OT: Harbor Freight

True, the pure stuff is very flammable, maybe more so than gasoline (though there's less energy per unit volume). Maybe a dilute solution with some detergent.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Well, no, not really. And you're right - the 7x10 is cramped, to put it nicely. This purchase truly is for a special project I have in mind. The proejct will pay off many times over, so I guess I could upgrade to a better lathe if I fall in love with it.

I will be machineing parts only a couple inches long, so I didn't see the need for the larger units. Plus, the workspace I intend to put it in is a little cramped (though it would probably take a larger lathe) Oh well. Live and learn. This one was on-sale, and I figured it could do the job, so.. there you have it.

- mpm

I used one of those mini lathes at a job I had. The headstock was not aligned with the ways. If you faced a disk it always had high spot in the center, and if you turned a rod it had about a 0.004" taper over the full length. So, if I got one, I would turn a rod and make sure it was the same diameter on each end, while I still had time to return it. It is handy and we made many parts with it, so just make sure you are happy with the one your going to own. MikeK

You'd rather _return_ it rather than learn how to align it?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Not to worry--I have one of the same machines and it's plenty of fun. Enjoy it!

-- Cheers, James Arthur

With the 25% coupon it's $525, as compared to $439 on sale in 2005. That's about 3.6% inflation per year, so a bit high. The 7x12 is $550, and the 7x10 is $500 right now (sale price)

It's not all that hard, just hang the ballscrew under the leadscrew, slap a motor mount on the end of the bed, etc. People sell plans.

I hacked a DRO out of some HF digital calipers for the tailstock, and from an eBay scale for the carriage. Best thing I ever did.

-- Cheers, James Arthur

I mostly thread metric, but I wouldn't bet the 8x12 can't do 28 TPI. (Our chinese friends don't list every combination possible, IME.)

Okay (couldn't resist) I'm looking at the manual--it can cut 28 TPI, just use 70:80 60:70 instead of the 14 TPI setting of 70:40 60:70. The lathe includes two 70's, so it's all good.

The threading gears don't matter if you CNC, but that's not really the point anyhow. There's no question Spehro's got a nicer beast. This one's for chopping up though, and there's a lot less guilt in doing so. A lot easier to wrangle too, which counts for something when you're going to have to do it yourself.

I could just hang with the 7x10--it's decent. My last project took a _very_ long time roughing a piece of steel, popping fuses left and right even with gentle cuts, so I got the itch for a little more power.

-- Cheers, James Arthur

I have DROs on my woodworking tools. Really nice. HF didn't have 52" digital calipers, so I bought one of these: ;-)

I spent hours trying to learn how to align it, didn't have any success. By the time I figured out it had a problem, it was to late to return it. Thus my suggestion, check it out immediately. MikeK

Too late. I bought a folding animal trap just the other day.

They didn't have any gold-panning equipment, although the guy in the store said they get asked for it a lot.

Here's a decent article on how to do the alignment on a mini-lathe, with just a ground rod and Dial Test Indicator (and I'd suggest buying an assortment of shim stock).

The Grizzly lathe came with a several-page factory inspection report showing the allowable error and actual measurements (15 measurements in all)

Eg. Spindle center line parallelism to longitudinal motion of carriage is supposed to be within 0.05mm in vertical and 0.03mm horizontal for

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Spehro Pefhany Inscribed thus:

That was my first thought !

We used a citrus based, water soluable cleaner on PC boards at Microdyne.

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That's a deal, $100! That's good to know. My design also attaches magnetically, that way I didn't have to modify the lathe. It's a nice feature.

Can't do that on a Sherline. ;-)

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Was it at room temperature, Michael?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

" digital

I've got one of those too. :-) (And the mill. CNC'd, but not currently in service. Mod'd by SpectraLight Machines)

-- Cheers, James Arthur

There are shorter ones designed for other tools (router lifts and planers), too. Note that these are for woodworking so have a .005" resolution.

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I noticed that--more than good enough for woodworking. Lovely.

My setup on the tailstock lets me drill and bore to 0.001~ish effortlessly, every time. That's sooo much better than drill, dismount the tailstock (necessary because of the tight work space), measure depth, remount tailstock, repeat.

-- Cheers, James Arthur

It was heated, but not a lot. I think it was around 100 to 110 F. It was used in a modified dish washer. The modification allowed the solvent to be used, then returned to a holding tank. Then water was used for the rinse. After cleaning, the boards were put in a 120 F drying cabinet. I may be able to get hold of the ME that maintained it if it will help. he still lives in the area.