mini lathe question

just a suggestion

I agree that the more lathes you have the better. That is as long as you have room. I suggest also getting a second tail stock for the Hightower so you can keep one at center.

I too just got a new Enco 12x36 as my 9th lathe and would not mind adding one of these little ones to my collection.

Best regards Mike
 
Last edited:
pdcue said:
A simple search will show many threads on these lathes.
The spindle can be reamed out to 15/16 - but that
doesn't really buy you much.


Dale
Click to expand...

If thats true then thats big enough to work on the joint side of shaft
Which is what he was looking to find out
 
dave sutton said:
I would like to get a mini lathe so I can tap shafts and not use my big lathe to do that.

Right now I need atleast 3 lathes. Also I want to have my shaft lathe at dead center at all times. Right now I do everything on my hightower and I offset my tailstock to taper. I dont want to move anything.
Click to expand...

Dave,

IMHO -
You can't bore/ream the spindle out enough to be able to work
on the joint end of the shaft, on even a 7 x 12.

You said TAP the shaft - which implies 'by hand' rather than
chasing threads using the toolpost.

Here is how you could hand tap the shaft.

1. LittleMachine shop for a second bed and a steadyrest.

2. line up bed number two with centerline of the lathe.
<easier said than done>

3. remove tailstock from lathe, put it on bed number two,
adjust steadyrest to centerline of lathe.

At this point you can hand-tap threads in the shaft.

I'd buy a used 12 x 36 Atlas or Craftsman instead,
or even do it on a wood lathe.

The Hightower tailstock-offset thing.

Instead of springing for a new tailstock, nail a dial indicator
to the lathe so it reads dead zero when the tailstock center is
dead nuts.

Dale
 
pdcue said:
Dave,

IMHO -
You can't bore/ream the spindle out enough to be able to work
on the joint end of the shaft, on even a 7 x 12.

You said TAP the shaft - which implies 'by hand' rather than
chasing threads using the toolpost.

Here is how you could hand tap the shaft.

1. LittleMachine shop for a second bed and a steadyrest.

2. line up bed number two with centerline of the lathe.
<easier said than done>

3. remove tailstock from lathe, put it on bed number two,
adjust steadyrest to centerline of lathe.

At this point you can hand-tap threads in the shaft.

I'd buy a used 12 x 36 Atlas or Craftsman instead,
or even do it on a wood lathe.

The Hightower tailstock-offset thing.

Instead of springing for a new tailstock, nail a dial indicator
to the lathe so it reads dead zero when the tailstock center is
dead nuts.

Dale
Click to expand...

Dale, if you can ream the 7X10 spindle to .940 (15/16), why wouldn't you be able to insert an .870, or less, shaft? Figures are amiss here somewhere.

Dick
,
 
rhncue said:
Dale, if you can ream the 7X10 spindle to .940 (15/16), why wouldn't you be able to insert an .870, or less, shaft? Figures are amiss here somewhere.

Dick
,
Click to expand...

Sorry for the typo induced confussion - the guy
who reamed out his spidle got it to 13/16, not 15/16
.....................................................................................

Yes you can - except, as mentioned before, the hole in the chuck
is only .625. so your looking at now either the added expense of
replacing the chuck or the questionable job of boring out the original
chuck.

Tho boring out the chuck would probably work, seems some guy
did that for me once:>)

IMHO - considering all the hoops you need to jump thru, and all
the added expense of setting it up to do this one task - keep in mind
how cramped the working area is on these little lathes,
esp if you need to support the workpiece with a steady,
- it would be more practical to just get a light weight
12 x 36 instead, which will not only do this job, but lots of
other ones. Even a new 9 x 20 would work better, right out of the box.

Only disadvantage I see to a 12 x 36 is you can't pick it up and
carry it out the door like a loaf of bread

Dale<who is, beleive it or not, a fan of the 7 x 10/12s>
 
Last edited:
pdcue said:
Yes you can - except, as mentioned before, the hole in the chuck
is only .625. so your looking at now either the added expense of
replacing the chuck or the questionable job of boring out the original
chuck.

Tho boring out the chuck would probably work, seems some guy
did that for me once:>)

IMHO - considering all the hoops you need to jump thru, and all
the added expense of setting it up to do this one task - keep in mind
how cramped the working area is on these little lathes,
esp if you need to support the workpiece with a steady,
- it would be more practical to just get a light weight
12 x 36 instead, which will not only do this job, but lots of
other ones. Even a new 9 x 20 would work better, right out of the box.

Only disadvantage I see to a 12 x 36 is you can't pick it up and
carry it out the door like a loaf of bread

Dale<who is, beleive it or not, a fan of the 7 x 10/12s>
Click to expand...

Yes, but I see this little extra clearance as a great benefit, as, the only time I use this machine is at tournaments so I could add re-gluing and facing and insert work to my list of available services.

Dick
 
thats the other great benefit of doing this. lathe it very portible.

maybe after this thread lee will reconsider reaming them lathes like he planned. i think its a great idea.

when i get this lathe and i figure it all out maybe ill just buy some extra spindles and chucks to convert minis into monsters then put them up on az for you guys
 
I had looked at doing this on my lathe. The amount of time and bs that would go into making the mini do all of this.... It would be less expensive to buy a 9 x20 if the portability is the issue I might have to start taking orders but it ain't gonna be cheap.
 
Bought a Porper B model lathe half price a few years back and it works great but had to make alot of tooling and buy what I could to make it work...I don't taper butts or shafts with it but everything else ... Make milled ring billets , cut points , sharp and butterfly, can run router horizontal or vertical , and all the other things relating to construction such as boring and coring , pins , rings , butt plates , and wraps ...I did modify it some what ... Installed bison 4 jaw 5" chuck with matching indexable back plate and bored the chuck out to 1.480" hole through which makes it great to work on oversizede stuff ... I can also pick it up by myself if I need to move it ... Naturally it's not as rigid as a full size metal lathe at 1200lbs or more and the tolerances not quite as tight but more than capable of doing the job ...If you can find a used one thats been well maitained I'd jump on it or if you have the bucks visit Unique Products , Jim and Bryan have the good stuff for all your cue making needs ... for real ...!!!
 
dave sutton said:
can anyone take a shaft and stick it in the mini and snap a picture. Let's see how close it is
Click to expand...


It will vary a bit depending on the taper of the shaft, but on the 7x12, an ruff estimate would have the joint at about where the back of the chip guard ends, so pretty much the joint of the shaft is all up in the tailstock area.

Greg
 
dave sutton said:
can anyone take a shaft and stick it in the mini and snap a picture. Let's see how close it is
Click to expand...
I got out a caliper and measured .625 on a jacoby shaft(chuck bore)
and it comes out to be 9 inches from that spot
At 20mm it is 2 1/2 inches
At 13/16 it is 1 inch
Jacoby is .835 at collar
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top