Metal Lathe set up

[achennau]

Good morning all,
I just recently purchased the 7 x 10 mini metal lathe from Harbor Freight and am wondering about experiences any of you have had with this machine. Back in my younger days I had a little experience with a bigger lathe, but the machine was always set up for me. All I had to do was chuck up the metal and the machine did the rest, that was with former girl-friends dad. Anyway is their any tricks, tips, or knowledge any of you could share with me on this lathe? Any help would be appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

 

[Mike of the North]

I have no experience with the 7X10 lathes but I have heard that they need some tweaking to run right, I would go to Yahoo groups http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=7X10 , also Little Machine shop is a good source for tooling http://www.littlemachineshop.com/default.php, How to run a lathe by South Bend is also a good source of info, http://www.wewilliams.net/SBLibrary.htm , just be careful you don't want to hurt yourself or damage the lathe.

 

[achennau]

Thanks for the info Mike.

 

[bluwolf]

The links Mike gave you are good ones. I'll just add a couple.

Some folks find the 7x10 group to have way too much off topic. Nothing wrong with that if that's what the group wants. Some people find it difficult to wade through it looking for machining stuff. There's another group called 7x12 minilathe. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/7x12minilathe/ It was started to eliminate the off topic stuff. 7x10, 12,14,16 are all the same basic lathe. So 98% of it applies to all of them.

This other site is all about the lathe itself. It's a good place to start to get to know your lathe and how it's put together and how it works.
http://www.mini-lathe.com/

 

[dogcatcher]

A few years ago there was a mini lathe users group in the DFW area, you might try to find out if it still exists.

 

[achennau]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

 

[rherrell]

I've got a tip for you. It might sound a little odd but it works.

Your machine probably came with a 3 jaw chuck, when you tighten that chuck invariably one chuck key hole will tighten "straighter" than the other two. Put a piece of straight round stock in the chuck and let it stick out about an inch. Tighten the chuck and then put a dial indicator on the piece and give it a full turn. Write down how much wobble it has. Now loosen it and re-tighten using the other two holes. You should have one that is better than the other two, mark it and always use that hole to tighten the chuck.:wink::biggrin:

 

[gawdelpus]

Mini Lathe

You might like to wade through some of this info for a general idea of what's what . I am a retired fitter and turner and have an old solid 6" lathe ,I recently bought the Sieg C2 mini ,which yours probably is ,I guess until you get properly into the machining side of things you will need whatever tooling didn't come with the lathe , drill chucks ,revolving centres ,cutting tools etc. the needs and options will come as you discover what you want to do with it in general, ideal for turning pen bodies between centres ,especially truestone and some of the more tricky blanks ,amazing how easy a carbide tool and fine feeds can improve your output hehe. Initially I suspect you will start making your own bushes for pen turning ,practical and useful items . A digital caliper will help a lot with getting sizes you want , this really is a large subject so you may need to work your way through bit by bit to be really comfortable with all the aspects of your new adventure cheers John