I am not familiar with how crappy the plastic gears are that come with the mini lathes, but Mr. Pete did a 3D printed gear against a metal gear on one of his lathes. He did some strain testing on it in the lathe. The lathe belt slipped from the loading and the gear did not break. How many of those types of hits the gear could take I am not sure, but it surprised Mr. Pete.
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Looking for a new Lathe 12x7?
- Thread starter Richard Tymko
- Start date
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- Tags
- lathe
Tom Kitta
Ultra Member
There is nothing inherently wrong with plastic gears as long as they are designed for the application they are used in - same as everything else. Many Swedish gear head drills use plastic gear train that lasts for decades.
The keyword is of course "designed for the application they are used in".
Plastic gear advantage are numerous same as disadvantages - https://www.machinedesign.com/materials/plastic-gears-are-future
As for lathe or other tools sold through Amazon remember that Amazon has amazing customer service for 30 days or so from purchase.
The keyword is of course "designed for the application they are used in".
Plastic gear advantage are numerous same as disadvantages - https://www.machinedesign.com/materials/plastic-gears-are-future
As for lathe or other tools sold through Amazon remember that Amazon has amazing customer service for 30 days or so from purchase.
This is a great link, but I think they *may* have one characteristic of Acetal incorrect. Delrin is in fact the material that may contain voids—specifically what is known as "center line porosity" as compared to copolymer Acetal. With respect to hollow core plastic gears (and especially if compared to copolymer Acetal), Delrin may be a better choice. But Acetal-C should not suffer from voids. It is in fact more consistent towards the centre of a large shaft than Delrin.
I know people that turn both frequently and claim they can hear the difference when getting close to the center of a Delrin shaft vs. Acetal-C. No way my hearing is good enough for that; I think it may be bragging—kind of like wine snobs who claim they can tell what side of the hill the grapes are grown on.
A good writeup on this is at: https://www.lionep.com/uploads/files/Acetal-vs-Delrin.pdf
historicalarms
Ultra Member
My 1340 1 1/2 hp Taiwanese lathe has a plastic (or nylon, something other than metal anyways) gear in the system that has suffered thru at least one "total stop jam up and several very noticeable slowdowns of the spindle speed and it is still good as new. Of course the headstock gearing is all metal but an "in-feed strong enough to stall the machine must still be stressing the power feed gearing but it doesn't show any degradation (feathering or deformation) on the gear teeth at all
Richard Tymko
Active Member
Man I like this group! So many opinions and thoughts and not a snarky comment from anybody. I looked in the classified here and no lathes up for sale. Went to KMS took a look at the 7x12... you are all alright it is too small. 7x14 is the way I need to lean unless I can find a bigger one used within my budget.
good info about the plastic gears. I feel better about that option now.
Let me know if anybody sees any for sale.
I have alerts on kijiji for lathes , nothing yet.
good info about the plastic gears. I feel better about that option now.
Let me know if anybody sees any for sale.
I have alerts on kijiji for lathes , nothing yet.
Richard Tymko
Active Member
Ok, so I think I found the machine that that I want!!!
Any opinions?
https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=7350&category=
Any opinions?
https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=7350&category=
Tom Kitta
Ultra Member
You will pay a lot for it - 1250 USD is 1650 and there is shipping plus GST on it - so 2000 CAD (I don't think there is any duty) the reason for high price is that you are buying Chinese machine from the US ==> it is subject to Trump 20%. As far as little lathes go it is probably close to what is the best that you can get.
Then again you are paying whopping 2000 for it. I am not an export on little guys through - maybe someone knows more about used choices in small lathes that are desktop based.
Then again you are paying whopping 2000 for it. I am not an export on little guys through - maybe someone knows more about used choices in small lathes that are desktop based.
$1600+ shipping for a 7x16 lathe is insane.
You’re better off looking at the Precision Matthews 10X because you’ll get a better machine with more capacity and capabilities.
Or look for a good used machine.
I bought a nearly new South Bend 10K for $1200
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Richard Tymko
Active Member
Ok, two people with the same observation. I guess I need to continue looking.
mentioning auctions? What are some recommendEd sites to look for a lathe?
mentioning auctions? What are some recommendEd sites to look for a lathe?
Tom Kitta
Ultra Member
Auctions are a bit of a mine field and a gold field - you sometimes step on a mine and sometimes find gold.
The best deal I ever heard of was getting a lathe at one of these estate sales - I think someone on the site paid 50 CAD for a bench-top lathe - exactly what you would need, a bit bigger then a mini. I think it was an Atlas lathe that was used for some wood working. Most pp would buy it in a heartbeat for $500. I think it was model 618 (about 7 inch swing with 18 between centers). For $50 CAD.
Action sites are such as Richie Bros, Michner Allan, GD Actions, Century Auctions. plus estate sales.
You can also try machinery dealers - see this video -
There are alas no dealers like this around us (OK there are sellers of used equipment but price is rather... high) watch most of the video - you see they sell small lathes like you would like as well - from high end desktop Hardinge to lowly Craftsman with timeless Southbend in between.
With some used machines you may be forced to do some work on them. The better the condition the higher the price - usually.
The best deal I ever heard of was getting a lathe at one of these estate sales - I think someone on the site paid 50 CAD for a bench-top lathe - exactly what you would need, a bit bigger then a mini. I think it was an Atlas lathe that was used for some wood working. Most pp would buy it in a heartbeat for $500. I think it was model 618 (about 7 inch swing with 18 between centers). For $50 CAD.
Action sites are such as Richie Bros, Michner Allan, GD Actions, Century Auctions. plus estate sales.
You can also try machinery dealers - see this video -
There are alas no dealers like this around us (OK there are sellers of used equipment but price is rather... high) watch most of the video - you see they sell small lathes like you would like as well - from high end desktop Hardinge to lowly Craftsman with timeless Southbend in between.
With some used machines you may be forced to do some work on them. The better the condition the higher the price - usually.
As in life I think you have to pick your financial battles. If I waited for the perfect price, free shipping, no duty, no tax, etc., I'd never own anything. Living in the Great White North means taking it on the chin sometimes to get the machine you want. If it is something I kind of want, I wait and hunt around. I've had horrible luck with some used stuff, but even new stuff you can have issues...hopefully fewer, but it can happen. If it is something I really want and am willing to pay the price then I never feel guilty—within reason. You can't take it with you $$$$ after all.
I once felt horrible about the shipping cost quoted for a large piece of equipment I bought. But when I calculated the gas cost, trailer rental, passport cost, exchange lift, import duties, taxes, CSA certification, broker fee and drop ship fee in Sweetgrass, it was worth it to import rather than drive down there. Painful—but worth it. I really admire people who have the determination not to pay huge import costs and either have the patience or contacts to get things here more inexpensively than I do. But I have no regrets about anything I imported, and no way will I wait forever for the best deal. In fact, it motivates me to learn the most I can about whatever machine I do get and gain new skills because I have to justify the money I just spent. I wish I were that guy who had the patience to find the perfect deal, but it just isn't me.
I wish you best of luck with whatever machine you get Richard. Enjoy the heck out of it and post pics of all your great work...and the bad work as well so we can all learn more.
Ho Ho Ho.
I once felt horrible about the shipping cost quoted for a large piece of equipment I bought. But when I calculated the gas cost, trailer rental, passport cost, exchange lift, import duties, taxes, CSA certification, broker fee and drop ship fee in Sweetgrass, it was worth it to import rather than drive down there. Painful—but worth it. I really admire people who have the determination not to pay huge import costs and either have the patience or contacts to get things here more inexpensively than I do. But I have no regrets about anything I imported, and no way will I wait forever for the best deal. In fact, it motivates me to learn the most I can about whatever machine I do get and gain new skills because I have to justify the money I just spent. I wish I were that guy who had the patience to find the perfect deal, but it just isn't me.
I wish you best of luck with whatever machine you get Richard. Enjoy the heck out of it and post pics of all your great work...and the bad work as well so we can all learn more.
Ho Ho Ho.
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Dabbler
ersatz engineer
I needed a particular rifle stock that was for sale in Manitoba for 2700$ plus 300$ shipping to Calgary. I was ordering a barrel and action anyway, so I had my supplier package stock, action and barrel (unthreaded and unchambered) into a Pelican box and saved over 2000$ of the canadiuan cost of the Pelican case and stock. It was then worth it to have it shipped for free to a friend in the US and visit Bellingham WA to pick them up. Total trip cost: 180$CAD.
Most of the time it is far cheaper to buy locally. I don't think the DRO versions of that lathe are yet available in Canada. sigh. Maybe direct from China? special order through Skinner or Modern?
Most of the time it is far cheaper to buy locally. I don't think the DRO versions of that lathe are yet available in Canada. sigh. Maybe direct from China? special order through Skinner or Modern?
I am kidnapping you next time I import something until such time as you get me similar deals. Nothing personal, just business John.
Don't get too excited about those DRO's. They aren't positive displacement DRO's. They measure the rotational displacement of the driving screw and as such don't take into account backlash and nut wear. They aren't all that expensive as an upgrade either.
I had them on my 7X12. The cross slide DRO worked well, but required diligent upkeep. The compound DRO was next to useless.
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Bofobo
M,Mizera(BOFOBO)
I bought from them a kit that was without a proper layout sheet, only half the machining completed on many parts and was told by customer service “tough luck” so no not great customer service. Take your money and ship you something quick sure, but after that it’s tough beans because “Reasons”