Length can also be reclamed by using a collet
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On 16 Dec 2024, at 07:30, Miket_NYC via groups.io <mctaglieri@...> wrote:
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"For ME, I would absolutely go with the longer bed.? That distance can gets used up pretty fast with a chuck in the headstock, work piece, drill, and Jacobs chuck in the tail stock.? I also like a longer bed so I can move the tailstock further out of my way when not using it."
I agree completely, but I worked for years (and made several large projects), with a Harbor Freight 7x10, and there are ways to get around bed-length problems. (And these ways are worth knowing about no matter how big your lathe is). A drill in the tailstock doesn't HAVE to be in a chuck. You can drill a pilot hole with a small drill in the chuck, then hold your big drill on the tailstock center with a lathe dog on the drill shaft to keep it from turning. (And that center can be a homemade short one that hardly sticks out, not the giant centers you buy). When drilling from the tail stock, you can also shorten drills by simply sawing off the shaft -- they aren't hardened.
Also, many things held in a chuck can instead be held on the faceplate. Most people used the faceplate for holding odd-shaped things that won't fit in the chuck, but if you're bed-challenged, you can also use it to save the ~2" of bed length that a chuck uses up.
Eventually I bought a longer bed for my 7x10 from little machine shop, but I don't regret my original purchase of the short bed. It helped develop my ingenuity.
Mike Taglieri
I'm not completely expert in the differences and just rambling from memory.
But first, I don't think anybody can say if lathe X is better than lathe Y - for YOU.
It is my understanding that the SC3 has a better motor arrangement and also a longer bed (7x16 instead of 7x14).
For ME, I would absolutely go with the longer bed.? That distance can gets used up pretty fast with a chuck in the headstock, work piece, drill, and Jacobs chuck in the tail stock.? I also like a longer bed so I can move the tailstock further out of my way when not using it.
But plenty are fine with the various shorter bed models.
Another thing I think about is the cost of the tooling.? And how I would feel paying the same money for tooling (chucks, better tool post, and on and on) for the lathe I didn't really want versus the lathe I really did want.? So, I suggest it is often best to go for the most machine you reasonably can unless cost is absolutely a major factor.
That would also mean looking at options other than C3 versus SC3 and perhaps other lathes.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
On Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 02:40:45 PM PST, Old Boilermaker via <alned03=
[email protected]> wrote:
Contemplating buying a mini lathe for home use. Is it worth spending the extra money to buy a SC3 as opposed to a C3 ?.
