OT: Metal Lathes?

[Jason Beam]

I can appreciate the sentiment, fellas. I really can. I have serious woodworking tools because ... well ... i'm serious about woodworking

Metal ... i may one day get serious about it, but at this point I'm having trouble even swallowing the $500-700 price tag as it is. From everything I've read, the little guy should be fair enough to at least get a taste for it. Even if it turns out it's not my bag, I'd still have a relatively handy thing for making small stuff when I feel like it.

I really can't imagine wanting to turn anything bigger than maybe 2" in diameter - and it'd likely be aluminum or brass. It'd also be pretty rare, I think. At least that's what I think today and I'm perfectly aware of the risk buying something too small carries with that. I'm friends with a few other guys who have both a small one like these and big ones because they got more serious about it.

The only way I can see wanting something bigger is if it turned into something more important to me than woodworking. I'm not sure that's gonna happen, honestly. I'm thinking more casually about metal working - to support my woodworking and maybe make a few jigs or knurled knobs and that kinda thing. If it really takes hold, buying a mini lathe now is gonna be the least of my worries. I've seen what big lathes and knee mills and surface grinders and such cost. It almost seems like $500-1000 now to see if I like it is a better way to dip your toe in the water.

Plus ... I ain't got room for anything bigger. If it becomes more important to me, i'll MAKE room, but for now woodworking comes first!

Thanks again for all the insights, though. I really do appreciate it.

[Thomas Bank]

Thomas, can you cut threads on it?

Yes. Although not with just that setup.

http://www.sherline.com/3100pg.htm

[Bruce Page]

Yes. Although not with just that setup.

http://www.sherline.com/3100pg.htm

Thanks, it's a cute little guy. It probably does very well on small parts.

[Brad Bartley]

If you pick up the mini-lathe, here's a great bookmark to have. It has just about anything you ever wanted to know about that model:
http://www.mini-lathe.com/

Also, you'll be amazed as to what that little thing can turn out. I thought it would be neat to be able to make custom hardware to accent your woodworking projects. Things like brass pull knobs, hinges, inlay accent pieces....things like that.

It seems all of the mini-lathes are just about identical. With Grizzly, at least you know who your buying from.

I say go for it!!! Good luck...

[Alan DuBoff]

Do yourself a favor and do not get a mini-lathe. I have a mini-mill, and the quality of them is quite poor in many regards.

I know that TonyZ owns a Grizzly 4000, and he's pretty happy with it for what it is. He said it has a metal gear in it, a big plus up from the mini-lathe, IMO. For toolmaking, any of them will do, even the mini-lathe, but be careful about those...you will get sucked in worse than a slightly more expensive machine if you want to do any amount of work on it...accessories and upgrades just never end on those machines...

That said, I have a couple friends that can do pretty good work on the mini-lathe, and mini-mill as well. If you only need to make small pieces, consider the Sherline or Taig. I like the Taig, as I am more familiar with it, a friend of mine has a CNC Taig mill/lathe setup. They are aluminum, but good stuff.

I struggled with this problem, for quite a while, and started to use a friend's lathe, who was helpful is getting me to learn some about cutting metal.

I ended up with an old South Bend 9A, these are pretty good little lathes, kinda what a lot of machinists feel is an entry level machine. I paid $650 for mine, but it didn't come with any tooling... I have a few things I've assembled and can do some basic work.

For the holiday season I treated myself to an Aloris toolpost for it, found one used, so snatched it up...

Bruce, nice looking lathe. Would be nice to have a 14" lathe when needed. I have had a couple things I've wanted to turn that my chuck is not large enough to hold, I have a 5" chuck on my 9" lathe. Of course a slightly bigger chuck and/or reversible jaws would be nice in the interim...