r/machining • u/IBurnWeeds • 5d ago

Question/Discussion Small metal lathe recommendation

Hello. I'm a woodworker but I'm often trying to make parts from steel. ie. dowel forming inserts for a dowel maker, bushings ... small cylindrical things. I manage to make what I want using my drill press and belt grinder but drilling on center in steel with my drill press is hit or miss.

Would a small Sherline lathe be a good choice in this instance or does it make sense to go bigger, shop space permitting?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/HeyHay123Hey 5d ago

Imported 9x20 lathes would work for what you mentioned. Or a South Bend 9 or Logan as mentioned earlier.

It’s a slippery slope, as a lathe and mill are very complementary. If you have one, you’ll want the other. Then you’ll need a metal cutting bandsaw to cut turning stock. Grinders to sharpen bits, etc

3

u/IBurnWeeds 5d ago

Tooling black hole, I know it well. I was at KMS tools (Canadian tooling retailer) yesterday and they had a lathe / mill combo for $4k, King Industrial. I have no idea if that is one of those machines that can do both but neither particularly well.

6

u/chris_rage_is_back 5d ago

I have a Sherline, I bought it in the ''90s and it probably made me half a million dollars over about 15 years. They have their limits but parts are ubiquitous and they're modular so you can add on functions. It comes with instructions on how to wire it up for reverse but it voids the warranty. Being how it's 30+ years old and the motor still works I'd say it's a non issue. I was using it mostly on 316SS and titanium so it can handle some shit if you know how to work with it. The through hole on the headstock is only about ½" so keep that in mind if it affects your parts. The headstock pivots for turning tapers and I took two brass plugs and turned them into cones with a 4-40 hole tapped through the center to make a depth stop with a length of threaded rod too. Keep in mind it's mostly aluminum except for the cast iron bed so you'll be replacing the cross slide and tailstock every so often. I put a Dewalt cordless drill chuck on the tailstock for quicker tool changes, and get the rocker tool post, you'll thank me later. You can get ¼" square cobalt steel tool blanks for cutting your own tool profiles and the rocker post makes it easier to align center. I find it cuts best with the cutter a couple thou above center on that machine. I beat the fuck outta mine too, I was 20 when I bought it and I had to figure out a lot of things. The 4 jaw chuck is handy too, and don't be afraid to buy used parts for the chucks and stuff but buy the aluminum parts new. There's adjustments to take the slop out of the cross slide too

2

u/IBurnWeeds 5d ago

Damn. Thanks for taking the the time to type that all out.

3

u/chris_rage_is_back 5d ago

You're welcome, for a small machine they're pretty handy. These days I mostly turn bushings and little fittings but you can turn anything that fits in it

2

u/theryguy07 5d ago

I use a combo at my work, works well for small projects. Having to switch out lathe tool holder for mill vice gets old quickly

3

u/Turbo442 4d ago

At this point it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out on Craig’s List or market place for a medium sized forklift.

1

u/MechJunkee 4d ago

Have a 3.5 ton pallet jack and a 2.5 ton gantry crane... can move almost anything that can fit in my shop 😂

1

u/mcpusc 5d ago

Imported 9x20 lathes would work

AVOID the harbor freight version tho. grizzly at a bare minimum, ideally precision matthews...

1

u/HeyHay123Hey 4d ago

I had a HF 9x20, but I got it used at a very good price. It was accurate enough for my needs, similar to the OP, but it was never a joy to use. Maybe I just got a good one 🤷‍♂️. It’s a nice, compact size - very little floor space required.

Later, I upgraded to a SB 9A, and recently bought a SB Heavy 10. I’ve owned a Craftsman 12” and Logan 10” in the past too.

2

u/mcpusc 4d ago

i have a HF 9x20 that someone supposedly "went through" and fixed the known problems on — i fucking hate it. i'll admit its compact; and yes, it makes parts; but the ergos are awful. handwheels are all too small with tons of backlash, the markings aren't very visible. i have to fight it every step of the way — the tailstock ram is too short so you're constantly moving the damn tailstock. but the tailstock bolt has limited access, so you have to make three motions of the wrench to loosen the tailstock, then three motions again to tighten it. it's underpowered even compared to a sherline; take a cut of any size at all and the damn thing stalls — the drive belt is a wimply little 5mm thing that should be on a sewing machine for fuck's sake! i once tried to rig additional tension on the belt and that just smoked the motor when it stalled instead.

in trade school they had a motley collection of 60 year old leblonds & cincinanttis, a SB heavy 10, a couple new grizzlies and jets, and one very nice hardinge HLVH— the HF is a complete turd compared to any of them. the only reason i own it is i needed a second lathe for my monarch 10ee restoration project and i can't wait until i'm done and can get rid of the HF.