Taig Micro Lathe II

[propencity]

Just saw this on Craigslist and was wondering if this would be a good starting metal lathe. At this time I would only be using it to make pens, turning metal/aluminum components for pens. I already have a mini wood lathe and thought this would be a relatively small investment to get my feet wet in metal lathe turning. Plus with the limited space in the garage, it appears small enough that I should be able to find space for it. Any thoughts and/or advice is greatly appreciated.


TAIG MICRO LATHE II

 

[mredburn]

It is iffy as a bargain. He has a 4 jaw chuck not a 3 jaw as described on the lathe so you would need to buy a 3 jaw probably pretty guickly. That will add around $70.00 to the cost. I started with a taig and it will do small things fairly well. Except drilling, and its not the drilling part thats hard. Its measuring how deep you have drilled. It has a lever handle to push the drill bit into the work and you will need to figure out a way to be able to measure that. Some people add dial indicators some use a magic marker.
I started on a Taig and quickly out grew it.

 

[frank123]

You'd probably do better and be happier for your purpose by looking for a used mini lathe which can be had (occasionally) for close to that price.