screw bearings were way out of alignment and binding, all of which put a huge load on the whole gear train. I had to shim the head-end lead screw bearing out by over 1.5mm (~0.06") and still it is a little stiff, and now the half nuts catch on the screw when I get really near the head end of the bed, fortunately has not been a problem so far.
There are metal gear sets for these lathes, as you say, if you cut threads often then these are a good investment. It's good perhaps, to leave the forward/reverse pinion gears as they come (plastic) as it's better that they fail if the gears jam or you crash the tool into the chuck as they are cheap and easy to replace.
Also, you should be aware that the graduation collars on the slides are usually marked '0.001" 0.025mm' - cannot be both! So make sure you know which is which on your lathe, use a dial gauge to verify. Small errors can multiply very quickly!
I bought a 100mm 4-jaw chuck for around £50, but the jaws aren't parallel and need grinding. For that you need a tool post grinder...
My advice to anyone thinking of buying a Chinese mini lathe is, be prepared to do some work on it before it's usable. If possible, take the entire machine apart and clean out all the 'shipping' grease (good for keeping out salt water but worth f#*k all as a lubricant), and reassemble with some good quality grease. Ö¿Ö
I threaded 2 barrels - one for 1/2 x 28, another for 5/8 x 24 using only cross slide which as you know is not a proper way as it requires a LOT more torque running at 60 - 80 rpm and it turned out fine. You just need to take finer cuts.
Thank you. I appreciate the work you put into this review, and your realistic approach.
Hi Jeff, very nice thorough review! I purchased the G0752 this year, and unfortunately, I'm not sure I could provide as many "Pro's" about mine.
Thanks for sharing!
Neil Smith agreed just purchased an x y table and had missing parts day 1, sent parts that were wrong and now 3 weeks later of a non useable tool there method of fixing issue was wait another week while they ship there chinesium parts and hope there right smh. Spend more buy american and the $ u save in down time and trying to get parts will pay for itself in no time yet alone the quality diff
You haven’t noticed the negativity on CZcams?
@@chrisjones6165, Even if you could find a US made lathe for this ultra cheap price, it would be worn out. 2 years ago I decided to buy a lathe. I'm retired from my manufacturing business so have a lot of experience with tools. I ended up buying a much heavier lathe but still a Chinese made one. It does what I wanted but is not a production level machine, doesn't need to be for my use. He said he could hold .003 to .005 tolerance. In metal work that is pretty poor. That means you will likely not be able to do a press fit. Maybe with enough trail & error? If I had this machine, I'd try to mount it to a ridged base so I could true the ways. That can be done by shimming and bolting to a good stiff steel base. I wouldn't use inserted carbide tools because they add considerable stress to the machine. HSS tooling works very well for anything this lathe is capable of. Personally, I prefer to make stuff rather than fix my tools. Something else to consider, You will end up buying a lot of "accessories." This was a very straight forward review.
Hi: I used a 1 inch thick piece of pine just a little larger then the footprint of the lathe to help hold it still on my workbench. I can still slide the lathe around when I need to. This base wood really stops the wiggle of the machine. I hope this helps as you stated that you didn't know what to do about the lathe moving around.
Page 34:00. Conical roller bearings?
Catches: there are two. (1) not permanent lube, requires routine lubricant. (2) no chip guard front and back. Other than that is OK.
Very great introduction to the machine. This will absolutely help with making a decision on what to buy. Thanks for your effort with this.
nice review.
one thing that will improve your rigidity/flexing is to mount the machine on its own base or stand. the weight of the stand should be double to three times the mass of the machine. so mounting it on an 10x10 I-beam with a set of adjustable legs should work really well. that will also take a lot of the chatter out your heavier cuts. simply bolting it to the workbench will work to a point but the harmonics problem isn't really resolved.
the other thing i would recommend is to shitcan all of the bolts and screw that came with the machine from the factory and replace them with a good quality screw and nut. "ABC" brands.. anything but chinese work really well.
the one thing that can't be overcome in shitty chinese made machines is the metallurgy. so copious amounts of loctite are your only real option beyond re-doing the holes and threads.
drilling two holes in the compound to access the bolts that hold the compound in place would be a good idea instead of cranking the compound to the end of the lead screw all the time. just thread the holes and put in a flush cut screw with a slot on it so it isn't protruding
that tool post is also not very good. i would recommend replacing it with a multifix style, there are plenty of indian and chinese knockoffs out there at a reasonable price
there's my two cents worth
cheers
mike
The main gripe i have with these lathes is the lack of mass, lathes dating from 50s & 60s are usually mounted on a heavy cast iron base and it makes a hell of a difference to the rigidity
somewhat like your review but give mixed reviews, to start with when a fellow starts out doubt that he wants to spend a lot as you stated, I have two Harbor Freight 7X10 lathes I got the first one to make parts for a 12 inch Atlas now the fever has turned into 9 lathes, with the biggest 20" Swing with a 12' bed so it all how deep in a fellow wants to get, I can say that they are a very good machine for the cost, we can't blame the machine for mistakes that we make had to realize that, just smaller cuts and you talked about left hand threads, to cut them start at the chuck and machine toward the tail stock with the chuck spinning towards you and they will be left hand, don't be so hard on them, don't discourage the fellow just starting out, take care.
You will want a lathe big enough to As a Example after you learn your lathe you will be able to take a 6mm x 47 Bat Benchgun bull barrel off then cut, turn, rechamber & thread it to 16 Tpi to a Rem 700 in 243, then later you can take the same barrel off and cut the chamber off and rechamber and thread it to 20 tpi and rechamber to a 6 mm Dasher for a Savage action, then after you get sick of shooting that, you can take the same barrel off and cut, turn, rechamber and thread the barrel to a .8125-16 TPI for a barrel extension on it for a 6mm Grendal and make a Ar-15 barrel. This shows a little of the absolute dominance you can have when you master your lathe, taking a barrel off of one gun and rechambering and threading it for another totally different gun with a different size case but same bore dia. barrel.
ebay has a 165 lbs 8x31 lathe with 38mm spindel bore cuts inch threads $ 1,799
www.ebay.com/itm/323871040489
great video! i just bought this lathe and am learning. i found that two utility knife blades dulled down on the grinder make perfect height shims for the 5/16" tools i bought lol probably not actually perfect but i am new
I've only watched a few of your videos so I might be missing a lot of background but since a lot depends on what one wants to do with a tool the question might be what you do with it and is it more of a hobby or a business. What direction are you moving in the future in terms of your tool needs? i think you gave the tool a very fair review, clearly the tool has limitations related to size and the need to reach (down) to meet a price point and an overall weight consideration. It would be nice if somebody did some of the upgrades before the purchase such as the steel internal gears, roller bearings, and maybe the alternative tool post. I've owned a number of things especially cars, where I wished that the manufacturer had put in a few hundred extra into it moving it from say acceptable to the good column. At least make that an option.
One mod I got to thinking about after you mentioned the door for your gear changes that you leave off. Why not drill out the screw holes and drop in a magnet down the shaft and then countersink one into the cover. That way you can pop it on and off really quick. My grizzly hasn't arrived yet but it's exactly what I did for my micro mill rear cover. Just a thought!
Hey that's a pretty good idea! I like it, I might try it out (Or I might just continue leaving the cover off, haha) Thanks for the input and thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing the internal metal gears, i'll buy those immediately. i have the same lathe for 6 months and I always complains why those gears are plastic and I had the same issue that you had first on the low gear.
+Nassar Mansour the steel gears are a must! Here's the video where I install them and the tapered roller bearings czcams.com/video/Kgane3DVGmY/video.html
8:58 - stickers from dema, steve and wes - i got three, that ain't bad
lol hi Nick!! channel name at Gmail if you wanna exchange stickers, would love to have yours on the toolbox :D
Practical Renaissance sent
Excellent professional quality review which shows the lathe as anything but professional. I guess one gets what one pays for.
Magnets for the cover , those super strong little disc or squares should hold it easily . Little lathes will work if you know how to make them.
Something that may help with your forward and reverse lever is altering the tip shape of the piece that engages with the metal on the machine and drilling the detents deeper. You may also try some high quality nuts and set-screws without the big heads on your gibs.
To make the side cover removable, just epoxy a couple of small, rare earth magnets, to the cover and to the lathe. The cover will snap into place and be easily removed when necessary.
cool video thanks for explaining so well. this is probably the lathe im getting to replace my harbor fright 7x10
Was losing my fate on finding a good'ish and cheap mini lathe to begin learning and doing small parts for my Hobby's,. This might be it.
Fantastic review! im starting to get the machining bug and i found this video very informative and helpful. thanks for posting!! subbed
I can't thank you so much for this review. this is gunna be my first lathe
Great review. Covered everything most people need to know about buying a small lathe.
Great video! I'd been considering getting the Harbor "Flake" model 'till I found your video. Thanks a bunch!
They are made at the chinese dump factory only difference is the stickers.
Almost all the parts are interchangeable between the brands. True story.
Not to ruin your fun...but I don't know how anyone could be satisfied with such a small Lathe. I bought a 7x16 Duluxe model #5200 from Little Machine Shop this year and was very unsatisfied. All it did was make me want a lathe that would actually do something, so I bought the Grizzly G0776 13x40 and am very satisfied with it. Just beware, don't throw your money away like I did. I spent $1600 on the mini plus tooling.
BUT - what about size and weight? I want to make little pieces like coupling collars to attach to 1/4" shafts and make plastic knobs ... how big a machine needed to do that?
Dude, AWESOME stuff. Very thorough, but still concise. Well done, sir.
Thanks For the video, I appreciate how in depth you got with the lathe. Keep up the great work and thanks for helping me pick out my lathe.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!!
The price of this lathe has doubled since this video was made. I'm sure this is also true for most everything else you need to get set up. I wonder if the value proposition holds. I am looking at the smaller proxxon as I'm focused on tiny RC engines. When I price it out with all the extras I want, (4 head, HSS tooling, tail end chuck, live center, etc) it ends up costing about the same. In my view, I start with a higher quality machine by sacrificing automated thread cutting. I think I'm ok with that, but still researching.
I would be interested what machine you would recommend for a beginner in 2023 considering the changes in the machines and also a list of features that are a absolute must and stuff to avoid.
Not holding out hope for a answer though.
It sounds like a good basic beginner lathe and would be even better if one found one used from somebody ready to upgrade to a larger model. I can't help thinking that if you bought it new and still wanted to do the upgrades to the headstock, tool holder, and adding a 4 jaw chuck that you might well find a better quality lathe used. I would definitely get this version rather than the Harbor Freight just because of the tailstock having the camlock. Most reviews I've seen of the HF one hate the need for a wrench to adjust it's position.
I had an idea you might consider for the covers you want to be able to remove quickly.. What do you think about putting some magnets on brackets? I have started using magnets more and find they come in handy for so many things. Anyways, thanks for the review. Very helpful points to consider.
Good review, I have one that I bought at Busy Bee, and I have also installed a larger chuck. I believe Little Machine shop Has a small Latch like ours with power cross feed.
The torque issue with the motor is so typically what these lathes are about...…..you can get the speed range but no grunt...…...UNLESS you get a bigger motor. That's the answer to it in a nutshell, no getting away from it. You have to compromise in that department and go to a 3 phase 1 HP motor with a VFD type of set-up. If the current set-up is VFD adjustable then it's just a bigger motor.....makes a huge difference. My micro lathe..... 50mm centre height..... that I built many years ago has a 3/4 Hp 3 phase motor and a VFD.
Thanks for sharing Jeff! @ 13:12 can you drill access holes and fab some magnetic plugs? @ 19:10 magnets on the shield @28:10 make a steel version .. def steel gears : ) any thoughts or knowledge on the Smithy Granite XT? ... Be Blessed
Actually it's not a SIEG version, I've contacted Little Machine Shop and I couldn't order parts that were intended for true SIEG, Grizzly told me that they have their own contract with manufacturer in China. It does have similar parts so some might be interchangeable with SIEG.
The difference in quality between the 7065 and the 8688 must be a lot more than I realized. The 8688 is unusable out of the box due to poor manufacturing standards of the compound and cross slide. I would have sent it back but since I know what is wrong with the 8688 and know how to fix it, I don't want to start over with another lathe.
Your videos are very good and helpful.
Thank you for the input, William! I have no first hand experience with that model but you aren't the first commenter to mention it's shortcomings, which is very discouraging. Thank you for sharing and best of luck to you!
The quality wasn't entirely unexpected but does require me to purchase a milling machine sooner than desired. I purchased a set of gibs from minimachineshop.com and it made the lathe operational, however I still have to do a lot of work on the compound and cross slide to bring it up to my level of standards.
Stay safe and keep your head down!
Look at the 'Steve Jordan' CZcams videos on the mini lathe. He has some great modifications!
I'm looking for a small lathe that will allow me to re-line a .22 rifle barrel. Most small lathes have too small of a bore, but this one has 22mm, which is big enough to handle the barrel diameter. Standard practice is to re-bore the barrel half-way, then turn it around and finish through the other side. It seems this lathe would handle the task but you're obviously more familiar with this machine. Do you think it would work? Your video was impressive and I have subscribed. Thanks
7x14 mini lathe 32mm bore www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-lathe-machine-hobby-lathe-micro-lathe-Mini-Bench-Lathe-Machine-C2/1458092639.html
No lol.. it will never work ... how in the world are you going to do rifling in the barrel?
Jeff, another great video. Thanks for the in depth review and opinions. Even with its "limitations" you put out nice work and I enjoy watching you working on it. Also been enjoying your mill work. How's the CNC conversion going?
+Fierceflyer55 thank you! That means an awful lot. The CNC conversions are moving, slowly right now because I'll be switching houses here in a month, but I've got the plans sorted out and have began sourcing parts and materials! Thanks for watching!