Does anyone on this forum own a 12x16 metal lathe from Taiwan?

[DPittman]

And by the mighty powers of cut & paste guestimation, it would look something like this with ER-40 plate & TS chuck

I'm always impressed Peter by your ability to whip up relevant and helpful graphics, charts, pictures, videos etc at short notice.

 

[PeterT]

And you typically need accommodation space on LH of headstock for lever action if thats the kind I'm thinking of

 

[PeterT]

I'm always impressed Peter by your ability to whip up relevant and helpful graphics, charts, pictures, videos etc at short notice.

haha thx. Snagit & Excel are all I have handy while chained to my desk but sometimes i does in a pinch to get the point across

 

[deleted_user]

Can you make a basement wall go away to accommodate or is it more about threading the bed around corners & such?

Pre garage & pre kids my lathe was downstairs. I paid movers. Even so, late night machining motor hum, brief light dimmer whenever machine was started, swarf chips finding their way upstairs, occasional fragrance of Eau-Du-Cutting oil.... It was pushing the patience of upper management but desperate times called for desperate measures. Thankfully I have detached sanctuary space now, but I can empathize the situation.

Access is relatively easy. I live in a townhouse that the foundation level is at grade. But the foundation living area is small because the garage takes a large chunk of the footprint.

I cannot alter anything further. I already condensed the laundry area, stacked my washer/dryer, moved the laundry tub and water heater to make room for the extra refrigerator and the chest freezer.

Much of the remaining area is taken up by powder room, hallway, stairs to 1st floor. Packed into the space is the laundry, washtub, furnace, water heater, 36" wider glass door refrigerator, a chest freezer and an 8' long x 36" hydroponic grow area for leafy salad greens.

So all that I have left for a workspace is an area 132.5" x 28".

Previously when we were forced to move our major machines to my home I could only fit the 12x37 lathe, the 7x20 mill and a tool storage shelf under the lathe in this space. In order to fit that in I had to remove my dust collector, workbenches, an engraving station, wood lathe, drill press, band saw and storage.

The trouble is, I'd like a metal lathe in my own shop, but choices are very limited.

I have learned to deal with space constraints over the years. As I start giving the 1216 more serious consideration I narrow the options to keep the install compact. I'd not actually use a 5C collet closer, because of the bulky lever.

I'd opt to machine a 5C to MT5 adapter and drawbar with a narrow handwheel. With this option I'd add less than 1.2" to the spindle projection. I'm happy to sacrifice speed in order to maximize the available working envelope.

10" lathe options are not nearly as nice, I couldn't use 5C collets with a drawbar on those so I'd have to install 5C chuck and lose a huge chunk of real estate making the 10x18 lathe potentially have even less working area.

 

[deleted_user]

ICYMI people, it is the Spring Festival this coming Tuesday Feb. 1st... aka Chinese New Year or lunar new year. So I get to wait an entire week before I get any further replies from manufacturers.

I am not an exceptionally patient person, and am annoyed that one contact who replied to me end of their day Friday failed to send the password for their pdf catalogs. Who password protects their product catalogs any then posts them for download anyways?

One thing I know, if you plan to order a container load of stuff from overseas, you may as well go all in and try to get every tool you really ever wanted.