Micro Lathe

[some bloke]

The jaws should be parallel over their whole length and they should run true within a couple of thou. If this is a new machine you should return it, if used I would ask the seller for a partial refund/money back. If they are 'soft' jaws you can true them up but I suspect they are 'hard' ones which won't really be feasible as they would need grinding. If you do go for a new chuck I think there is a slightly larger than standard version available which might well be a worthwhile choice.

It's a brand spanker Terry: http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue ... Baby-Lathe

There is a better chuck made that fits it.

I have to say I'm very peed off about this. I sort of accepted the first attempt with the ally being about 60mm long might have been too optimistic an overhang but the second attempt is with the 1" diameter rod less than 40mm overall length. The only time I can get a decent cut - with a feeling of satisfaction - is if I use the live centre in the tail stock. It truly cuts lovely then and produces a somehow very satisfying birds nest.

While I'm having a bitch, a 16mm drill bit or milling tool would be a handy plan B for the driver socket being as the job won't lock in the jaws - but drills and cutters don't fit 8mm capacity tail stock chucks. Who'd of thunk they even make chucks with an 8mm max drill shank size.

I accept there would be limitations - but honestly thought the thing would be capable of machining a 1" long x 1" diameter aluminium component.

I'm emailing them a link to this topic - wonder if any of them are shooters?

[terry1001]

Dave, a lathe is little use if the chuck jaws aren't parallel and won't grip a piece of round stock properly. This would fall under the 'fit for purpose' part of the Sale of Goods Act. If it were me I would want either the chuck replaced with a good one or the whole machine swopped over. I'm not a turning expert by any means and I can only say what I do, I have a Clarke CL500 lathe/mill which I got second hand and needed work doing to make it work how I wanted. Turning between centres does produce better results in most cases but you can't always do it, equally the right type of tool (nicely ground) and run at the correct speed will help considerably. I have seen tables of rpm for various diameters of different materials to get best results but I just go by ear these days.
The main limitation I find is the small spindle hole which means you can't feed the work through the headstock, I'm fed up with hacksawing bits of bar off and then having to square the ends and wasting a lot of material. If your tailstock has a morse taper fitting then you can get adapters to increase the socket size but they may well bring you too close to the chuck but they would take MT drills or reamers and bigger/better drill chucks as well.

[SikaStag]

Dave without offending you and any other person that has bought a Micro lathe.

Using a 16mm drill in this little lathe could possibly burn the motor out. It has an 8mm size for a reason.
I think people are expecting too much from something that is really way undersized for doing possible bigger jobs that you are expecting it to do.
As for the chuck not being concentric. That is a major issue. Until that is addressed you are banging your head of the wall. You can still a cylinder with a chuck that is not square. You are left with the part that is held in the chuck needing cut off to make the part a cylinder. It is all too much work for little gain. I think anyone considering one of these small lathes should spend some time on Ebay and look at some of the older lathes that are a bigger that are able to use the larger tools and give way more user friendly operations to carry out the tasks that you require. I am still talking table top Lathe. Older is better than newer when it comes to Lathes. I am talking about some of the larger machine shop lathes as well.

My Harrison M300 will be not far under 20 years old. All new Harrison Lathes have been made in China for the last 10 years probably. Read any posts on the computer regarding the Harrison lathes, buy an old one not a new one.

Ian

[terry1001]

Ian is quite right in what he says and the micro/mini lathes are limited in what they can do although if you take light cuts with sharp tools you can achieve quite a lot although it can be a slow process. I think in this instance Dave didn't want a large machine so that he could put it out of the way when not in use. I find that you can never have enough machine tools and wish I had space to store them, maybe it's good that I am restricted by space or I would spend all my time in the workshop but every time I see a nice vertical mill with power feeds or a capstan lathe with all the tooling I can feel my wallet trying to get out of my pocket.
Hopefully the seller of the lathe will put it right asap.

[some bloke]

Cheers lads - I might have to consider a larger one and re-wire the timber workshop because at the moment it's power supply is a fused spur off a spur. That would need quite involved hacking round the walls of the house to get a ring main in there. I guess an extension lead would do the trick but I cant really see this going much further and don't anticipate many sales to pay for all that.

I had an Email from the importer - he couldn't access this site to click on the video link to see what the issue is. I should have sent the youtube link directly to him. I have now sent the link and will call him back in a bit.

EDIT:

As said much earlier in this thread the chap at the importers seems a real nice gent. He's seen the video and refund has been offered, which would see me getting a more capable one. The possibility of part exchanging it for a larger one has also been mooted for discussion.

I have this special offer one in mind:
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue ... Mini-Lathe

I've had a word with the wife and she's happy enough for me to use it in the conservatory if I get some kind of cover for it - which I have to say pleasantly surprised me.

[SikaStag]

Dave

The supply that is going to my workshop is ancient. Would not work the air compressor . I have a 32 amp 240 volt extension cable that I put out a window to get power to the Workshop. When I say Workshop, I am talking an outhouse on a 300year old farm. My lathe would not work if I never did this. I have everything done with the correct fittings breakers and 240v industrial sockets. During the gales and real bad winds we had. I lost the power that was going to the sheds. I have no clue where the break is. I now depend on the 32 amp extension cable to work everything. It works for me. I do not have much of a choice really, its that or nothing.

Got a visit from my father today. He helped me at the lathe all afternoon and is about to have dinner with us, then back out to the lathe. He is 76 and keen as mustard.


Ian

[some bloke]

Bless him, I'll bet he's enjoying having something do too.

As said much earlier in this thread the chap at the importers seems a real nice gent. He's seen the video and refund has been offered, which would see me getting a more capable one. The possibility of part exchanging it for a larger one has also been mooted for discussion.

I have this special offer one in mind for that:
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue ... Mini-Lathe

I've had a word with the wife and she's happy enough for me to use it in the conservatory if I get some kind of cover for it - which I have to say pleasantly surprised me.

[terry1001]

They sound like a reasonable company. You might find a metric version more useful if you are going to think about cutting threads on torch bits, I think most of those are metric. If you are going to use it in the conservatory you're going to need to find a way to keep the swarf and chips under control, you won't like bits of metal trodden into your carpets in the house!

[some bloke]

They sound like a reasonable company. You might find a metric version more useful if you are going to think about cutting threads on torch bits, I think most of those are metric. If you are going to use it in the conservatory you're going to need to find a way to keep the swarf and chips under control, you won't like bits of metal trodden into your carpets in the house!

Good points Terry. I used the micro in there and used a small rubber mat on the carpet so I could carry it out to the bin for a shake off. We have kitchen wall cupboards around two sides of the conservatory with a narrow worktop above them. The Micro lathe fitted nicely into the lowered top shelf of one of them to hide it but the mini will have to remain on the worktop.