Mini lathe

[rcx132]

Could you link me this video? Please! It would be very worthy for me, as I said, I don´t have idea about wether the lathe is OK or not.

Thank you

 

[Robert1998]

Thank you!


Another question. I have read that a good lubricant is way oil ISO68. I have 5 liters of hidraulic oil HM 68 (Is ISO68). Is it suitable?

And I´m thinking about buying a quick change tool post, but I´m not sure what is its utility. Is it really usefull?

 

[Misterg]

Congratulations! It looks a decent machine.

I have 5 liters of hidraulic oil HM 68 (Is ISO68). Is it suitable?

I can't see why not.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to dive in and 'fix' it - use it for a while first to get the feel of it and get used to setting the tools up and machining non-critical stuff. When you're happy that you can drive it, then check out how well it is set up (gib adjustment, whether it is turning square and parallel, etc.). If it has come from a reputable dealer (rather than an ebay special), I would hope that it is fairly well set up already. It's easy to introduce problems by taking things to bits and not reassembling properly if you are inexperienced (or even if you're experienced!) which can cause further problems down the line.

 

[Sean]

Another question. I have read that a good lubricant is way oil ISO68. I have 5 liters of hidraulic oil HM 68 (Is ISO68). Is it suitable?

And I´m thinking about buying a quick change tool post, but I´m not sure what is its utility. Is it really usefull?

any motor oil, Think some of the importers and dealers recomend Mobil 1 which is a fully synthetic, mines got Lucasoil assembly lube because it was the first bottle that came to hand , its very sticky and not terribly cheap guess ill fill the can with Asda 15/40 semi synth ...being Scottish and all.

 

[northwest]

I think that all the Chinese lathes like this are very similar (there are slight design differences between the main manufacturers). Buying from a good importer will hopefully give you some back-up in the case of a fundamental problem (like the cross-slide not being square to the bed!), and may help ensure that the machine isn't too bad.

For what it's worth, I bought one last year, and it has kept me entertained through the C19 restrictions. They definitely have their limitations, and might need some remedial work straight out of the box, but I think mine is capable of reasonably accurate work with a little care. (±0.01mm). Anything over ~75mm diameter is a bit of a struggle.

I went with a brushless motor version, and have been happy with it - I haven't used the older version, but don't seem to have had some of the stalling problems reported with the DC motor versions, so would recommend going the same way if you can.

Unless you have the space for a second hand, full sized lathe, I don't think there is anything else at this price. If you want better quality, then it will cost a lot more.

If you just want to "play around" (nothing wrong with that!), and don't have the space or money for anything else, then go for it - "any lathe is better than no lathe".

Mine made these bits:

(Which turned into this: )

Very nicely done, you wouldn't have a link to the drawings would you?

I always think Optima21, & also now the chap above, make a perfect case to back up any discussion regarding what's required of a lathe. When you see what they're able to create on the machines they own, saying big & solid is necessary isn't so. Any machine can work wonders in the correct hands.

Lathe never made a Turner, you use what you have or what you can borrow.

Thanks for your answers

Thw WEISS WBL 180. I think is the same than a Warco 180.

The weiss has brushless motor, tampered bearings and metal gears. I don´t have idea abput how to check if is properly adjusted, so I bought this one. 1.113€ (Including shippings).

View attachment 287334
View attachment 287335


Could you link me this video? Please! It would be very worthy for me, as I said, I don´t have idea about wether the lathe is OK or not.

Thank you

That is the same as the Chester DB7. I bought one for my youngest son. I have made a good many accurate parts on it and the only difference between that and a bigger, heavier machine is how fast I can turn the parts out.

Edit: Just to be clear, it gets on my wick when people start trumpeting on that you need this, that or the other or you will NEVER be able to make X,Y, or Z. It is all cobblers. You can make almost anything you want with a bit of determination, a bit of imagination and plenty of grit.

A bigger machine will just make it easier and probably faster.

 

[Gragson]

Agree with @Misterg - use it and then decide on upgrades, first things to purchase are likely to be the tools and inserts if you don't have any and some steel stock to practice on.
As for oil, as above although I bought something that is supposed to be "slideway" oil over here, cheap enough.
I have no space, great thing about a decent mini lathe is you can pick it up and put it on a shelf.

 

[Sean]

Broken it already!

 

[Misterg]

Very nicely done, you wouldn't have a link to the drawings would you?

Thank you

I'm intending to sort the drawings out, but haven't done so yet, sorry! (There's a pile of prints with scribbles & oily thumb prints at the moment.)

 

[RobCox]

Broken it already!

View attachment 287421

If you've still got the apron off there's a simple mod that may be worth doing now. When I got a minilathe a few years ago it was ok except the apron gears were exposed at the back so swarf got in making the traversing action jumpy. All it needs is a thin bit of ally plate hacksawed and filed to shape and screwed to the back of the apron casting to shield it.

The first of many mods...

Very capable little machines though. When I got my M300 all the bits that needed remaking were done with the mini lathe. Don't use it now, but somehow I can't bear to part with it.

 

[Sean]

Its on the list fella!

 

[MattF]

The oil I use on mine is just a mix of dregs from the oil containers I used when I had the Surf. Always ended up with a litre or two spare in them, so it got dumped in a "general use oil" container. Keeping a lathe clean, & frequent oiling, is more important than specific oil type, IMHO.

 

[Robert1998]

Thanks for yours answers.

Oil OK. And about the adjustments, I thouhgt that it might be harmfull for the lathe to use it without proper ajustment but I see this is notthe case, so as you saud I'll wait.

What about the quick change tool post? I'm not sure about whether is sn important accessory. Someone mentione it, but why is so important?

And one last question, I'm going to make a table for the late. I'm thinking in a 6mm sheet of mild steel, but it would better to do it whit a thick table of wood? Or a combination of steel and wood iver the steel? The top of the table will be attached to the wall for better stability.

Thank you

 

[willie.macleod]

What about the quick change tool post? I'm not sure about whether is sn important accessory. Someone mentione it, but why is so important?

Quick change toolposts allow you to set the tool height quickly with minimal fuss. Saves messing around with shims and allows you to swap tooling over far quicker as well. You can get by without it, but it really does make your life easier.

 

[Misterg]

What about the quick change tool post? I'm not sure about whether is sn important accessory. Someone mentione it, but why is so important?

Not important, but *very* convenient - especially when you start to make things and need to switch between tools a lot. You can do everything without one.

I'm going to make a table for the late. I'm thinking in a 6mm sheet of mild steel, but it would better to do it whit a thick table of wood? Or a combination of steel and wood iver the steel?

The bed of these lathes is very flexible - they need a solid base to hold their accuracy. If you are just going to stand the lathe on the table, then it doesn't matter too much about what it is made of. But if you are intending to bolt it down, then you need to be careful:

If the table isn't flat, it will twist the bed of the lathe and it will not cut parallel;

If the table expands at a different rate to the bed, then the accuracy will depend on the temperature of the room (and humidity if it is bolted to a wooden table).

I have bolted mine to a hollow steel section which has made it much stiffer, but it needs to be done carefully to avoid distorting the machine.

(If you are interested, I made a video:

I think you could get the same result by carefully shimming the feet when you bolt it down.)

 

[Sean]

Well set up my lathe for first cuts , tooling hight set, made some stainless swarf, shouldered a bolt. Went to centre drill the bolt snapped the point off a 2.5mm center drill! Internal jaws on the chuck run better than the external ones which had 0.7mm run out.
Spent day faffing about getting it to not do a convex face cut, discovered the head stock casting was shimmed out with bits of paper!
Tail stock alignment faffed about with, put a 60* center in a brass slug , inked up the dead center and fed it in and checked where the bluing was wiped off the center. Adjusted side to side but tailstock is fractionally high.

Looks like Ill be stripping off the head stock to work on that now, pulleys and gears all run true and well. then ive got the lead screw to set up as that was binding.

If you like fixing things its great(ironic)

 

[Robert1998]

Thank you for your answers.

willie.macleod​

Ok, quick chang tool post is convenient, I´ll buy one.

Misterg​

Great video! But I´m not sure why do you use a hollow steel section. Yes, I think I´m going to bolt it for great stability. I think the steel sheet will expand at the same rate, but I´m not sure, I don´t know very much abou metal.

One solution is to fix one bolt an the other weld a lever to tight it only when I´m going to use the lathe.

Sean​

Yes, but is a good thing when you can fix something.

 

[Agroshield]

...tailstock is fractionally high...

It is better high than low. It is never going to get higher as it wears down. It also allows you to shim the headstock upwards as shimming it downwards is tricky.

Do not sweat too much over the shim material: look up Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.

 

[Sean]

Beer cans are 0.1mm, IIRC

 

[Misterg]

I´m not sure why do you use a hollow steel section.

Hollow section is much stiffer than the same amount of metal in a solid piece.

 

[Robert1998]

Ah ok ok. Thank you