[juliancrouch]

The other day I posted a similar question in another part of the forum, and with a couple more days of reading under my belt, I have refined my search.

Here are the things that I would like to have in a lathe:
-At least a 14" working area (swing is not important because I doubt I would ever go over 4")
-Power feed, though I don't necessarily need it on the cross feed, though that would kick ass
-Lower speed range for threading, like 60-120 up to anything above 900/1k.
-Decent torque, so if I ever wanted to cut a course thread at low speed I could.
-Enough Strength to Knurl a basic diamond pattern (aluminum, maybe steel)
-at least a couple inches of the tail stock's cylinder's travel. (sorry about the vague terms, but for drilling/reaming etc.
-The ability to change speed w/o tearing the machine apart. (I am not sure about this, but it seems that most smaller lathes, to change your speed you have to move all the gears around, correct me if I am wrong)


I will be using it for this:
I am a jewelry/machining student and will be using this for the next 5-ish months and during breaks away from school when I don't have access to their facilities.

I would like to be able to turn ti, stainless, mild steel, wax, and aluminum. (can one turn anything harder, like a tool steel?)
the 14" center to center is needed because some of the stock I would get is probably 1.5" and a foot long, yes I could cut it down, but it would be nice not to have to...

I would be mainly turning rings and that sort of thing...but I may need to make a tool every now and again.

So, does such a beast exist?

Also I am curious about the 3 in 1 machines. Most people on these forums bash em, but since most of you guys are working with other chinese made machines, what is your take.

Regardless of that, how strong are those milling attachments, or other mini mills? What is the largest hole that can be drilled with one of these? (of course being smart about it, plenty of oil, nice bits, and taking your time pecking through and clearing chips)

With any 3-in-one or separate mini mill, I would want to be able to work will all the same materials.

Thanks for any help you guys might have, as these are the questions I have not been able to find answers to so far in my hunt.

Oh yeah and I doubt I would ever get around to setting one of these up CNC, but if it does a nice job, maybe. And if I could toss a DRO on one, thats a plus...

Thanks again,
Julian

[ToyMaker]

Q. -At least a 14" working area (swing is not important because I doubt I would ever go over 4")
A. Frank Hoos on mini-lathe.com is talking about a new 7x14 machine.

Q. -Power feed, though I don't necessarily need it on the cross feed, though that would kick ass
A. I've never seen power feed out of the box on a mini, but I have seen at least one diy add on.

Q. -Lower speed range for threading, like 60-120 up to anything above 900/1k.
A. most (all?) of the 7x machines have variable speed control boxes.

Q. -Decent torque, so if I ever wanted to cut a course thread at low speed I could.
A. take lighter cuts, make more passes.

Q. -Enough Strength to Knurl a basic diamond pattern (aluminum, maybe steel)
A. a scissors type knurler doesn't unduly load the machine.

Q. -at least a couple inches of the tail stock's cylinder's travel. (sorry about the vague terms, but for drilling/reaming etc.
A. the 7x machines have only 1+ inch tail stock ram travel.

Q. -The ability to change speed w/o tearing the machine apart. (I am not sure about this, but it seems that most smaller lathes, to change your speed you have to move all the gears around, correct me if I am wrong)
A. most (all?) of the 7x machines have variable speed controls that allow ~100 to ~2000 rpm infinitely variable speed control.



robotic regards,

Tom
= = = = =
"The value of marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults."
- - Peter De Vries

[HankB]

. . . A. Frank Hoos on mini-lathe.com is talking about a new 7x14 machine.

There's a picture at the site - the model number on the control box looks like "CJ0618A" . . . a quick Google search indicates that's a "Real Bull" model number.

[juliancrouch]

Thanks for all the answers Tom, greatly appreciated.

As for my stupid milling questions, smart me found out that those were listed specs on the machines.

[maxboostbusa]

My 7x14 has about 2 1/2" of travel on the tailstock with a short 2MT arbor, that is not the range of the graduations though. They stop at 1 1/2 or so cant remember and I dont use them anyway. I have drilled 7/8 holes in alum. with mine and if you need a bigger hole get a boring bar. The Carriage has a powerfeed stock as well as a threading dial. If you want a powerfeed on the cross slide you will have to make one up or cnc it. Little machine shop has DROs for the mini mills that attach at the cranks on the Cross slide. No belt or gear changes for speeds except the carriage feed for threading. It has a change gear setup and not a quick change although there have been some built that worked.

[juliancrouch]

OK, this may be straying from the topic of mini-lathe, but has anyone used the Grizzly G9729, or know anything about it?

It looks like it might be a pretty good hobby/small parts combo with two independent motors etc.

Just curious what you guys know/think.

julian

[maxboostbusa]

I dont like bashing products and I cant say anything about quality on these units since I have never used one but here is something that is generalized about any milling machine. The G9729 is a fixed head so the only way to move the Z or depth of cut is to use the Quill. Even on full size Bridgeports it is custom to move the Knee of the mill raising the table and not move the quill. The more the quill is extended the more likely you are to get runout or flexing of the quill. You had mentioned in your first post doing some stainless and Titanium. The lathe would be fine, milling it to a close tolorance would probibly be slow with shallow cuts. I have turned stainless and several grades of tool steel on my 7x and its pretty slow but I can hold to a half thou if I really pay attention and get a pretty good surface finish. That mill and lathe both on the 9729 use step pulleys so every speed change would be loosing the belt and changing steps. That can be solved with a 3 phase motor and VFD drive though. Before I got a crazy deal on the X2 mill and 7X lathe I have now I was going to buy a H8176 combo from Grizzly. It is bascially a Seig C6 lathe and a X2 mill. You would loose some swing and distance between centers with this VS. the other but the mill has a variable speed DC motor and if you want to seperate them Little Machine Shop sells the Table assemblys for the mill. That unit also comes factory with a Quick Change tool post and a 4 jaw chuck which is nice. Both are MT3 which makes it a little harder to get tooling but it can be got. Little machine shop has a kit for converting the X2 mills to the more common R8 tooling that would work on the H8176. If CNC'ing either would be in the future then the 8176 would be hands down easier after seperating the mill.

[juliancrouch]

Just found this little jem for anyone who ask as many questions, and for everyone that has to answer them.

I ran into this:
http://bambam.gmu.edu/shop/

A hobby machineist's site that is devoted to his HF44142, which from what I gather is the same machine more or less as the Grizzly G9729 I was just asking about.

He covers just about everything on there, and it is actually quite a nice little write up.

enjoy

[arekugi]

-At least a 14" working area (swing is not important because I doubt I would ever go over 4"): I have a lathemaster 8x14, there's also the HF 8x12. The machine is very stable and is quite a bit beefier than the 7s (and most 9s)

-Power feed, though I don't necessarily need it on the cross feed, though that would kick ass: has power feed for carriage, can thread or cut. It does require a gear change to change direction (although some folks have made a lever)

-Lower speed range for threading, like 60-120 up to anything above 900/1k.
-Decent torque, so if I ever wanted to cut a course thread at low speed I could: Speed range is 125-2000, also there's a planetary pulley/gear available that gives you 50% spees reduction on the 3 slow speeds.

-Enough Strength to Knurl a basic diamond pattern (aluminum, maybe steel)
-at least a couple inches of the tail stock's cylinder's travel. (sorry about the vague terms, but for drilling/reaming etc.: This should not be a problem. The bed, carriage and tailstock are very heavy and stiff. I've not knurled anything, but I have cut tool steel as well as plenty of larger aluminum pieces. This machine has been written up in reviews and received very high marks - primarily because it is so heavy and stiff. I bought a LM one (paid a higher price than HF) but it came well packed for shipping and was accurate right out of the box.

-The ability to change speed w/o tearing the machine apart. (I am not sure about this, but it seems that most smaller lathes, to change your speed you have to move all the gears around, correct me if I am wrong): The std lathe requires a belt change for speed changes. People have put a VFD on (I have not yet) which I understand gives a very large range of useful speeds (from 40-50 up to 4000) with a dial.

Search for 8x14 lathe in google and you'll find more info

[DonF]

or you could just post some 8x links...
http://annisquamgranite.com/8x12ReviewPg1.htm
http://www.fignoggle.com/machines/8x12lathe/

[maxboostbusa]

7x lathes require no changes except flipping a lever from low to high to get the 2 speed ranges in the gearbox for chuck speed and carriage feed speed. All speeds between are just turn the Pot. to adjust the voltage going to the motor which adjusts the speed like a VFD only DC voltage. The change gears are just there to change the feedscrew Rpm to allow different thread TPI. Feed and Chuck Rotation can be changed on these with a switch or you can move a lever in the back and just change the feed travel direction. The 8X is a nice piece of equipment right smart beefier like Arekugi says and that helps keep chatter down some.