Mini Machine Tools
© Brooke Clarke 2006
Background
Other Brands
Lathe
Mill
DRO
CNC
Miscellaneous Tools
Reference
Links
Background
Back a dozen or more years when I
was very interested in model steam engines the popular small lathe
was the
Myford from
England. A nice feature of the Myford was that the bed has a
gap near the headstock to allow flywheels to be turned that are a
few inches larger than the diameter you could swing over the bed,
just the thing for making model steam engines. But it cost
too much. Now (2006) there are a number of importers in the
U.S. that carry the
Sieg
line of Chinese machine tools at reasonable prices. The
prices shown below are what was on the web pages 20 Oct. 2006.
In the tables below of Sieg machines there are some with nothing
entered below the model link and photo. If you know a US
sales URL for any of these
let me
know.
I have read many places that the combined Mill-Drill-Lathe
machines have a couple of problems. First they can not do
anything well. Second they take more time to setup.
But this may or may not be the case?
Weight
The OSHA max weight that a man can lift is 70 pounds and a woman
40 pounds. So looking at the two weight numbers below
(machine/shipping) you need to be concerned with the machine
weight. Often a machine can be partially disassembled to
reduce it's weight, allowing one person to put it into
place. But notice that the two largest lathes and the two
largest mills weigh more than two men can lift and will need a
forklift or some other mechanical assistance to put into
place. One of the good things about the smaller models is
that one or two people can move them without using a fork
lift. One of the major benefits of the C0 lathe is that it's
so light you can store it in a plastic bin and put it away,
similar to how some sewing machines are stored in a closet and
brought out for use. In the area of astronomical telescopes
most people want to buy the largest diameter scope they can
afford, but they rarely get used. The smaller scope that's
easy to use gets used much more frequently.
Lathe Bed Length
At first thought you might think that you don't need a long bed
since you'll be working with short parts. But if you plan to
drill or tap from the tail stock you may find some of the beds are
too short.
20 Nov 2007 - It has occurred to me that a drill press can be used
to drill a hole (what an original idea) in the end of round or hex
stock. Usually a
drill press
is used to drill a hole in things that are rectangular like a 2x4
or metal block. But by adding a 5C collet system it should
be easy to drill on the centerline of a cylinder. This could
be used in all the ways that centerline holes are made using a
lathe.
Motor
The C0 through C4 lathes use a DC motor running at around 100
volts whose speed can be controlled by varying the average
voltage. When reading the ads if it shows a range of speeds
then it's a variable speed DC motor. One of the most common
complaints about the mini lathes is the lack of power, but great
praise for the ease of changing speeds.
The Harbor Freight
8x12
and the Seig C6 lathe and Seig M2 Lathe - Mill use an AC motor and
has much more torque that the smaller lathes. In the ads
they will mention a small number of speeds such as 150, 240, 490,
750, 1200, 2400 RPM, this means an AC motor and pulleys or gearing
to get different speeds. So although it's convenient to have
the variable speed control you pay a high price in reduced
torque. Getting a slower speed by using gearing results in
an increase in torque. When the torque is inadequate the
lathe stalls. The C6 is also in the Grizzly combo
lathe-mill.
A good way to get programmable speed and maintain the torque is
with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). These take in the AC
line voltage and turn it into DC (maybe 330 Volts), then using a
micro controller and three pairs of high power solid state
switches turn the DC into three phase AC at a controllable
frequency in the .5 to 300 Hz range. For a 1 HP controller
and motor the cost might be $600.
For larger lathes see my page for
lathes
that take the 5-C collets & chucker lathes, the predecessor of
the screw machine.
Overview of the different Lathes
The Sieg C0, C1, C3 and the Chinese 9x30 not shown on this page,
(don't know about the C4 and C6) are not ready to use out of the
box. They need fitting and modification before you can
really use them. If you're willing to spend the time and
effort you get good value for your money on these. But the
Harbor Freight 8x12 is a heavier machine that comes ready to use
out of the box. It has more stiffenss than the 9x30 lathe,
see the comparison below.
This comparison of the lathes is an eye opener. Note that
the 8x12 is equal or superior in almost all catagories.
comparison
of the Specifications for the Asian 7x, 8x, and 9x lathes and
for some American 6", 9", and 12" Lathes -
8x12
Review -
Other Brands might or might not be Seig
This is another Chinese machine tool
maker that has a 6x18" and 6x23" lathe and a CNC version at
6x20" they also have a couple of mills with table travel
around 7x12".
Is this Seig, or a copy cat?
Model
WM-180
is a nice 7x12 lathe with screw cutting available in either
metric or Imperial.
This may be the maker of the Harbor
Freight 8x12 and/or Lathemaster 8x12. The HD210 is a 210 x320
(8¼ x 12½).
Cater Tools & Supply China - Lathes
?dealer or manf?
Lathe
Multipurpose Machines (Combined Lathe &
Mill)
Mill
X0
Fixed Coul Drill Press
|
X1
Fixed Coul
|
Super
X1 Tilting Coul
|
|
|
|
150Watts
0.2 HP
|
150
Watts 0.2 HP |
150
Watts 0.2 HP |
no
table
|
240x145mm
10x6"
|
240x145mm
10x6" |
17/22
kg 37/49#
|
32/44
kg 71/97#
|
32/44
kg 71/97# |
| ShopFox
wholsale M1036
- eBay
|
Harbor
Freight 47158
$260
|
U.S. Sales Office? |
| X2
(X2A has power X feed) Tilting Coul |
X3
Tilting Coul |
Super
X3 Tilting Head
|
|
|
|
350
Watts 0.5 HP
|
600
Watts 0.8 HP
|
1000
Watts 1.3 HP
|
400x100??
16x4" ??
|
550x160mm
22x6"
|
550x160mm
22x6" |
50-68
kg 110/150#
|
165-198
kg 364/437#
|
165-198
kg 364/437# |
| Harbor
Freight 44991
$460 |
Grizzly
G0463
$1014
|
Review
|
Micro-Mark
82573
$525
|
Review
|
Grizzly
#? |
Grizzly
8689 $
594/525
|
1.5 hp not X3 42827-0VGA
$1000 625/735#
|
Travers - Mdl
OT2225X3 Ord 87-116-000 $1600
|
Homier
03947
|
Tools
Now 7901
$1350 (Feb 2008)
|
|
KBC 6-275-002
$525
|
|
|
Cummings
7877
|
|
|
DRO
CNC
PicoBotics
- Steper Motors, Controllers, Powere Supplies
CNC Zone - Forum for CNC
topics
Syil - kits for the C1 to C6
Lathe (Jan 2007) and U2, X2 &
X3 Mills
MicroProto Systems -
CNCBridges Mini Mill Base -
larger bases for the mills set for CNC
CNC Fusion - Kits
for the X1, X2 & X3 mills now and working on kits for 7x12
& 9x20 lathes (Dec 2007)
Ex example system based on
Chris Smolinski
CNC Fusion
3 axis
motor
adapters full kit $ 270
Harbor
Freight X1 Mill $ 320 ($ 270 on
sale)
three NEMA23 steppers and driver board from
Xylotex
269 in oz motors $50 ea or 425 in oz motors $60 ea
3 axix motor controller $155 or 4-axix for $185
you supply old computer, $60 in end mills and $60 for metal for
fixtures.
EMC Linux machine control
software but CNC Fusion lists a number
software packages
that can be used.
Miscellaneous Tools
Saw an "Antique Keystone Railroad Tool Grinder Hand
Crank Sharpener Clamp Pittsburgh" eBay item 164339486562.
It is marked "Keystone, railroad tool drinder, Keystone Grinder
& Mfg Co., Pittsburg, PA, U.S.A.
Pat. Apd.
1446640
Grinding machine, Lawrence
J Cooney, Keystone
Grinder & Mfg Co, 1923-02-27, - the part that's missing
from the eBay unit is something similar to the cross-slide
mechanism on a metal lathe.
Reference
Machinery's
Handbook - A back issue is about as good as the latest
version since much of what's in it has not changed in
decades. THE reference book for machine shop practice.
There are also many internet web pages that you can find using
Google.
Links
Machines & Upgrades
Material
McMaster-Carr - They are at
the top of the list because they have about everything. For
example every possible diameter of drill rod in a choice of
materials and tempers, far more than the other suppliers listed
here and for a reasonable price. Easy to do business with
them.
Metal Express -
Enco -
Metal
- solid, sheets, tube
On Line Metals -6061 Al
Kits:
3'
lengths of 9 diameters Pack <$75 -
3'
Lengths of both round & Squard bars <$ 130.
-5% for
registered, -10% >$100 (place small order, get discount
code good for 30 days, place larger order?)
Small Parts -
Stock Drive Products / Sterling
Instrument -
Model Engineering Clearing
House -
Arthur R. Warner Co. -
High Speed Steel including indexable HSS inserts
College
Engineering Supply - Castings for tools
Hemingway Kits -
engines (internal & external combustion) + many tools as
kits
Macc Model Engineers
- materials , BA screws, Kits
Projects
Jan
Ridder's Models -Sterling, Flame Eaters, Burrell Traction
Engi, Pop-Pop boad and merygo round other Steam engine plans free
by email
Jerry E. Howell - Model
Project Plans & Kits
Back to Brooke's Products for Sale,
Military Information, Electronics, Home page
[an error occurred while processing this directive] page created 20 Oct
2006.
