What size lathe do you have?

[VicHobbyGuy]

@Tecnico - Yes, your comments all make sense. Yes, people here are very helpful, and I appreciate that.

Unless people have been following the 'Metal Lathe Options' discussion, they might not be aware of @Susquatch's motivation for posting this survey.
I suggested a couple of times - once too many, apparently - that there wasn't a lot of 7x Chinese lathe experience here at CHMW, and that this was mostly a 'big lathe' forum.
I never said that people weren't helpful, it's just the opposite.
So @Susquatch posted this poll.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

So it's a little hard for me to accept that nobody answers your small lathe questions.

Wait a minute. I never said that. I have said -again and again- how helpful people try to be when I ask questions.
I said that:

I've hardly ever seen a discussion about a 7x lathe problem, unless I've started it myself.

Perhaps I've missed a lot of discussions with '7x' or 'mini-lathe' as the main topic. @Chris Cramer's discussion titled 'Metal Lathe Options' is one of the few from a 7x lathe user.
And there is nothing wrong with that! A small forum like this cannot 'be all things to all people'- no matter how kind and helpful the members are. There are other places on the internet where I go with my 7x lathe topics. And, those are the places I encourage other people with 7x lathe topics or concerns to go.

And generally my comments referring to 7x lathes don't draw any response.

This means exactly what it says- when I add a comment to a discussion- somebody else's discussion- about a general machining topic, and mention '7x lathe', I seldom get any response 'and certainly not 'I find the same thing with my 7x lathe'.
And there is nothing wrong with that! My experience using my 7x lathe is not relevant to most users here, who are more experienced, and who are dealing with entirely different types of problems.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

There are quite a few of us with Myfords here which probably account for a majority of the under 9" #'s.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

There are quite a few of with Myfords here which probably account for a majority of the under 9" #'s.

Good point, that makes a lot of sense. I should say 'Chinese 7x', but '7x' or '7x mini lathe' seem to be the common identifiers.
Because they are relatively cheap, I think the Sieg and RealBull Chinese 7x lathes are the 'entry point' (like the packet of free heroin from your local dealer ) to machining for many.
I wouldn't have considered a larger, more expensive lathe when I bought my 7x for $500 'on a whim'. If the Chinese lathes and the massive online support for them hadn't been around, I would have skipped the 'machine shop' hobby altogether.

 

[Susquatch]

This means exactly what it says- when I add a comment to a discussion- somebody else's discussion- about a general machining topic, and mention '7x lathe', I seldom get any response 'and certainly not 'I find the same thing with my 7x lathe'.

OK. That is indeed a different meaning.

Doesn't mean we don't want to try and help. And I know you know that.

I don't know if I'd sell this group short on being able to help with small lathe problems though. There is an enormous amount of knowledge on here. Certainly has been plenty of good input for Chris. Not only that but the two of you have maintained a healthy dialog. I think it's all good. I'm looking forward to hearing how the tool I sent him works.

Once we all know that plus the feeds and speeds, we will be in a better position to comment.

 

[Canadium]

@Tecnico - Yes, your comments all make sense. Yes, people here are very helpful, and I appreciate that.

Unless people have been following the 'Metal Lathe Options' discussion, they might not be aware of @Susquatch's motivation for posting this survey.
I suggested a couple of times - once too many, apparently - that there wasn't a lot of 7x Chinese lathe experience here at CHMW, and that this was mostly a 'big lathe' forum.
I never said that people weren't helpful, it's just the opposite.
So @Susquatch posted this poll.

The more I think about it the more it seems to me that this is a very interesting and valid observation. The poll numbers do seem to support the notion that the CHMW has a significant segment of professional or semi-pro machinists while under represented by the very popular small lathe hobby "model engineer" types that focus on building miniature model engines. clocks and the like. Perhaps you can't be all things to all people? I know for a fact that there are several people who rarely show their faces here but are very active in my local model engineers club, and vice versa many in my my local model engineers club that are not members here. I myself have a foot in both places.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

Perhaps you can't be all things to all people?

That's certainly my opinion, and people shouldn't agonize about it, either. "Know thyself, etc...."
I don't know the membership numbers here, but it seems to me that there are probably at most 75-100 or so regular participants; folks who drop in frequently, participate in discussions, and initiate discussions. It does have the (nice) feel of a 'group of friends'.
The (Chinese) 7x group on Facebook has a couple of hundred people who contribute regularly, and new faces show up - starting discussions- often. And almost all those people want to discuss only the Chinese 7x and (less frequently) 8x lathes. So, if you want to find out about a Chinese lathe made by Sieg or RealBull, that is the place to go. There is a huge group of Chinese 7x lathe and Sieg X2 mini-mill users. LittleMachineShop does a roaring business just servicing that segment of the marketplace.

 

[Susquatch]

I don't know the membership numbers here, but it seems to me that there are probably at most 75-100 or so regular participants; folks who drop in frequently, participate in discussions, and initiate discussions. It does have the (nice) feel of a 'group of friends'.
The (Chinese) 7x group on Facebook has a couple of hundred people who contribute regularly, and new faces show up - starting discussions- often.

Perhaps I can help you understand a bit better and hopefully appreciate the differences. I believe that particular forum is pretty global. There are many other forums that are global that are like ours in many ways.

Our focus was intended to be Canadian Hobby Metal Working. There are lots of aspects of metal working that are uniquely Canadian. More importantly, there is a community of metal workers in Canada with a need to communicate with each other about our metal working interests, meet other like minded people, and coordinate our activities through meetups, discussions, and private chats.

We welcome members from other countries with open arms, but you can feel the Canadian Culture here very clearly in the humour, the comradery, the weather, the availability, the challenges, and the economics to name just a few.

That's why we try to cover as many bases as possible too.

There are lots of other bigger forums that specialize and or compete in their respective niches. We don't do that here. We are not trying to be the biggest nor do we compete in any way - especially not for members. Many of us (if not most of us) belong to other forums, and we are all ok with that. In fact we frequently link to other information elsewhere. In the process, we do try to be collegial, respectful, friendly, and helpful and we have a lot of fun in the process.

I belong to lots of other big forums. I even have a few that I started. I don't enjoy any of them as much as I enjoy this one. The guys on here are amazing. They have an absolutely incredible range of knowledge, skills, and experience. And they keep me laughing, learning, sharing, helping, and having fun. There is a lot to be said for all of that all on its own.

 

[VicHobbyGuy]

Perhaps I can help you understand a bit better and hopefully appreciate the differences.

Really? I think I do understand all that.
Perhaps I am being too subtle?
One more try: When I say that this is 'a big lathe' forum, please don't get upset. I'm not saying that people here are not helpful or good, nice people.
I am saying that this is not the place I'd send people if they had a question about a Chinese 7x lathe, because there are too few people here who know much about them, and it will be difficult for people here to understand the problem and to give pertinent advice.
I don't know why this is a problem.
Apparently you felt I was misinformed, thus this survey to prove that this is a forum for owners of all sizes of lathes.
I don't presume to give advice on fixing and operating a Bridgeport mill, because I 'don't have a clue' about them.
Why would I expect somebody who has no experience operating an 85 lb lathe like a Chinese 7x, to be the best resource for problems with those machines?
For me, CHMW is a place to check for tips on bargains on 'small stuff' available to Canadians, and perhaps for a lead on a used machine available locally .
If I'm having a problem with the cross slide dial on my 7x14 Chinese lathe, I'll go somewhere else.
And I don't think I am alone in this. It is hard to tell as this isn't a 'real names' forum but I don't see any of the well-known (on Facebook) Canadian 7x lathe users around here.
And, @Canadium has pointed out the fact that few people from his local model engineers club participate here. That makes perfect sense to me.
This isn't an insult, or an indication that CHMW isn't a good forum, or that people here aren't generally helpful.

 

[mbond]

My confusion is why you keep brining this up.

I have posted a bunch of times with complex math etc. that makes sense to me, but no one else responds. So what?

In have also posted some of the most basic questions about cutters and chip colours that I know nothing about and have had a plethora of helpful responses.

It seems quite reasonable that in a community, some people will be more knowledgeable in some areas and others in other areas. And that someone who has a 20 foot lathe could know quite a lot about how to use a 2 inch one too. And vise versa.

 

[PeterT]

Not to be picky, but even 'swing' is not always a consistent cross model comparison metric. My Taiwan 14x40 for example has removable bed gap. Its 20" swing...for a little bit LOL

 

[Jswain]

My confusion is why you keep brining this up.

I have posted a bunch of times with complex math etc. that makes sense to me, but no one else responds. So what?

In have also posted some of the most basic questions about cutters and chip colours that I know nothing about and have had a plethora of helpful responses.

It seems quite reasonable that in a community, some people will be more knowledgeable in some areas and others in other areas. And that someone who has a 20 foot lathe could know quite a lot about how to use a 2 inch one too. And vise versa.

It's getting past the awkward stage.

Who cares really, +1 for a decent Canadian forum

 

[CWret]

The poll numbers do seem to support the notion that the CHMW has a significant segment of professional or semi-pro machinists while under represented by the very popular small lathe hobby

Agree, well sorta- there are a lot of members that have professional training but there are many self taught metalworker members too. Throw in the Canadian twist and that helps make this Forum a good place to learn. It’s great that some members are willing to share their knowledge. Yet, the majority of Forum members I’ve met (at the 2 meet-ups I’ve attended or in my PM conversations) are in my ball park. We have hobby size equipment in our garage, basement, or small hobby shop out back. Our goal is the same - enjoy. IMO this Forum is great because of the range of abilities but the size of equipment is irrelevant. I also think that the experienced members are more willing to offer advice since they can. Therefore they appear to be a larger part of the Forum just because we hear from them more often. Great - because of their knowledge they have something to say when I do not.

there are several people who rarely show their faces here but are very active in my local model engineers club, and vice versa

yes - vice versa - both are different but they have lots of overlap.
As you know, I’ve attended the local model engineers club meeting and i plan to be a regular. Great bunch as is the CHMW. Very similar groups with similar issues even though the scale might be different.

It's getting past the awkward stage.

Who cares really

Best response yet.
Short.
Perfect.
Who cares.
Thanks.

 

[jcdammeyer]

If someone wants to join the world of small lathes...

Original Unimat SL1000 Mini Lathe Tool Post for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Original Unimat SL1000 Mini Lathe Tool Post at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[DPittman]

Not to be picky, but even 'swing' is not always a consistent cross model comparison metric. My Taiwan 14x40 for example has removable bed gap. Its 20" swing...for a little bit LOL

View attachment 42981

On a side note of curiosity Peter, have you ever had the gap block out and then back in? I had a asian 12x36 with a gap also but it had never been removed, I had read horrible things about getting it back in (never the same way ever again).

 

[Tom O]

I think we all have heard that but I’ve never heard anyone’s tales of putting it back.

 

[Former Member]

Not to be picky, but even 'swing' is not always a consistent cross model comparison metric. My Taiwan 14x40 for example has removable bed gap. Its 20" swing...for a little bit LOL

View attachment 42981

This!

Thank you for mentioning it, I was about to post something similar.

One other thing that is important on a lathe is inside spindle dia. as it has a lot of effect on how large dia and length material can be.

A lot of the newer smaller lathes (well under 12" swings) have larger ID spindles and the older machines and for most hobbies cases this makes them way better value for the money.

My upgrade from a Logan 200 to a CX707 was for the ID spindle size. The second item was for the same footprint the CX707 is a larger stiffer lathe with more power, this second item was a bonus.

 

[140mower]

On a side note of curiosity Peter, have you ever had the gap block out and then back in? I had a asian 12x36 with a gap also but it had never been removed, I had read horrible things about getting it back in (never the same way ever again).

Kieth Fenner takes his out a few times that I have seen. He showed how he put it back in and brought it back into alignment. Didn't look all that terrible, if I had a gap and a need, I would take the chance.

 

[Susquatch]

On a side note of curiosity Peter, have you ever had the gap block out and then back in? I had a asian 12x36 with a gap also but it had never been removed, I had read horrible things about getting it back in (never the same way ever again).

I think we all have heard that but I’ve never heard anyone’s tales of putting it back.

I've heard the same thing and have never had the courage to take mine out. In fact, I've deliberately told guys to find someone with a real lathe when they asked me to do jobs for them that would require it.

Maybe I'll look for the fenner video and see what he considers back to snuff. There is a very very VERY slim chance that might change my mind.

 

[140mower]

I've heard the same thing and have never had the courage to take mine out. In fact, I've deliberately told guys to find someone with a real lathe when they asked me to do jobs for them that would require it.

Maybe I'll look for the fenner video and see what he considers back to snuff. There is a very very VERY slim chance that might change my mind.

Baby steps there big fella...... You just learned to use some of the other lines on the thread dial. At (y)our age, too much excitement can cause problems, or so I have been told.....