hobby lathe

[jimmy shoes]

hi,

i found a cute little hobby lathe on axminster and i would like you input please

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminster-SIEG-Axminster-SIEG-C0-Metal-Turning-Lathe-559017.htm

i wont really be turning anything complex, just want to turn down, cut threads, and put those fancy knurled textures on?

what you reckon

 

[shenion]

That's tiny: 4" swing, 5" between centers. It is about 2.2" swing over carriage.

No gear-cutting capabilty (there is an auto-feed option.) No standard taper on spindle or tailstock. So, you can use standard tapered attachments.

I had a Sherline 3.5"x8". When you put in a drill chuck, you are left with about 4" to work with. Then you need the length of the drill.

The Sherline was for brass and aluminum. The biggest steel it could handle was 1" before the bed flexed.

Knurling requires a stiff carriage. I doubt it would do it well.

 

[R Kraft]

I have one like this.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/silkstone/minilathe/minilathe01.htm
Cleaned and adjusted, it works well for me.
I use a scissors type knurler on mine.
Robert

 

[jimmy shoes]

i've only got a small shed (6x6) and i've already got a workbench in there so im quite limited to the size of lathe i can get

 

[stormin]

The 7x12 mini lathes as suggested by Robert, have a huge following all over the world, esp USA.
There are very active forums and web-sites covering all the limitations and modifications to make it a very capable machine.
You could probably spend all your time doing the long list of mods and not actually make anything.
Buy the biggest you can afford / fit in. You'll always want to turn something bigger and push the limits of the machine eventually. Even the 7x12 lathes are just about small enough to be semi-portable, i.e. you could move it out of the way to do other jobs.
You can turn small jobs on a big lathe but you can't turn really big jobs on a small lathe.

 

[stormin]

This company sell the 7x12 mini lathe and just about any tool or accessory you could want for one.

http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/LATHES.html

 

[R Kraft]

Tooling for the lathe is a necessity.
You can get by with a few bits of this and that .
Once you get the lathe, you may end up wanting one of everything.
Here's what a scissors knurler looks like :
They tend to be made in India and sell for about $30, in the US.
When you get one, make sure the shank that it pivots on fits your toolpost.
Or get one that you can make a shank for.
Robert

 

[aero]

waste of money...you'll soon want something bigger. Buy a decent sized lathe first and save yourself the agro.

 

[chunkolini]

A mate of mine bought the next one from that for his pushbike shop, so no heavy usage. he hates it with a vengeance. Why? just about everything. Avoid.

Chunko'.

 

[R Kraft]

I've had my mini-lathe for about 9 years and don't think I could get along without it.
If you can afford a huge lathe and have room for it,go big.
Many people mount the minis on a piece of Formica cabinet top, and just set them on the workbench to use them.
If you look at the mini-lathe web sites you can make your mind up as to the plus and minus part of the mini-lathes.
Robert

 

[Tigman]

Just sold a Myford Super Seven Lathe on Ebay , nice machine , gearbox for thread cutting . Reccomend it for hobbyist !

 

[jimmy shoes]

aww you should have sold it to me lol

 

[badersbus]

I have got one of these Jimmy. I found it quite a decent little lathe for the money. Also these guys give excellent back up and lots of accessories available also.
Kirk
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/Model-C1-Lathe