New or old lathe, bang for buck.

[BenCviolin]

Hi.

If you get what you pay for, what is 'best' quality for a micro lathe ?
I see some people use the old lathes and others go for modern stuff.

Thanks.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I used to have a Tyme little gem. It was around 5" swing and maybe 10" between centres. Low on power but for small stuff it was fine.

Some of the really small lathes don't have morse taper in the spindle or tailstock so you are limited on attachments so that's possibly worth considering, depending what you plan to make.

Also worth considering is that you can make small things on big lathes but not vice-versa.

 

[SVB]

There is currently a Vicmarc 100 on eBay. No affiliation or idea of condition but super small lathe.

S

 

[BenCviolin]

I spose what I was thinking was a metal working lathe with the multi-adjuster wheels,
for use with small bits of wood.

There's one guy who uses a similar technique to key copying for turning pegs.
Not likely I'll ever get the skills to make them but I find lathes interesting.

Cheers.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Ben,
Whilst in principle both flavours of lathe spin stuff to allow it to be cut round there are pretty fundamental differences between metalworking and woodworking lathes.

Metalworking lathes in general turn more slowly and are engineered for small precise cuts with adjustable tailstocks saddles and compounds etc. On the other hand woodworking lathes will tend to turn more quickly and be less precise - their tailstocks have no adjustment and the saddle and cross-slide are replaced with an easily and quickly adjustable banjo and toolrest.

In short, they've evolved into quite different animals over the years.

It's quite possible to turn wood on a metal lathe and vice versa but for maximum enjoyment and efficiency I think that you'll find that sticking to the material each was designed for is "best".
HTH
Jon