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I'm so confused. The more I read about mini lathes, the more
uncertain I become on which one to buy. I've read that Prazi is the
best at close tol.work, but is +/- .0005 close for 1" dia. x 1"long
420 stainless steel? Shouldn't the asian lathes do that? What does
Prazi give you for $1000 - $2500 extra dollars? And which report do
you believe? Is the Taiwan built CH 350 the best or does the aluminum
bed blow it? Then I read that the LatheMaster 8 x 14 is the new
champ, and the 9 x 20s are crap. Some say that the older american
lathes like atlas or south bend are better than the new chinese
machines but I find that hard to believe. They were probably good 40
years ago but even China is not that far behind. To me the Micro -
Mark 7 x 14 looks good, but without being able to see eone or run one
I am trying to rely one reports I read on the internet. But they
seem to be of all different opinions. Can you guys help me out? I
Own a company that designs and builds small inserts for the plastics
industry. I am really looking for a toy that can also make small
inserts from 420 Stainless Steel @ 33 HRc. I know large machines
(Mazak, Lablond, Clausen etc. but can't seem to get a straight read
on the small market. You guys know this market. Help!

There is an old saying that you get what you pay for.

As a general rule, over my 56 years, I have found this to be generally true.

As far as Chinese products are concerned it depends upon whom is controlling
the quality.

An example, the Acme tool company makes a lathe that sells for $2000. It gets
the lathe made in China and now sells it for $1000. Assuming the quality is
the same the saving is in the labour.

This will only stop when the whole planet is at the same economic level.

In my life time Jap Crap has changed rather. Then it was Taiwan, but no more.
At the moment it is mainland China. I know there are others. Here in Europe
it is the old eastern block countries that are cheaper, in the US I believe
much stuff comes from South America.

The country to watch for the future is India, and I reckon South Africa and
Nigeria if they can ever get their acts together. Also, believe it or not,
Egypt and Iraq. All the naughties they have been up to involve quite a bit of
technical expertise. Channel those efforts somewhere useful and watch that
space in the desert.

So, at the end of the day it is down to Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware.

I went through all of this. It would be nice to see and handle the
various machines as can be done with woodworking equipment, but
woodworking is the province of the yuppie and is available everywhere
and metalworking is not.
You stated a couple of things; 1) that you are looking for a toy, so
at some level the question becomes how expensive a toy and how large
is the work to be undertaken.
After suffering the confusion, I bought a Homier 7x12 as the least
expensive toy with which to experiment. Any of the chinese
mini-lathes will be similar and one may expect sample-to-sample
variation to be as great or greater than brand variation.
The CH-350 aluminum ways greatly concern me.
If I wanted to increase the price of admission to the toy, I would
most likely go with the Lathemaster 8x14.
As to tolerance of finished work, the individuals capabilities and
ability to control the machine will play the greatest role. As to
whether or not .0005 is close enough, the engineer of the product
determines that requirement. Any of the lathes properly set up and
operated can reach that tolerance.
I do not remotely claim to be expert on the subject, but this is my
opinion on the subject and hope it is helpful.

Craig



--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "russlbowen1958
<moldproducts@a...>" <moldproducts@a...> wrote:

I'm so confused. The more I read about mini lathes, the more
uncertain I become on which one to buy. I've read that Prazi is the
best at close tol.work, but is +/- .0005 close for 1" dia. x 1"long
420 stainless steel? Shouldn't the asian lathes do that? What does
Prazi give you for $1000 - $2500 extra dollars? And which report do
you believe? Is the Taiwan built CH 350 the best or does the

aluminum

bed blow it? Then I read that the LatheMaster 8 x 14 is the new
champ, and the 9 x 20s are crap. Some say that the older american
lathes like atlas or south bend are better than the new chinese
machines but I find that hard to believe. They were probably good

40

years ago but even China is not that far behind. To me the Micro -
Mark 7 x 14 looks good, but without being able to see eone or run

one

I am trying to rely one reports I read on the internet. But they
seem to be of all different opinions. Can you guys help me out? I
Own a company that designs and builds small inserts for the plastics
industry. I am really looking for a toy that can also make small
inserts from 420 Stainless Steel @ 33 HRc. I know large machines
(Mazak, Lablond, Clausen etc. but can't seem to get a straight read
on the small market. You guys know this market. Help!

The product reviews at:

are accurate and honest. The Asian minis can meet your accuracy
needs; they may need some tweaking - the basic pieces are decent, fit
& finish can be improved. In my less charitable moments, I refer to
them as "lathe kits," to be finished by the buyer.
Unless you can afford a Hardinge, everything will have
shortcomings.

Roy
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "russlbowen1958
<moldproducts@a...>" <moldproducts@a...> wrote:

I'm so confused. The more I read about mini lathes, the more
uncertain I become on which one to buy. I've read that Prazi is

the

best at close tol.work, but is +/- .0005 close for 1" dia. x 1"long
420 stainless steel? Shouldn't the asian lathes do that? What

does

Prazi give you for $1000 - $2500 extra dollars? And which report do
you believe? Is the Taiwan built CH 350 the best or does the

aluminum

bed blow it? Then I read that the LatheMaster 8 x 14 is the new
champ, and the 9 x 20s are crap. Some say that the older american
lathes like atlas or south bend are better than the new chinese
machines but I find that hard to believe. They were probably good

40

years ago but even China is not that far behind. To me the Micro -
Mark 7 x 14 looks good, but without being able to see eone or run

one

I am trying to rely one reports I read on the internet. But they
seem to be of all different opinions. Can you guys help me out? I
Own a company that designs and builds small inserts for the

plastics

industry. I am really looking for a toy that can also make small
inserts from 420 Stainless Steel @ 33 HRc. I know large machines
(Mazak, Lablond, Clausen etc. but can't seem to get a straight read
on the small market. You guys know this market. Help!

russlbowen1958 wrote:

I know large machines

BTW, your initial post implied you have some experience with large
lathes. You can make the 7x12 work. I have had fair success at this
with absolutely no prior experience and that is inspite of severe
visual impairment of retina disease.

The concern with the 7x12 mini-lathe should be that, as a previous
reply stated, it is something of a pre-assembled kit which must be
reassembled. These issues are in general concerning backlash
adjustment, gib finish and adjustment, and similar items.

Also see Frank's website www.mini-lathe.com if not already employing
this valuable resource.

Craig