Advice needed on mill and lathe purchase

I have owned a HF 7x10 Mini Lathe since 2000. It has been a love/hate relationship as it has frustrated me, as much as it has taught me. I have tried many of the tuning and adjustments available on the internet over the years and it just won't hold anything for long. Nothing seems to be square or true on it. I can measure the backlash with a ruler rather than a micrometer and the ways look more like a roller-coaster than a straight line. To overhaul this machine would cost me nearly as much as a new machine so it is time to retire it.

Anyway.... I have decided to move up to some bigger/newer/better equipment. I am planning on getting both a new lathe and a mill. In reading the various forums, I constantly switch back and forth in my decision on what to buy.

I have been watching Craigslist for an old Southbend and Bridgeport without any luck. Anything that has come up has disappeared instantly or is so stripped as to be useless. I am in Houston so there is plenty of larger equipment available but I don't have 3 phase power.

I have a garage shop with a 50 amp 220v sub-panel. It is pretty crowded in there so I can't get any massive equipment. My budget has to be around $3k so that limits me to the benchtop tools. I am looking to get reliable results in a timely manor, but I am not building steam engines so accuracy beyond .001" is not needed. I need to be able to turn a steel part in minutes not hours!

For a mill I am thinking either the Grizzly 704 or the 619. I have a home built CNC wood router that needs some improvements so I would like to keep the CNC conversion of the mill open. I can leverage the stepper motors/controller boards/mach 3 stuff that I already have.

For a lathe, I am thinking a Grizzly 602 or 4000. I have read some serious criticism of the 9x20 class of machine so I am also thinking about going with the Micromark 7x16. Most of the frustration I have with the HF 7x10 is the shortness of the bed rather than the diameter of the work. I like the variable speed motor, but I have never been able to cut any threads let alone left-handed ones. I would like to do some small scale metal spinning so a more powerful motor is necessary from the one I have now.

I am not opposed to other models than the Grizzly. Grizzly seems to have the best balance of price/quality/included accessories.

So.... any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Neil

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpookyDad

I have owned a HF 7x10 Mini Lathe since 2000. It has been a love/hate relationship as it has frustrated me, as much as it has taught me. I have tried many of the tuning and adjustments available on the internet over the years and it just won't hold anything for long. Nothing seems to be square or true on it. I can measure the backlash with a ruler rather than a micrometer and the ways look more like a roller-coaster than a straight line. To overhaul this machine would cost me nearly as much as a new machine so it is time to retire it.

Anyway.... I have decided to move up to some bigger/newer/better equipment. I am planning on getting both a new lathe and a mill. In reading the various forums, I constantly switch back and forth in my decision on what to buy.

I have been watching Craigslist for an old Southbend and Bridgeport without any luck. Anything that has come up has disappeared instantly or is so stripped as to be useless. I am in Houston so there is plenty of larger equipment available but I don't have 3 phase power.

I have a garage shop with a 50 amp 220v sub-panel. It is pretty crowded in there so I can't get any massive equipment. My budget has to be around $3k so that limits me to the benchtop tools. I am looking to get reliable results in a timely manor, but I am not building steam engines so accuracy beyond .001" is not needed. I need to be able to turn a steel part in minutes not hours!

For a mill I am thinking either the Grizzly 704 or the 619. I have a home built CNC wood router that needs some improvements so I would like to keep the CNC conversion of the mill open. I can leverage the stepper motors/controller boards/mach 3 stuff that I already have.

For a lathe, I am thinking a Grizzly 602 or 4000. I have read some serious criticism of the 9x20 class of machine so I am also thinking about going with the Micromark 7x16. Most of the frustration I have with the HF 7x10 is the shortness of the bed rather than the diameter of the work. I like the variable speed motor, but I have never been able to cut any threads let alone left-handed ones. I would like to do some small scale metal spinning so a more powerful motor is necessary from the one I have now.

I am not opposed to other models than the Grizzly. Grizzly seems to have the best balance of price/quality/included accessories.

So.... any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Neil

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Neil - I have a G0704 and its been pretty nice. I've had just a few issues with it, and those have mainly been on the CNC conversion and my own ignorance (my first conversion). It seems to cut well and holds decent tolerances in manual (I haven't really cut anything CNC yet via program so I can't tell on that yet).

I like the travel on the 704, a little bigger than the 619 - but they are probably both pretty nice (the 704 is a bit cheaper though).

On the lathe, I would get the G0602 - just a little more money for a bigger lathe. I've heard it is far superior to the 9" as well. I want one of these myself and may get one early next year.

I have a 7x10 HF lathe and am puzzled why you can't turn threads? I have several times with no problems at all. Maybe something is broken on yours?

Good luck deciding!

Doug

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpookyDad

Most of the frustration I have with the HF 7x10 is the shortness of the bed rather than the diameter of the work.

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Just in case a lathe bed extension might be an attractive option for you, in case you are not aware of it, you can get a kit from Little Machine Shop to upgrade your 7x10 mini lathe into a 7x14 one:


LittleMachineShop.com - Bed Extension Kit 14"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dugpits

Neil - I have a G0704 and its been pretty nice. I've had just a few issues with it, and those have mainly been on the CNC conversion and my own ignorance (my first conversion). It seems to cut well and holds decent tolerances in manual (I haven't really cut anything CNC yet via program so I can't tell on that yet).

I like the travel on the 704, a little bigger than the 619 - but they are probably both pretty nice (the 704 is a bit cheaper though).

On the lathe, I would get the G0602 - just a little more money for a bigger lathe. I've heard it is far superior to the 9" as well. I want one of these myself and may get one early next year.

I have a 7x10 HF lathe and am puzzled why you can't turn threads? I have several times with no problems at all. Maybe something is broken on yours?

Good luck deciding!

Doug

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It isn't that I can't cut threads, it is more that there is so much slop in everything that the threads are almost unusable. When I got the lathe, I didn't know enough to determine whether I had a lemon or not. I don't want to pour good money after bad.


I know about the bed extension, but it also needs a new cross slide and tailstock. The tailstock runs down towards the headstock and I can't get shims right to correct it.

I got this lathe and it's been awesome. Bigger bed and takes up little room.

MicroLux 7x16 Mini Lathe

It's pretty hard to go wrong with the G0602 and G0704 combination. Both seem to be well regarded here and there is a wealth of information on how to CNC the mill. Once you choose a mill and lathe, a good project would be to CNC your 7x...

bob

I went with the 602 and the 619. They arrived Wednesday. I am still cleaning them

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SpookyDad

I have owned a HF 7x10 Mini Lathe since 2000. It has been a love/hate relationship as it has frustrated me, as much as it has taught me. I have tried many of the tuning and adjustments available on the internet over the years and it just won't hold anything for long. Nothing seems to be square or true on it. I can measure the backlash with a ruler rather than a micrometer and the ways look more like a roller-coaster than a straight line. To overhaul this machine would cost me nearly as much as a new machine so it is time to retire it.

Anyway.... I have decided to move up to some bigger/newer/better equipment. I am planning on getting both a new lathe and a mill. In reading the various forums, I constantly switch back and forth in my decision on what to buy.

I have been watching Craigslist for an old Southbend and Bridgeport without any luck. Anything that has come up has disappeared instantly or is so stripped as to be useless. I am in Houston so there is plenty of larger equipment available but I don't have 3 phase power.

I have a garage shop with a 50 amp 220v sub-panel. It is pretty crowded in there so I can't get any massive equipment. My budget has to be around $3k so that limits me to the benchtop tools. I am looking to get reliable results in a timely manor, but I am not building steam engines so accuracy beyond .001" is not needed. I need to be able to turn a steel part in minutes not hours!

For a mill I am thinking either the Grizzly 704 or the 619. I have a home built CNC wood router that needs some improvements so I would like to keep the CNC conversion of the mill open. I can leverage the stepper motors/controller boards/mach 3 stuff that I already have.

For a lathe, I am thinking a Grizzly 602 or 4000. I have read some serious criticism of the 9x20 class of machine so I am also thinking about going with the Micromark 7x16. Most of the frustration I have with the HF 7x10 is the shortness of the bed rather than the diameter of the work. I like the variable speed motor, but I have never been able to cut any threads let alone left-handed ones. I would like to do some small scale metal spinning so a more powerful motor is necessary from the one I have now.

I am not opposed to other models than the Grizzly. Grizzly seems to have the best balance of price/quality/included accessories.

So.... any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Neil

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I think the micro-mark 7X16 is an ok machine very powerfull motor ...I still cannot turn a long (11") thin (3/8") 6061 without some type of taper ....so keep that in mind.. micro-marks customer service is very good ...

When i have some money I am going to buy the smithy Granite combo mill lathe ...just the lathe is worth the money


My G0704 will arrive on monday i plan on CNCing it Lots of stuff to do...one day at a time....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpookyDad

I went with the 602 and the 619. They arrived Wednesday. I am still cleaning them

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Congratz on your purchase. I'm sure you will be happy with the SX3 and G0602 lathe. You should post some pics of them before and after cleaning. It's amazing how nasty these things are. I'm amazed that I find casting sand in some of the places I do. It makes me think that they just have sand all over the plant and gets in every orfice and hole. It's a good idea to run a tap through all your threads and ensure they are cut all the way through.

I have posted the pics so far in my photobucket album.

New lathe and mill pictures by SpookyDad - Photobucket

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...warrivals2.jpg

I almost bought the 602 mill, table wasn't big enough for what I do. A bigger lathe is in my future too.

The tear-down and reassembly of the mill is almost complete now. I kinda forgot to take pics in the middle of the reassembly. Even though the wires and pc boards are clearly marked, I took plenty of reference photos of the wiring.

The issues that I found were:

Overall lack of deburring in the machined surfaces. Not much of a problem except where the machined surface is bearing on another machined surface. I did a lot of hand filing. More than was strictly necessary, but safer if future work needs to be done. A lot of the edges were razor sharp.

There were several dings and gouges in the machined surfaces. This is just poor handling. The gears were poorly cut with dull cutters. The outside of the gears are "mushroomed" out. It doesn't affect performance but it looks ugly.

There were 2 cap screws missing from the hand wheel mounting flange. When I reassembled the part, I found one of the holes was misdrilled and it was very difficult to snug it up. I also had to sand the edge of the plastic contact strip holder to make it seat properly.

The indicator rings on the hand wheels are not exactly concentric to the shafts so there is some wobble in the rotation.

Most of the "honed" holes were filled with cast iron dust that had to be cleaned out. I think I went through most of a roll of kitchen towel between the dust and the goop.

The main issue I have is with the table itself. It is hard to believe but there wasn't enough red goop on the underside of the table. There is rust beginning to form on the ways on the parts that overhung the crosslide. There are deep scratches/grooves running the length of the ways. The ways are too thin in one spot as there is some of the sand cast finish showing. It is below the ground surface so it isn't just a spot that wasn't ground down.

One of the ways on the cross slide looks like it was ground by hand by a drunk monkey. The head gib strip was ground by the same monkey. I spent a fair bit of time lapping that smooth(er).

I suppose most of this is par for the course in the Chinese tools but I am disappointed in the table itself.

If the ways have a defect large enough to effect the precision you might think about sending that one back.

I have a new G0704 and the fit and finish are vary good to perfect. Most here might say the 704 is a better mill for the money.