[flatlander]

Newbie inerested in purchasing a lathe and I'm looking at Busy Bee's Craftex models. By earlier messages to this list it seems the 10"x18" has built in problems meaning plastic gears etc. So what about their 9"x19" or 13"x24" models?

This old codger has never run or owned a lathe before so I'm open to suggestions on lathes through a Canadian source.

More importantly I would appreciate hearing from anyone presently using a Craftex lathe, your positive or negative input is important to my decision.

Bill

[GrahamC]

Newbie inerested in purchasing a lathe and I'm looking at Busy Bee's Craftex models. By earlier messages to this list it seems the 10"x18" has built in problems meaning plastic gears etc. So what about their 9"x19" or 13"x24" models?

Bill

Good day Bill,

I have the 10x18 B2227L Craftex/BusyBee lathe and find it suits my needs quite well. It does not have ANY plastic gears - I seem to recall that the 9x20 does however.

This lathe can turn 1.5 to 2.0 inch diameter 4140 steel with a .015 to .020 depth of cut using carbide at 550 rpm. Thats at the upper end of what I normally turn with this lathe, usually 12L14 (leadloy), aluminum or brass.

My only complaint and a minor one at that is the change wheels for setting up for threading. Takes a bit of time getting used to how the gears change but once you get comfortable with that it is just a matter of 5 to 10 minutes to change the gears and get it set up.

The 9x20 lathes suit a lot of people and there is lots of info on the net concerning these machines. The 10x18 is a step above in terms of mass and rigidity being more heavily built.

I think you have to ask yourself what you intend to do with the lathe, what is the largest work you think you will do (and add a good fudge facter of 50 to 100%), how much you can spend, where you will be setting it up and how difficult it will be getting to where you want it set up.

I had a small taig lathe for many lathes and was constantly pushing it well beyond its size in terms of wanting to machine steel and larger pieces. I was also constrained on where I wanted to set it up and how I had to get it there. My shop is in the basement so I had to get it through the garage, down a set of narrow stairs, across the basement floor and up on it's stand using only myself and one other person and perhaps another. From experience I know that I should always buy the "most" that I can and I seriously considered the 12x36 size lathe but after measuring the stairs and taking it's weight into account I decided physically it was just a bit too much for me. The 10x18 fit comfortably within my requirements so that is what I got and have been happy with it since.

The Craftex stuff is pretty good but you might also check out King Canada or if you happen to live close enough to the US border and a Grizzly location you might consider taking trip and bringing something back as another alternative.

King Canada has a 10x22 that looks very similar to the Grizzly 10x22

http://www.kingcanada.com/Products.htm?CD=116&ID=2369

Remember, the larger and heavier the lathe the more rigid it will be which is a good thing as it allows you to do heavier and/or bigger work and just as importantly you can make small parts on a big lathe and you can make small parts on a small lathe, you can make big parts on big lathe but you can't (easily) make big parts on a small lathe.

cheers, Graham in Ottawa

[flatlander]

Thanks Graham

Appreciate your prompt and informative reply, and your comments have brightened my day. Sent you a private message off list, hopefully we can expand on the topic directly.

Bill in SK

[skydt]

Newbie inerested in purchasing a lathe and I'm looking at Busy Bee's Craftex models. By earlier messages to this list it seems the 10"x18" has built in problems meaning plastic gears etc. So what about their 9"x19" or 13"x24" models?

This old codger has never run or owned a lathe before so I'm open to suggestions on lathes through a Canadian source.

More importantly I would appreciate hearing from anyone presently using a Craftex lathe, your positive or negative input is important to my decision.

Bill

Bill. I have had a 10x36 identical to the Busy bee Craftex models only difference was no thread counter and different colour, came fully tooled, needed the gibs sanding flat and of course aligning everything, I have had it for 7 years now and no problems, built lots of tools and motorcycle parts with it for the price I think its a bargain. Cheers.

Stuart

[Mansmithing]

http://www.lathemaster.com/LATHEPRODUCTS.htm
It is worthwhile checking out lathemaster.

Also Harborfreight
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...267&pricetype=

and Grizzley
http://www.grizzly.com/products/cate...t=metal_lathes

Also read the comments at
http://www.mini-lathe.com/

It may be worthwhile importing from the USA
The Busy Bee prices are not cheap in Canada
And today our Dollar is up to $0.90 whoopeee!!!!

these are the exact same machines, built and designed by the same company, branded and painted different colours.

that being said the grizzly manual has far more information in it that the craftex one does, and provides more information os setting up and truing up the machine. if you cn find a PDF version of a grizzly machine that matches your craftex machine, download and print it... very useful.