mini lathes?

[davee1]

Does everyone still agree that the Cummins 7X12 is the way to go, or is there a better deal out there?

It's one of the best deals, homier.com (when they have them in stock) has it for 100 less but no accessories. Stay away from the Harbor Freight machine as its actualy 4" shorter in bed length despite being listed as 10".   littlemachineshop.com supports the SIEG lathes much the same as archerairguns supports Industry brand QB78 family.  

Cheers
Mark

[davee1]

Yes, I saw some comparisons on the littlemachineshop and it sure looks like the Cummins model is the best bargain for your buck.  So, I gather that the Cummins model is made by SEIG and if any accessories are needed for the Cummins model, you can buy them at littlemachineshop.com.

Yeah its much the same as relationship as the Archers have with Industry brand.  Chris Woods has visited the factory in China and keeps all spare parts on hand for the container importers like HF, Grizzley, Enco, Cummins, Micromark, Homeir and so on.  The container importers can buy large volumes of complete machines but supporting aftermarket is a loosing deal for them.  So thats where the nich market developed for the hobbiest folk.  He's added allot of stuff in the last five years and while its not always the absolute lowest price its decent quality and will actually work as he won't sell it unless he's tried it.

[Gene_SC]

I bought the Homier mini lathe before I started up AirGunToys. Sure had my problems with it. The switch box went bad in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I bought a replacement from LittleMachineShop which was a great improvement over the one that came with the Homier Mini Lathe. I ended up buying a much larger lathe from Travers. It is an OMT which is 9"X 27" . It is a heavier duty lathe and weighs almost 400lbs...:) I am very happy with it but I again had electical problems and had to do some re-wiring with Bob's help...:) I am no electician and Bob just happens to be an Electical Engineer amonst many other things..:) I do not know what I will do with the Mini Lathe now. It just sits there in the corner. I had bought a load of tooling for it. Quick Change, Also the DRO's and I could go on and on..:)

Gene

[davee1]

Gene, where did you buy your Homier?

Gene_SC - 8/13/2007  11:49 AM

 I do not know what I will do with the Mini Lathe now. It just sits there in the corner. I had bought a load of tooling for it. Quick Change, Also the DRO's and I could go on and on..:)

Gene

You could always send it to me. I'm looking for one but they cost too much down here. HEHE

[Crimson Sky]

I had lusted after the Unimat SL1000 for almost 25 years, and now it seems there are more mini lathes and mills than ever before available. My father-in-law Peter gave me his barely used Unimat SL1000 a few months ago, (he also pined after it for years, and finally bought one in 1973) and it was like a childhood dream come true. It is a great learning/collectors tool, and I'm SO ready to move on to something more modern and accurate. I dunno why I waited so long to take advantage of what you can build with these tools.

[Gene_SC]

I bought it directly from Homier. I forgot to mention that when it first came, it was damaged bad and they sent me another one right off. Then sent UPS back to pick the old one up. I got the replacement withing 3 days.

Gene

[davee1]

CrimsonSky, that's what I said to myself when I bought my drillpress, tablesaw, sliding compound miter saw, most of my airguns, and especially my Beta Master Shooting Chrony. Shoulda got that a *long* time ago...  "Why did I wait so long?"

Now that longing deep inside of me is burning for a mini-lathe.  Once I get that, then I can build a special doghouse with the rest of my tools...because my dear wife will be needin' me to stay in there.  That is until something needs to be fixed  or a moth/fly/wasp/spider needs to be killed with a few pumps of the trusty Crosman 1377, then I will have to go back out again.
"Men er' only good fer fixin' an' killin' stuff"
hehe

[NMCA_Ron]

I recently got a used Sherline mini lathe from my brother. I am quite impressed with the quality and it is MADE IN USA!!!!!

I checked out the price of a new one, just for reference, and I was pleased to see they are not out of line for such a nice quality piece. Check out their mini lathes and mini mills (heck,they even have CNC stuff available!) at http://www.sherline.com.

Ron

NMCA_Ron - 8/27/2007  9:42 AM

I recently got a used Sherline mini lathe from my brother. I am quite impressed with the quality and it is MADE IN USA!!!!!

I checked out the price of a new one, just for reference, and I was pleased to see they are not out of line for such a nice quality piece. Check out their mini lathes and mini mills (heck,they even have CNC stuff available!) at http://www.sherline.com.

Ron

The other US made mini lathe is the Taig and its a bit cruder but a bit more robust.  The Taig mill is certainly allot heavier duty than the Sherline.  Many people use Sherline accessories on their Taig lathe & Mills.  One of these days I need to get up to Vista CA and tour Sherlines museum of mini lathes it looks interesting from their photos.

The 7x Chinese lathes are around 80lbs and have a MT3 spindle taper, they are quite a bit larger in respect to Sherline & Taig.

Cheers
Mark