Axminster CO Micro Lathe. Sieg CO

Axminster Micro Lathe :bit.ly/3ynTjyb
I bought this lathe for its higher speed than my Myford and is especialy useful for small parts. The finish on parts and depth of cut possible is better than expected.

[@spudnickuk]

You have shown that this little lathe can turn some rigid stuff rather well, and the parting off shows how sturdy it is to. I do find it amazing watching you make upgrades so effortlessly that work on a professional level. 10/10

[@union310]

It sounds awful.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Axminister CO Micro Lathe performed very well and your mods make it far more useable. Enjoyable viewing, thank you.

[@Sven_Hein]

I've owned a similar lathe for years now and have never thought about putting a strip of plastic under the ways. This seems like such a no brainer! Thank you for the tip!

[@myfordboy]

I dropped one of the first things I made and it went under the headstock. Took ages to fish it out. Keep watching for further ideas, I now have auto feed.

[@Sven_Hein]

@@myfordboy I will, my mini lathe is an Optimum D140x250 Vario which came with auto feed and metal change gears. But I assume all these small lathes made in Asia use a lot of the same castings for the bedways and headstock etc.

[@RetroSteamTech]

Very nice and a great job on all your mods. I especially like the little ER16 Collet Chuck 👍👍👍

[@Smallathe]

Very cute! Congrants on the new tool. Enjoy!

[@robertoswalt319]

With the improvements you have made to the new lathe, it ought to complement the equipment you already have. I look forward to seeing it in use in future videos

[@jozsefbalatoni8782]

Good luck with the machine and as they are said to have broken shavings! Sok sikert a géphez és ahogy felénk mondják, tört forgácsot!

[@davidjames1007]

I always wondered what the C0 was like, thanks for the review. I have a C2 lathe and a X2 mill and I am generally happy with them. SIEG makes good machines for the price you pay

[@lawrenwimberly7311]

love your work brother

[@Jims-Workshop]

Your modifications and tooling enhancements are fantastic. It now looks to be a very capable mini lathe. Reminiscent of the Emco Unimat of the 60's.

[@myfordboy]

I had a Unimat 3 but this one is much more rigid and a much better motor.

[@Fredrikgaard]

@@myfordboy It looks like a Unimat 4 wich were a sturdier and slightly larger version of a unimat3. It's only the paintjobb and drivetrain that seem to differ from my Unimat 4. The U4 had a 2-speed motor with a 4-speed O-ring belt transmission. I changed belts to some green roundbelt that was way grippier and durable then thos O-rings. That was a huge upgrade in performance when the belts don't slip so easily. And they are still going 20 years later.

[@CyberstormDJTeam]

Very interesting, thank you so much for posting this! I had been looking for a tiny lathe usable on the kitchen table for quite some time, and your videos absolutely convinced me to buy this Sieg C0, which is being marketed under the brand name of “Rotwerk” in Germany. Before I also considered the “Proxxon FD 150/E” (featuring an aluminium bed and cross slide similar to the Peatol) which is comparable in size, but I believe that it would fall apart if attempting to turn steel the way you do in this video.

[@ysgolgerlan]

Thanks for the video, somehow I just knew you would not use it as standard and would modify it. Looking forward to seeing it in action.

[@ronitsingh85]

This lathe is something else, it is quite powerful for its tiny size. I recently got an emco unimat 3 and now I think this would be my #1 choice! If I can find one that is!

[@machinist_matt]

There's something really satisfying about working on a micro lathe! Contrary to the often held belief that they are for beginners, they generally require even more skill to operate than their full size counterparts!

[@greggschwabauer6241]

I’ve struggled with using insert tooling and am having to up my game by learning how to properly grind, and lap, high speed steel tools. They don’t last as long but, I think, they don’t take as much cutting force and leave a nicer finish. Definitely more of a commitment then a larger lathe.

[@machinist_matt]

@@greggschwabauer6241 HSS is definitely the way to go with small lathes! I find high quality branded cobalt HSS stays sharp almost as long as carbide.

[@myfordboy]

If you use the correct tips the finish is suburb. You don't see me using anything else in my videos. You need a small tip dia for small lathes, i.e 0.2mm

[@machinist_matt]

@@myfordboy Yes the correct tip helps. CCGT tips seem to work best on small lathes. Probably because they are meant for taking smaller finishing cuts.

[@greggschwabauer6241]

@@myfordboy What type inserts do you use?

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@MattTester]

I often find myself wanting custom spacers, something like this might be useful as I don't have space for anything bigger. It would be interesting to see if it could cut accurate threads if you made stepper adapters for the spindle and the Z axis.

[@pirminkogleck4056]

i am sure u can cut single point threads with a stepper and a unit wich dials the speeds to match for a thread...but the question is do u realy want such a small lathe...as soon as it comes to machine a small steel part...this lathe will creep away under the load of a parting tool...i bought myself a 400mm 750watt chinese import lathe and it has a german motor and a german vfd unit and still when it comes to machine cromoly steel (42cromo4) parting of ends in a disaster....all other materials are no problem, but in the end i sometimes wich i have a qualiuty crosslide and a propper german or swiss lathe ...

[@pcka12]

This one seems to work ‘straight out of the box’, the ‘mini lathe’ I had off them about 14 years ago suffered all the faults of everybody else’s mini!

[@greggschwabauer6241]

I have a Unimat 3, and this looks very similar. If you wouldn’t mind a more detailed description of the collet chuck, I’ve been wishing I had one for turning small stock, and I’d REALLY appreciate it. Thanks for sharing!

[@myfordboy]

I have the building of the collet chuck recorded and it will be the subject of a forthcoming video.

[@greggschwabauer6241]

@@myfordboy Thankyouthankyouthankyou.

[@mikeyt3516]

Excellent. I'm also interested to see this. Many thanks.

[@vinnycordeiro]

Using a lathe is one of those skills I wish I have learned in my life.

[@dav1dsm1th]

You don't appear to be dead - so there's probably still time.

[@leerogers6423]

Go For It !

[@hinz1]

Buy one and try it. Did that with all of my machines, without any education....

[@stupid-handle]

This is a clone of the unimat 3 with an upgraded motor, a metallic stand, etc. It's a pretty nice lathe for small things, though even these have become way too expensive from the last couple of years to buy anew (in my opinion).

[@awldune]

Impressive lack of runout with that homemade collet!

[@barumman]

Looks like a handy bit of kit, what is the bed made of ? Nice video as always. :)

[@myfordboy]

All cast iron construction.

[@christianwittke5144]

Very ineresting. Do you have any idea, if this is a standart Sieg or are there axminster specials to be expected?

[@myfordboy]

My uderstanding is the Sieg lathes are sold by different retailers and some claim to have higher quality control. I don't know the position with this Axminster one but they seem to be the only suplier of this model in the UK.

[@wktodd]

Sounds like it could do with a larger pulley on the spindle to drop the speed and up the torque. .

[@CatNolara]

Yeah, or even stepped pulleys so you can change gears

[@RichardTymko]

Hi, wondering if you will share your files that you made for the C0 for all the add on parts. I just picked one up and would really like to make ask the 3d printed parts and the tool post. Thanks in advance.

[@myfordboy]

I have no plans for the toolpost but can send files for the other parts. I need your email to send them.

[@IGBasov]

Looks nice. Have you an opportunity to compare it with taig or sherline lathe?

[@myfordboy]

No I have not ried those. My understanding they both have aluminium bed. The Axminster one shown here has a cast iron bed and no aluminium parts.

[@IGBasov]

@@myfordboy got it. thanks

[@leslieaustin151]

@@myfordboy No, not in either case. My Taig (Peatol) has an aluminium box-base supporting a steel ground-dovetail bed. I think the Sherline has a steel bed also. I’m happy with my Taig for most stuff - I’m making an ‘Ellie tram engine” and its done the wheels and engine parts just fine, including a SS flywheel. My clapped out ML7 just can’t cope with any accurate heavy cutting so the Taig has to do it. Les

[@myfordboy]

Thank you for the clarification, I have never seen either of those lathes in the flesh. I made an Ellie. kzbin.info/aero/PLHUJDLlTM_9XRig947d7GHh3Kfm6R5CRd

[@SergeiPetrov]

Do not carry out any measurements on this lathe by dial gauge and caliper. Why?

[@modheadify]

I have been trying to find a four jaw chuck for this for at least 8 months. Can you help please.

[@myfordboy]

I have a Sanou self centering one bought from Amazon and I see them on Aliexpress. I have not looked for an independant adjustable jaw one.

[@joseolietenuez4422]

Bonjour, Superbe vidéo, je viens d'acheter un tour identique de marque sogi. Pouvez-vous m'aider pour réaliser l'adaptateur de mandrin pour la contre-pointe ? Comment avez-vous fait ? Merci Superb video, I just bought an identical lathe from the Sogi brand. Can you help me make the chuck adapter for the tailstock? How did you do ? THANKS

[@myfordboy]

You can buy a tailstock chuck that screws onto the tailstock. I bought one but the runout on mine was poor so I returned it for a refund. The chuck I have now has an internal morse taper. The adaptor I made has a close fitting parallel section that fits into the tailstock barrel with a male morse taper to fit the chuck on the other end. A blind nut was made to match the tailstock thead. The spindle part of the adaptor has an increased dia section in the middle that the nut bears on.

[@BTSensei]

⭐🙂👍

[@luketorpedo]

Certainly seems like a simple machine, no precision slide and rotate on tool post and appears to have no screwcut capability? But if you wanted the power for roughing and facing small items fast while not using a larger lathe I guess it's got you covered.

[@johnutting9615]

The Uniimat 3 has a taper turning top slide which will fit this machine and a mill head and post which bolts to the rear of the bed.

[@EvgeniDemirev]

I would add a self-propelled with a stepper motor.

[@myfordboy]

It's coming soon.

[@EvgeniDemirev]

@@myfordboy And I assumed you thought of that before me! 👍

[@ParsMaker]

nice toy, but I prefer 7 x 14 mini lathe

[@pacman10182]

practically the same price as their c3 is there any point in this over a 7"?

[@myfordboy]

Ideal if you do not have space for a larger lathe.

[@pacman10182]

@@myfordboy ideal would be getting more space

[@arunkoley]

How much price

[@k4kfh]

If you're in the United States, I'd say a Taig lathe is a better option than this thing (similar options to this Axminster are available through Grizzly and the like). Sherlines are nice machines too, but they're not as competitive on price.

[@myfordboy]

The Taig, also known in UK as a Peatol is made of aluminium extrusions, not cast iron like the Sieg/Axminster. I know which I would prefer.

[@lawrenwimberly7311]

something painful happened to that left thumb

[@dizzolve]

1:29 ..........very .................. :D

[@lutsifer5847]

The chuck takes a lot of getting used to. I would be afraid that after turning it on and off several times it would come off on its own.

[@CatNolara]

nah, it tightens itself under load. just can't let it run backwards

[@lutsifer5847]

@@CatNolara Like right now? You can't change the direction of rotation? How are you going to cut threads then? I, for example, always bevel my turned parts from behind so that I don't have to adjust the turning tool. To do this, I have to let the machine run to the left.

[@CatNolara]

@@lutsifer5847 this lathe can't cut threads anyway, the screw for the carriage can't be connected to the spindle. Only with a die like he showed, but no single point cutting. Lathes that are able to reverse the spindle rotation usually have a different style of mounting system for the chuck, on this one the chuck would just come loose.

[@lutsifer5847]

@@CatNolara OK, as I see it now it's just a lathe for the simple and primitive jobs like making small bolts and bushings.

[@greggschwabauer6241]

@@lutsifer5847 Or watches and clocks and camera shutters and scientific instruments and … They can be just as precise as you need them to be, more limited by operator skill than anything. Which is the point, the one thing this type of lathe is not designed for is “Production”. A good tap, die or screwplate can cut an excellent set of threads, as long as you have the time and patience to learn how to use them. If you want to bang out 10 identical copies of something it short order, these are not the machines to do it with.

[@zxspectum]

I'm just thinking carpet 😆

[@sallyfischer1204]

Is this made in china?

[@myfordboy]

Yes. Sieg lathe which is badged by several distributors.

[@mechniack]

More Chinese stuff