Has anyone used this mini lathe before? We are looking for a not so expensive lathe and we stumbled upon this one.
Looks like a generic Sieg 7x12 mini lathe, same as sold under many different brands in different colors. There’s lots of them out there in the world. Definitely better than no lathe or a worn out or broken lathe. Not as good as bigger/better lathes, but is cheaper, and is easier to move around. Little Machine Shop sells parts and upgrades. Lots of info on https://www.mini-lathe.com/
If $500 was all I had, I’d probably buy it. If I had $1,000 or more, I’d be looking at something bigger/better, probably from Grizzly or Precision Matthews.
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We will only probably use it to make straight holes in hexes right now that’s why we looked at this cheaper option.
What’s the purpose for this lathe? Typically these mini lathes are severely underpowered.
If you’re looking for anything more than a spacer cutter, then I’d recommend going on Craigslist to find a used lathe that takes more power
Right now only for making straight holes in our hexagonal bars and we don’t really see the need for a bigger lathe. And could probably use it for spacer cutting now that you mention it
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We have one similar. We use it to turn hex shaft to round, center drill, make spacers, and some threading operations as well.
One recommendation is to not get the digital displays. They are questionable at best. They might be accurate, but if you can only read half of one of the 4 digits displayed you are stuck guessing
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I’ve faced tool steel on 'em (LittleMachineShop specifically). They’ll hold up pretty decently, at least as a starter lathe. When they do fail, upgrade.
Second the digital display note on those–they’re meh on a good day.
@CarlosA Yes that should be a hole. Please avoid sticking material out the back of said hole unless you like it flopping around. (Under the cover is the geartrain for the power feed.)
Assuming you guys don’t use ThunderHex shafts? Using ThunderHex could be another option instead of buying a lathe just for center holes.
Often times purchasing used equipment isn’t feasible for teams operating out of schools due to various purchasing requirements or reimbursement requirements such as needing invoices, receipts, proof of payment etc via credit card.
I have a little harbor freight lathe I purchased a few years back for $400 used. I ate the cost of it because I’d rather own one to then let teams borrow as needed if they don’t have one.
These things work just fine for most FRC tasks. I bought a few extras from little machine shop and off Amazon which comes in handy as well.
I also recommend looking for videos like this for whichever machine you get. Or just follow this video to fine tune your machine for optimal performance.
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