Mini Machine Tools
© Brooke Clarke 2006
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.
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
Brooke's web pages
Length & Weight Measurements - tools
8" Mini Shear Break
- The shear can be used to cut 1/16" thick printed circuit
boards. Where the cut is a couple of inches the board cuts
easily, but as the cut length gets longer it gets more difficult. Also made by Sieg.
Lathe - 5C collet size for 1" material and chucker lathes
Pocket Tools - multi purpose tools
Electro Optical Gadgets - includes linear and rotation digital readouts
Fasteners - threads up to 1/4", screw heads, etc.
Drill Press - using 5C collets to drill into the end of rods
Morse Taper
For designing a Morse Taper the following equations should be very close.
Db is the big end diameter, Ds is the small end diameter and L is the length between Db and Ds. Then:
Ds = -0.0133*Db2 + 0.9039*Db - 0.0616
L = 0.2752*Db2 + 1.7461*Db + 1.2976
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
This is the 29525 hits since June 27 2007 time
this page
has been accessed since 20 Oct 2006.
