Import Lathe Buying Guide

[@PanamaSticks]

As an engineering technician with 40 years experience in manufacturing, 23 of them also machining prototypes, tooling, fixtures, etc. I have to say this is one of the best presentations I have ever seen on lathes. Thank you..

[@goldengoat1737]

I have zero background in metal working or lathes and I thought the same thing… Good to know my gut was right

[@JorgeStolfi]

If you are a real hobbyist, the rule is: check what your budget is, spend twice as much on the basic machine, then spend twice as much again on accessories and material.

[@Blondihacks]

😂🤣 True.

[@hilltopmachineworks2131]

Yep buy the biggest you can afford. With that comes more horsepower and more machine weight for rigidity.

[@ilikeoranges4]

What I would say is that it doesn’t matter as much what the price of the machine is because be prepared to spend several times that on tooling. Don’t budget for the machine. Budget for THE TOOLS! Every machinists, hobbyists or professional, has learned this lesson the hard way.

[@John_Ridley]

@@ilikeoranges4 Yeah but you can add tools forever. You only generally buy the lathe once. It's a lot harder to find out that you really need a bigger/better lathe and address that than it is to buy another couple of endmills.

[@jemijona]

I virtually did this. I was hoping for around $1200 but ended up spending $2488 delivered. Luckily it is coming with a mix of tooling but I will have to get the wallet out again if the tooling isn't up to scratch.

[@jwilsonmusic434]

I am a machinist, researching machines for a hobby shop. I like to think I know what I'm doing, but you pointed out things that I honestly had not thought about. I am amazed with your knowledge, and skills. I am very glad I found your channel!

[@patrickhgeorge6009]

Blondi is exactly who American children need in these tough times. Some of us have to settle on cloned Asian lathes. It’s just a real shame we can’t get a few 100,000 clones of Blondi. Then our children could build and sell high quality inexpensive lathes right here in America. 40+ yrs experience with equipment and my learning experience with Blondi was “AWSOME”. Never have been much of a gusher so I apologize for it.

[@johnoconnor5581]

I had not run a machine lathe since a college class 45 years ago but wanted to acquire one to have fun with as my retirement approached. I spent 8 months trying to understand the features and pros and cons of everything from new import mini lathes to 80 year old American iron. Older small American made lathes (South Bend, Atlas, Logan) in the under $2000 price range were hard to find (at least here in Texas), were often times located 300 miles from my home, and if in decent condition and priced fairly, they usually sold within 24 hours. In addition, often times the footprint was quite large depending on the motor/belt setup, and you always run the risk that the lathe you just bought and hauled home is essentially worn out. I wish I had seen your video when I was researching before I bought my lathe, but I guess the fact that I ultimately bought a Precision Matthews 1022 like you own proves once again that “God takes care of little kids and idiots”(me). Your videos are very well done and are a great contribution to the community. Thank you

[@agri-lifeorganicfarm2466]

I'm retired and watch a lot of educational videos and this is a Great video. No Bla Bla Bla. Blondi gets to the point with lots of good information. Good job Blondi!

[@old_guard2431]

Anybody who can talk that fast and remain both organized and comprehensible. . .

[@nickrandol9133]

I’ve watched a TON of videos like this, and you, Madam, know a lot more than most. Very good, very informative vid. Keep it up!

[@christopherswainson371]

BH you are a naturally brilliant teacher, with lovely clear and enlightening explanations. Thank you.

[@rajwantmankoo1484]

I ordered my Proxxon PD 400 lathe today & will be delivered in Calgary on March 30th 2021 from Hobbyland Italy. I tried to copy this guy so i can put my own video with my new lathe but i could not even make 5% of this guy.

[@okarakoo]

I said it already, but here it is again: you are a natural born educator

[@JMMC1005]

I recently gained access to a small machine shop, but one where it's all 'self taught ' engineers using the tools for quick rework and jigs. I was looking for some good resources to get the basics of machining into my head, and your videos have been excellent. Clear and concise, yet detailed where it matters.

[@richardoleson7934]

Wow! What a lucid, well thought out and presented exposition on a complicated and nuanced topic. Your expertise is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[@FranLab]

I love my 3rd-hand 80's era anonymous Asian made (probably Taiwan) benchtop lathe. Small, but overbuilt and well powered.

[@Justforfun-ek7et]

Cant find anything these days, or shall I say days of COVID.

[@sunrevolver]

I missed stuff from the 80s.. It's more often than not will be an overbuilt..

[@anthonyortiz7924]

Nothing beats a 3rd-hand 80's anonymous Asian made 1.5hp benchtop lathe with a flattened aluminum pan underneath!

[@radardoug]

I bought a Precision Mathews PM-1236 and have been extremely happy with it. I went that large to get the features you just described (D1-4 cam lock spindle, separate power feed shaft, nice headstock gearbox, etc). I also upgraded to a quick change tool post and DRO. I didn't go for a model with a coolant pump and instead set up a Noga coolant mister using an empty Jack Daniels bottle as a coolant reservoir. I couldn't find an empty Jack Daniels bottle so I had to construct one from a full Jack Daniels bottle.

[@jhbonarius]

Looks nice! But you have to do some serious work for that budget. My wife would move back to her parents if I spend such an amount of our savings on my hobby...

[@CraigLYoung]

Jochem Bonarius : Don't buy Tennessee Swill Water. You can save a lot of money buy buying good Kentucky Bourbon. I recommend "Kentucky gentleman" or" Kentucky Inn."

[@radardoug]

It's crappy but if you breathe enough of the fumes you won't care.

[@tinkmarshino]

Damn! this was the best video I have ever seen on lathes.. I have always wanted one but never got around to gettin it.. now at 67 years of age I am about to jump in and play and need all the GOOD information I can find.. This was superlative! I have to go and watch more of your videos.. I am glad I stumbled onto your site.. not only are you very knowledgeable but are very good at teaching.. thanks very much.... carry on, be safe and have fun doing it..

[@Blondihacks]

Thank you very much for the kind words! Glad I could help!

[@bobridge5271]

Blondihacks, you are fantastic ! I really appreciate the discussion regarding metric versus imperial. The British still use imperial, so not just the US Americans. Ditto your brilliant discussion regarding AC versus DC motor, lead screw, etc. I learnt a lot in just half an hour. A big thumbs up and thank you from a Brit/Ozzie expat. in Japan (all metric).

[@marcmckenzie5110]

Quinn, as I started machining in the past year, I have watched about every video I could find on what to look for in a lathe. This is easily the most comprehensive and easy to understand summary so far, and I learned a few things myself - like the different uses of lead screws in powering the carriage. It would be so useful if even one supplier or event had the whole spectrum lined up with all the important suppliers, so in person or via a video like this the newbie could actually see what the trade-offs are. The one thing you didn't touch on is that most of the North American importer/integrators of Chinese lathes have their own histories and biases - which unless you are fairly experienced, are difficult to decode. It is a thorny field to shop in!

[@Peter57808]

A machinist that knows DC motor fundamentals! That is very refreshing!

[@douglascampbell9809]

Between you, AvE, and Bigclive I actually understood all of this. I was a celulose necromancer when I could work. (furniture maker) The factory I was in was ground zero for the Metric vs Imperial war. Everything we did was in both from the blueprints in metric to the hardware in Imperial. Nothing was standardized.

[@tomcook5813]

I just stumbled across your channel. I am autistic high function and have a shop full of nice old machines, but lately the world events have scared me into the house and I haven't been in the shop for a couple months. Today that changed with this video, it motivated me to get out to the shop. thank you!

[@Blondihacks]

That’s great! Glad I could help in these difficult times.

[@jwboatdesigns]

I used a lathe a couple of times when in school at age 14 but not since, now, 60 years later I've just bought a brand new lathe. I'm very pleased to have found your channel, thanks for taking the trouble to post all of this. Very helpful.

[@larryschweitzer4904]

A well done discussion of the lathe. When I bough my lathe I went bigger because I didn't want to get all the things for a small lathe only to discover it wouldn't do what I wanted and then have to buy all the stuff for the new larger lathe. Ease of use is important to me. That means I would get these luxury items: QCTP, DRO, gear box, drill chuck, live centers, 5C collet chuck & collet sets, boring bars, the list can go on for ever. Then you find the next got-a-have, a mill!

[@jeffreysmith9369]

Never mind the lathe advice, I am going to recommend folks look at this video for motor application. Excellent.

[@TheRealWindlePoons]

Excellent video, topics well explained. It is one thing to know your stuff but quite another to be able to explain it so well. On the metric/imperial question: I started my machine shop apprenticeship in the UK in 1975. (Rail engineering - my lathe had a 4ft swing and 15ft between centres.) Jobs were 50:50 metric and imperial so the apprentice school put us on imperial machines with metric drawings and metric machines with imperial drawings. The mental arithmetic involved is not hard. Just use a metric micrometer on metric drawings and an imperial micrometer for imperial drawings. The big difference came for us with screw-cutting. All our lathes had a screw-cutting dial showing where to engage the half nuts on the leadscrew at the start of each cut. We found that changing the gear train for a metric pitch using an imperial leadscrew meant the nut engagement dial no longer worked. We had to leave the nuts engaged permanently and reverse the chuck between cuts to get back to the start position. This makes the job more of a chore and practically doubles the time taken. I once had to cut a 1.25" OD x 5" long four start square thread nut on a metric machine this way and it took over a week.

[@EcoMouseChannel]

Took me a long, long time of self educating myself on the lathe features I wanted and how much I could realistically spend. I really, really wanted a Precision Matthews brand, for many of the reasons mentioned in the video. But there's a bit of a premium price they are tacking on, because they are shouldering the cost of import and specing the machines to their standards etc. So, I opted to buy my lathe directly from a high quality factory in China and import it myself. I got to pick the features and added accessories and was less than HALF the price, even with freight costs!! What I was looking for size wise, was larger than a 10x22 machine, but not quite the footprint of a 12x36. So I ended up going with the exact same lathe as the PM-1228VF-LB (but I only paid $1920 with all the bells and whistles, and a bunch of upgrade accessories) HOWEVER... what they don't tell you is how much more you will spend at the port for taxes, fees, duties, transportation from the dock to a temporary storage facility, all before it gets on a truck to your door. When it was all said and done, I literally spent MORE on those costs than the actual lathe machine itself. If I were bringing over a container full of them, those costs would have still been about the same as they are for just one. Keep in mind, my lathe rode across the ocean in one container by itself. So, realistically I should have filled it up and sold them on eBay or whatever. (Which is what a lot of those machines you find for cheap are... but they aren't spec'd the way you want them exactly) So lesson learned, I should have just saved up longer and bought from an established importer like a Precision Matthews in the first place.

[@drhender6943]

Yeah, and because you didn't buy from PM, you don't have an American company you can email or call and get support of a replacement part or whatever. A close friend bought a PM lathe and mill last year and is very happy with both the purchase and the service after the sale. He's not an easy guy to please, but he sings high praises for Matthew and his crew. When I buy, I'll spend the xtra money and buy Precision Matthews.

[@taiwanluthiers]

By the way, I had a PM-1228VF-LB. Keep in mind unlike the lathe shown in this video the PM1228 does NOT allow you to reverse feed direction on the gearbox! You must loosen a gear on the back where the gears are, then engage them to the opposite side in order to change feed direction. It's a bit of a pain... Now I have a Victor lathe, you can switch feed direction on the gearbox but you must turn the spindle off before doing this, or you will grind the gears.

[@BinaryBlueBull]

I know this is an old comment, so my apologies for only now commenting but I really need to ask: Could you point me to the factory you got your lathe from? I'll keep the part about additional costs in mind. I'm in Europe so Precision Matthews will likely mean additional costs as well

[@owenclark7210]

bought my second lathe a couple weeks ago. One of my customers stripped out the high-speed gear in his King Canada 7x12, so he decided to upgrade to the 10x22. I bought the 7x12 from him for $100, including a bunch of basic tooling. Works very nicely in low range, especially on brass, and is much more accurate and stable for drilling than my Taig. So far, I'm pretty happy with it. Only marginally faster machining of 304SS than my Taig, so ringmaking is still going to be primarily done on the little guy. I sent you a pic of my first brass pen that I made, and I'll send you another with my latest one done primarily on the King.

[@MrCrankyface]

What a roller coaster of emotions. Bought an import lathe some months ago and when you mentioned only having one axle and being driven from it wears down the threads I felt quite disappointed. Later on when you go over the keyway/key being a compromise solution and it seems my machine also has that.. Awesome!

[@pazlo51]

I just viewed this and your tutorial on lathe leveling, all I can say is I wish you were doing these 20 years.ago when this "talented amateur" first got it into his head to strip down and rebuild a 1957 South Bend Heavy 10. Your approach to levelling is about the clearest and sensible description I ever head, especially the part about bridging the flat rails using precision blocks. You are a natural born educator. Thank you.

[@Blondihacks]

Thank you for the kind words, and for watching!

[@mpetersen6]

I have a number of suggestions or comments on this matter. Some of which I will list in the modifying machine video GoldeiHacks has 1) Spindle Bore. Bigger is better. To a Point. Obviously a 2"/51mm bore in the spindle is a little ridiculous in a 10" lathe. It could be done but there are compromises that would need to be made. 2) Lathe Size. Bigger is Better. Again to a point. Where is the lathe going? What type of work do you plan on doing? If the lathe is going in a basement shop how hard will it be to move? Will you need to break it down into smaller pieces? How many strong backs may be needed? Type of work. If your interest is minature steam or IC engines. 10" is plenty big. If you intend on doing side jobs repairing stuff for various people. I personally would not want a bench type machine. And as mentioned in the video, customer support varies. Also machines seem to come and go in terms the type available.

[@gregoryharris6834]

Wonderful explanation of imported lathes! Wish I had found your channel and this video before I bought my Grizzly G0602 secondhand. Still happy with my purchase but now I'm so much more educated about the basics. Thank you.

[@TheBsavage]

WOW! YOU are an impressive presenter. A breath of fresh air. I've spent the past day taking less than stellar presenters to task for their amateurish work. YOU need no such admonition.

[@pierredentremont2999]

All the most haves and deal breakers are exactly what I have dealt with over the last 40 years. Excellent video!

[@wayneknodel3347]

Absolutely great video, I have not seen a more concise, clear, and professionally presented narration, by an obvious expert. I decided to subscribe almost immediately after starting to view it. Thanks for your expertise!

[@bobaloo2012]

One nice thing about a good DRO is that other than threading, metric or imperial is just a matter of pushing a button on the display. 10 years ago when I bought my new lathe, American lathes were almost impossible to find here in Oregon and were really expensive, so I ended up with a Grizzly 4003G, 12x36 with Japanese spindle bearings, D1-5 camlock chuck, lots of good features and it's done a great job for me, and I paid a little over $2500 for it brand new. Today, the same lathe is more than $4500, and oddly enough the American machines have come down in price and become much more available. I'd probably make a different decision today if I found the right lathe, but I've been very happy with the G4003. I did have a little 8x14 for a while, the lack of a quick change gearbox quickly drove me crazy, and I had to sell it and buy the 12x36 as soon as I could. Don't underestimate the pain in the butt factor of having to swap gears for thread cutting, if at all possible get a lathe with a gearbox, and do put a cheap DRO on it. A DRO isn't necessary but it does make a lot of jobs much easier.

[@ctrchg]

Thanks, Don. Good information. I am just getting into machining and am watching a lot of videos before buying. Blondi has been the best teacher so far.

[@ctrchg]

Also, good tip on the DRO. Are they easy to add?

[@robfrancis8830]

I think people started realizing you can do alot with a new import with a little tweak while the SB is mostlikely worn out and missing hard to find parts. I have both . Thanks BH for a nice primer on import lathe.

[@brahtrumpwonbigly7309]

First thing I did was throw a DRO on my small mill. It's a lifesaver.

[@robertcampbell2389]

I bypassed all those problem when I purchased a Logan 10X24 lathe many years ago. Parts are hard to get but then it's not likely you will ever need them. This lathe screams quality. I actually spoke to the older Charles Logan many years ago at the factory where he was still working until his death, and he described this lathe as "his little jewel". Thirty years of hard use and it only works better over time....

[@brendoncummins2762]

Met with some makers the other day, they were delighted when I mentioned I was a machinist, and asked if I could look at their mini... one of my current lathes at work has a 31" chuck, I could literally chuck their workspace in my machine. Thanks for the precise rundown on an area of the trade I almost forgot existed.

[@Ga18bo03]

Hard to put into words how grateful I am for your content

[@dr.lareme7737]

I like Chinese lathes and mills. They have made me an expert in quality control. I've learned to re-manufacturer out of spec parts, re-align gear trains, replace bearings not seated properly, scrape dove tails, ect. I now fully understand the meaning of the word rigidity, something these machines don't offer new.

[@spock6692]

This is a really comprehensive review! I own one of those blue-and-white guys for some years, did upgrade it a lot and still found something new and important tips in your video. About the headstock bearings: they can be easily made kind of serviceable. After a while the sound in my bearings changed and I understood the grease has dried out. I took the assembly apart (not so difficult, just a good hour of mallet work :) ), cleaned and demagnetized everything, then I installed the dust guards back to their places using the blue anaerobic sealant to make them oil-tight. Then I drilled two vertical channels for oil and threaded them on top ends for "plug" bolts. After putting everything together I poured some milliliters of common engine oil into each bearing and plugged the channels with the bolts. I believe circulating engine oil will extend the bearings' life compared to grease. And now I can "kind of" service my bearings. When I feel necessary, even without disassembling the whole crap I can add excessive amount of oil to the running spindle so most of it spills through the slots (the slots are higher than the bottoms of the bearings' chambers so some oil stays there anyway). Most of the oil will be exchanged this way taking away the particles of wear. I made more changes to my lathe, but this is the most interesting one. Thank you very much for such a nice video!

[@raymondhorvatin1050]

Yes I agree with your statement on 7 by 10 mini lathes after spending much time smoothing and replacing spindle bearings I can produce almost acceptable results . It's a fun toy to play with and I've learned a lot about how not to do things.

[@5tr41ghtGuy]

Very well done video I wish I had seen before I purchased a lathe 4 years ago. I ended up with a Grizzly G0602 which has the same basic 10"x22" castings as your Precision Matthews. When I first got the lathe I was having struggles with chatter just like yourself, but traced the problem to the clamping ring at the foot of the compound. You can verify this by putting your finger on the compound protractor while parting off a work piece to feel how much it flexes (a bunch!) There are other minor issues as well, but I have addressed them all and I am now quite pleased with this unit for working with steel and softer materials.

[@eddiel1538]

This is the best video on KZbin about lathe buying guide, you covered all important things that every beginer need to know, I am one of them. Thank you so much, keep up the good work.

[@rfo3225]

I am a novice looking to acquire a small lathe for my home shop. Thank you for this excellent video on the pros and cons of small Asian lathes. 🙂

[@arrlmember]

This video is very interesting and informative. I have considered that if I wanted to upgrade, I would choose a 10x22, but so far I have not seen a need to do so. I spent quite some time studying and learning prior to purchasing my lathe, and so far I believe that I made the correct choice. AGI (The American Gunsmithing Institute) says that all one needs for gunsmithing is a mini lathe, and they include a 7x14 with their major machine program. I choose the 7x16 with a brushless DC motor that is sold by Micro Mark and Little Machine Shop. The negative things about this lathe are that a QCTP and an outboard spider are required and the 3" chuck that comes with it will not open enough to accept things that will fit through the spindle. However 4" and 5" chucks will open up enough and the other items are not that hard to come by. I made my outboard spider from a 1" black pipe coupling. I chose the Micro Mark lathe because it comes in two boxes and is therefore easy to get on the bench without having to use a crane. The Little Machine Shop version is available with a fixed (non tilting column.) Micro Mark calls their lathe a "True Inch" machine and there are no metric marking on the dials and they use imperial lead screws. However, Little Machine Shop has software on their website that will determine what gears to put where for almost any thread, as long as the gears are not too big for the machine. Using that software, I made stockmakers screws for a Mosin Nagant, which is a very unusual thread. I was not able to find dies for that thread, but making those screws was my first project on the lathe, and they work fine. Not too bad for an accountant who is used to work by just sitting behind a desk.

[@raybilyeu1594]

First time have watched blondi very well spoken and intelligent thank you

[@Peter57808]

My first thread on my new Asian small lathe was to replace the brass head on the machinist hammer I made in 1975. It was 25mm (1") x 10 tpi. Set the gears up and rotated the chuck by hand for each cut as the thread was only 12mm long. Worked fine much to my surprise!

[@madcrokodile]

Greate upgrade for small lathes is electronic gearbox, consist of arduino, encoder and step motor. It comes with all feed/thread ratio and without manual gear changing pain and gearbox noise =)

[@incubatork]

An excellent summary for anyone wanting to buy a new lathe for "hobby" work, when i got my 250x550mm lathe lots of people were having problems with the variable motor speed, burnt out motors, or controller's so i went with a completely geared version mounted by HBM, unfortunately HBM no longer sell them. Other than the norton box with gears the rest is almost identical to yours and i'm very happy with it. To change from metric threading to imperial i do have to change 1 gear but its very quick, and here lies the biggest downfall of the lathe, it has no threading dial so once closing the half nuts they are closed till you finish, not a big big deal but anoying at times. I have located one in Australia but the shipping is more than the part. Anyway, at the price you cannot have your cake and eat it too. 👍

[@nikmills]

Good info. I see the arguments for New Asian and Vintage American. For all the part-finding trouble of the old American lathes they do offer a wonderful aesthetic experience. They are just beautiful to look at and the feeling of handling them is just pure pleasure. Also, they can be very cheap if you're patient. They are big and heavy though.

[@mrkrvn61]

This is the information that the government doesn't want you to know. Thank you for seriously helping me understand a little at a time. Thank you for making mistakes and showing them so we can learn from them. Thank you for being awesome.

[@Blondihacks]

And thank you for your nice comment!

[@bobaloo2012]

I prefer to do all my work in "nano light seconds', which conveniently enough is almost exactly a foot in the old money, or of course we could define a light second as one giga-foot.

[@swistedfilms]

Bah! For *TRUE* precision one must use the Planck Scale! And the metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it!

[@arrlmember]

@@ianmoone2359 - You say that "The speed of light is infinite" yet if you take a test required by the Funny Candy Company (FCC) they expect you to know that the speed of light is three hundred million meters per second. Furthermore, the wavelength of a radio signal (in meters) is equal to the speed of light divided by the frequency of the radio signal. (Lamda = 300 x 10 to the 6th divided by frequency in megahertz.) An example of "close, but no cigar" is the two meter ham band. Since 300 / 2 = 150, but the 2 meter band is actually between 144 and 148 MHz, they made their point. Notice I relocated two of the variables, but within the rules of mathematics.

[@robertnoonan4953]

I bought a hobby lathe about a year ago which is very similar to yours. It may sound ironic or sarcastic, but your video was a big help to me, in that it more than justifies my choice and the reasons I made it. I am still buying tools whenever I see one that looks interesting or if I see one that appeared in a youtube video. The other problem I had was I didn't have a bench to put it on. The sheet metal benches they sell in the lathe shop are pathetically cheap and weak. So I bought myself a MIG welder and taught myself to use it, then built a bench from scratch to my own design. Now I can't move in my garage because of all the tools I have bought (cut-off saw, table saw, band saw, angle grinders, drill press, vices, the list goes on) and the tables they sit on. Who knew this machining adventure would lead me down such a big rabbit warren? And its only a hobby. And I still haven't made anything on it except a new draw bar for the attached mill. While I'm at it, thanks for the exceptional videos, Blondiehacks, (or do you orefer Gwynne? Or Ms. Dunki?). They are really educational and inspirational to an amateur like me.

[@Blondihacks]

You can call me Quinn 😁 Thanks for sharing your story!

[@robertnoonan4953]

Sorry about the name snafu, I was using AvE's mnemonics type thing for remembering names, ( Quinn, rhymes with Gwynne, Fred Gwynne of Munsters fame) but my senile brain forgot to insert the "rhymes with" part while I was typing. One thing I have learned by having a one-man shop is how to lift heavy stuff without getting a hernia. Sometimes it really challenges the pathetic remnants of my brain cells. I wonder if you struggle with some of your equipment at times and whether a video on how to lift things safely and/or smartly might be a topic for a future video. Thanks again Quinn (got it right this time).

[@rickguyevans]

Thank you for a very articulate and thorough episode on import lathe buying! I went through this exercise years ago and recognize the quality differences...you get what you pay for is very correct. I've had Southbend; Atlas; Craftsman and assorted Chinese machines and wherever you are in life can dictate how much you can spend on a given machine for personal use. Very impressed with your attention to detail! By day, I am a millwright and after hours, an avid motorcycle restorer(?) and hobbyist. Keep up the great videos:))

[@Airgunfunrich]

Good video! Had many an argument with keyboard warriors over Chinese lathes, never personally had one always had old English lathes. The one thing I would say is for someone making small diameter bits the Chinese lathes seem to have a higher spindle speed which would be useful to get the correct surface speed for good finish on small parts

[@Larry1942Will]

Very well done video. I've got an Imperial lathe but I commonly work in metric. Much prefer metric for it's ease of use. I debated for a year what lathe to buy, how big, price, tooling, etc. I ended up with a PM1440HD. Now very glad I didn't get smaller. I have 3 phase so naturally went with that. There were a few issues with it but support was quite good. The D1 chuck system is so much better than many of the others available. All the standard Imperial threads are available via the gear box but metric requires using change gears, a PIA. The spindle bore is only 1.5" and has been a pain to work around. I got the taper attachment (OK but not great) and collet chuck (excellent) from PM. The quick change tool holders seem fine and are readily available for cheap, I now have a lot of them since I don't like to change tools. The steady & follow rests are OK but only have brass tips instead of rollers, will change that some time. It turns out I use the collet chuck more than I expected, same for turning between centers. Machine came with the MT adapter for the spindle bore and two dead centers and a live center. The 12" face plate is fine but takes 2 different sizes of T nuts?? Why?? To turn between centers you need to buy a set of lathe dogs. This machine came with 2 axis DRO which I use constantly. Machine has plenty of power and all the gear boxes were clean as received. Some of the gear box knobs were very tight when new but have now worn in and work fine. Some people have told me this lathe is too big for small precise work, NOT True. I just made a small tool from 1/2" tool steel, bore was .196 X .800 deep, OD was .203 X 2.000 giving a wall thickness of .0035". You really need a mill to go with a lathe for many of the projects. I've got a very used Jet 9 X 49. Thanks again for a good video.

[@slowwerthensnot]

As a bike mechanic who has been hacking parts together for some repairs who’s been been wanting to get into machining really enjoying your videos!

[@PA-Tammy]

I just got the 10x30 from PM and my bikes love it..

[@clydedecker765]

Nice job, Quinn. I am not personally interested in getting a lathe but you did cover the subject pretty well. The change gear nightmare is better left alone. "Ya get what you pay for" is a good admonition. The one thing to remember is that product and quality is not bound by politics or geographical boundaries but by individuals and quality control. Conscientious results not fame make the best product.

[@johntucker803]

What an excellent review on what to actually look and think about when buying a smaller lathe! Thank you so much for producing such a quality video. After 2 days of watching what others called "review/purchase" videos this was refreshing to say the least! Subscribed!

[@larryshaw796]

I know what you mean by tooling costs for your lathe, the chucks alone for my watchmakers lathe far exceed the cost of the lathe itself, for example my collets from one mm to eighty cost about ten dollars each. So I guess it's all a matter of perspective. While I will probably never own a lathe as big as yours I still learn something from every program you put out there, thanks again.

[@tomaszjaroszynski5773]

I own identical lathe with other brand name. I have purchased this lathe for one third of a price with damaged engine. There was no BDLC engine , just high voltage DC motor with PWM controller. Part of a comutator in my engine was damaged. I swapped damaged engine with 3 phase induction motr and used Mitsubishi inverter controller. I was able to put maximum 500W motor - because of it's size. But, now the lathe works OK.

[@110americalovingpatriot2]

Holy smokes, I have never seen anyone explain a lathe so intelligently, beautifully and with confidence in knowing what your talking about, you should design your own lathe with all the parts and specs that you like, and I believe you could become a millionaire, just keep me in mind if you make it happen 😉 awesome video thank you, I was about to buy a cheap Chinese mini lathe, but not now.

[@peterpocock9062]

Very well done Quin, I agree with all of your observations. A lot of very sound advice. I would suggest to keep away from screwed spindle equipped lathes. I have one, and it is almost impossible to do any useful work in reverse. The cam lock mounts are the big winner. If some one can show me a good way of locking my Chuck's on, I'm all ears and eyes! DRO, I highly recommend that. Metric or imperial? The decider here is "are you going to produce more imperial threads?" If so get a imperial lead screw. My machine has a 8tpi leadscew and metric feed screws and dials. Conversions are dead easy, when they are needed and I would not have it any other way.

[@fredgenius]

Greight vid, thanks. Confirms what I've learned over the past few years with my 7/14" lathe. One point I think you missed, the need for single-point threading is also when you need a thread with an an odd diameter, like when I need to cut a 0.8mm pitch thread on a 20mm diameter part, good luck finding a tap or die that size lol!

[@andresvaca5848]

Looking to buy a lathe for the first time, so far you have been the most informative about imported lathes. Keep up the good work, thanks for all the tips.

[@cyclebuff782]

This was amazing. I'm currently in the middle of this exact cost-benefit analysis decision. You answered several questions I didn't know I had! Thank you!

[@marcusrf7]

Hi Blondi, just got through watching this video, and I am impressed. You remind me of that famous line by Joe Friday (Jack Webb) on the TV show Dragnet, "Just the facts, Ma'am, nothing but the facts". I don't recall ever watching a "how to" video on KZbin that crammed so much useful information in such a short span of time. You are very articulate and the video was totally professional IMHO. I thought my brain was going to explode! :) Needless to say, I have downloaded it onto my PC for review. I am 71 years old, taking care of my 89 year old mom (my best friend in the world) and living on disability income, but still have a strong desire (need) to be creative, and this video is just what I was looking for. I didn't realize how bad I needed this video until I watched it. Thank you, Thank you. I have already manage to purchase a real nice AC/DC TIG welder for $800, and a friend gave me a Sears 17" drill press that I am trying to set up as a "cheap" milling machine. After watching your video, I now realize the most important thing I can do for my drill press, other than making the table more rigid, is to buy a very good set of bearings for the spindle. I live in a 3 bedroom apartment on the first floor with a nice patio, which I am in the process of closing off with a wall to isolate my neighbors and curious walkers from the flashes of my arc welder, and the noise of my angle grinders. For some reason the apartment complex manager likes me and looks the other way, but with the wall I won't have to worry about her having to run interference with my neighbors. :D I am going to see if my budget will allow me to sponsor you on Patreon. I see that on Patreon you have a bunch of great info available, so my motives are not 100% altruistic. :D Stay safe and "have a good one!" Marcus "FrankyLynn" Franklin.

[@randallscott4094]

Your Getting Started & Import Lathe Buying Guide videos immediately answered my questions regarding investment considerations for a beginner. Thank you very much. I guess if you want to work on hard steel (like automotive parts), you need to plan on spending quite a lot and be prepared for the space and machine weight. Makes you really think long and hard about what kind of projects you want to get involved with on a part time basis - hobby? I'm not sure. What got me researching this, is a desire to restore the Differential Axel Carrier from a 58 Chevy Apache Pickup where I threw the bearings. Needs metal build up, then lathed for the bearings. Local machine shops think welding the build up before lathing would cause heat problems. Instead, I'm going to try some super metal epoxy paste to build up the bearing worn spots on the Carrier, then pursue a lathe. Not ready to buy one yet, so I'll hope I get lucky with local machine shops after I apply the Loctite Super Metal epoxy paste. Keep up your great videos. I have subscribed and enjoy watching them. Incidentally, I think I have an O'scope just like yours. Best regards.

[@turningpoint6643]

A proper traditionalist would simply chose to base there measurements in full & fractional cubits over the flash in the pan imperial / metric fad that's sure to fade away any day now. :-) A very well done video covering most of the basics that I wish had been available about 40 yrs ago when I started with a home shop.

[@Shazzzam74]

Ok, never heard so much useful information on Asian lathes or just lathe in general. Had no choice but to SUB! Thanks!

[@Blondihacks]

Thanks for the sub! 😁

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Same here, plus the Tony references!

[@lenroddis5933]

Only just found this lady who is way ahead of most. She's a joy to listen to, clearly understands what she's talking about and addresses the really important issues.

[@richardmeyer418]

Yep, it's really amazing how that works - no sarcasm.

[@wraith8117]

Same here i jist found this channel and immediately subbed

[@mattmcclure490]

If you’re diligent and look on Craigslist, marketplace, and local auctions you can find nice American ,British , and import lathes that are much larger and more capable. I found a clausing colchester 13x40 in excellent for $2500 after looking and being patient for about 6 months. I looked at 6 lathes that were too worn out or not priced right before I found this one. Always be willing to walk away from a machine that shows obvious signs of wear or abuse.

[@jlucasound]

Amen, Matt! If you doubt anything at all, about a machine tool you're looking to buy, walk away. When the seller starts throwing a lower price at you, walk faster.

[@mikescottdana]

Agree, although space, weight, power, etc can be a factor. We bought a PM-1127VF-LB a few years ago for our model shop at work. Would have loved to get something like a HLV-H, but we’re on the 4th floor of an office building.

[@satibel]

Don't forget to haggle, cut the price in half then go up from here.

[@house89147]

If you buy a seccond hand one I'd almost suggest getting one that is tatty, fresh pain hides some real issues if bought seccond hand sold as seen. Also make sure you see it running. My first purchase was scrap nicely painted, my current one was tatty as can be but actually mechanically sound.

[@mattmcclure490]

Andrew Culverhouse exactly. Mine is still factory paint and not much of it but you can see the imperfections. A fresh coat of paint hides a ton of problems and you never know if the guy who took it apart put everything back together properly

[@hermannstraub3743]

Very good explanation. I am nowhere near to machining by myself, but i liked to listen to you.

[@skoue4165]

Picky bit Metric started in 1799, a LONG time before the industrial revolution. Great summary of the cheap lathes. I have a 9X20 Grizzly and I have made some mods. I completely agree that you need to look at what you want to do. I knew I was going to do mostly hobby stuff and odd bits of home repair and I have worked on a "real" lathe. But the smaller lathes let you do a LOT of stuff, if you respect their limitations. I have had a LOT of fun with mine and done a ton of small repairs around the house that I couldn't have otherwise. I won't say it has paid for itself, but if you factor in the pleasure and the constant "I can Make it" if I don't have it it has been well worth the cost. And I think my wife would actually agree. Not a small thing.

[@metalshopwithtroy5755]

Very well outlined video. Yes you get what you pay for and that applies to everything and even more important do your homework. QUINN, you supply a great amount of well thought out content, i found it very valuable and I already have a very good Asian lathe 12 x 36. Well done

[@who-man8791]

I have to say that I have watched God only knows how many lathe videos were someone was supposed to give a review of the machine and after each one I watched I was more confused that before I watched them but your video not only answered every question I had but it also showed me places that I need to look for that I had zero clue about prior so thanks for the video and the new much needed knowledge you 100% know your stuff

[@AlexLTDLX]

Probably the best summation of import lathes for non-professionals I've seen. Too bad you didn't do this several years ago before I bought my 8x14 HF lathe. You did get me thinking about the drive motor. Variable speed via pot would be nice. And the finish on my change gears is exactly how you describe. Nice!

[@teis79]

I happen to have exactly the same lathe as you have and I'm very happy with it. It's compact so it doesn't take up much space in my workshop. I have an independent 4-jaw chuck if it has to be really accurate. This lathe works great for me!

[@prodoverjeff2876]

After a lifetime of using imperial measures, I found myself in a shop primarily serving to automotive customers. Our engineers typicly convert metric to imperial, the prints at my machines were imperial to run on a metric machine. So, either cry and complain or get the calculator out and convert. The other day, a young new guy asked me what tools he should be buying, rangewise. My smaller allen arenches are not marked, so I guickly grabbed a mic, measured the small one, grabbed the calculator and started to convert when the newbie told me "Just push the button on the mic!" So newbie taught the old timer! Of course the old timer felt better telling him the 1.48 measurement is actually a 1.5 MM wrench, so I still look like a useful tool.

[@scotty362100]

And yet it never dawned on you there was more than ONE button staring you in the face, clearly marked as to their function...lmao, sounds like a "story" to me, just saying.

[@phillhuddleston9445]

Then his battery fails and you have to show him how to use a real mic.

[@mattsadventureswithart5764]

@@phillhuddleston9445 *** Really old. Both old and modern are real...

[@phillhuddleston9445]

@@mattsadventureswithart5764 Most micrometers made today are not digital ones. The vast majority of machinists today still use a standard micrometer and even dial calipers over digital ones. If you know how to use a mic and calipers correctly there is no advantage to digital ones that can easily malfunction and require batteries unlike conventional non-digital measuring tools. The only advantage digital calipers have over dial calipers is that dial ones can skip a tooth if a chip gets in the rack and pinion but this is easily correctable and usually avoidable. When digital ones fail you throw them away if it isn't battery related.

[@mattsadventureswithart5764]

@@phillhuddleston9445 the standard micrometer is not the modern one, no matter how common its usage. Hence my use of the words "old" and "modern". I can use either modern or old and both mine are definitely old.

[@steveskouson9620]

Quinn, first, THANK YOU! I work at a store that sells woodworking tools, as well as the lumber you'd need. So, I'm the guy that assembles all the tools, and also reconditions all the used tools for resale. Powermatic, Jet, Grizzly, Laguna, and every other manufacturer use the exact castings, for their planers. (I'd like to build a 20 inch planer, using different painted parts, just to show that they are all the same castings.) But, there is a single table saw maker, that doesn't dance to that tune. SawStop is built in the ROC, (not PROC) China. If I were to buy a table saw, it'd take me 1/2 second to make my decision. SawStop. There are GOOD Asian tools, and also CRAP Asian tools. steve

[@GaryT1952]

Well explained Quinn. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in a very entertaining and interesting manner.

[@FriedPi-mc5yt]

I have a harbor freight 9X20. The motor burned out after a couple years of use. I’m going to replace the motor eventually. I made a lot of mods on it and turned it into a great lathe. I recently bought a Grizzly 7X12 because I needed a lathe to make some parts on. I feel a lot better about the Grizzly after I bought it. The harbor freight was my first lathe and I never did machining before so I really didn’t know what to look for. The 9X20 was pretty cheap at the time and it got me started in machining. Now I’m modding the Grizzly and I’m pretty happy with it so far. You can tell they actually had quality control with the Grizzly compared to the Harbor Freight.

[@CrimFerret]

Great video and a lot of good info. I'm hoping to get into machining for hobby and DIY stuff. Something around the size of that 10X22 would seem to be ideal for that. A knee mill of similar quality (with DRO) would fill things out nicely. Much as it would be fun to play with CNC, I need to learn basic manual machining first.

[@jeffanderson1653]

Well done. I’ve always wondered what the average hobbies does when those Asian lathe spindle bearings go bad. As you say, you use them until they need to be replaced. Replacing spindle bearings can be a bit challenging, not an easy peasy project. I like how you explained the difference between the identical castings and how different the end item may be completely of different quality. I don’t have any experience but I can only assume a Precision Mathews would be much better than a HF lathe. When looking for a lathe, I seriously considered a Taiwan made lathe. I ended up with a 1970 Clausing Colchester 15X50, I could not be happier with my decision. No it wasn’t cheap, it’s robust and powerful. We all have choices to make. Well done.

[@shipmodelguy]

Hi Quinn, Just wanted to thank you for theses videos. I have a KZbin channel also, and I know what goes into these things and I appreciate the effort, from first hand experience. I've learned a lot from you. I have one of those 7x14 lathes you speak of at the end of this video. And, I have to agree, they are pretty crappy. However, thanks to a few tips I picked up from you, I have been able to accurize it to the point of being a useful tool in the shop. I don't need the 10ths' level of accuracy. I build fine scale models, so something within .001" is good for me, and I've been able to achieve that with this machine. So, no budget and no need to be more exact at the moment. But I'll continue to watch and learn. Glad I found you.

[@ukulelebob7412]

Thank you! I needed to watch this, as I'm preparing to buy my first lathe. In fact, I will be watching this a few more times. There's a lot to consider.

[@bobuk5722]

Hi Blondihacks. Very good and detailed explanations of what to look for. I've got a UK import version of this and the castings are very similar to yours as you suggested. Mine is metric and has a carriage drive shaft as well as a leadscrew and consequently an extra control knob on the gearbox, but that's about the only difference from yours - even the color (Colour!) scheme is identical. I revamped the electronics to stop the ac to dc motor control board failing due to poor thermal management - a common problem at the time - I added a proper heat sink and two over-run fans to cool both the motor at slow speed and the electronics enclosure. I also corrected a dangerous wiring error where the neutral and live power feeds had been deliberately reversed to keep the rpm display illuminated. No longer a problem now with the change to variable speed brushless dc motors. Biggest nuisance is changing the spindle drive belt pulley ratios. I'm planning on installing Clough42's electronic lead screw - just received the interface board shipped from James in Idaho. BobUK.

[@skipd9164]

Took machine shop in High school then apprenticeship in a large manufacturing company in early 80s. Then worked for GE. I worked in the gear plant in Lynn MASS. Every machine was huge. Horz boring mills used steel t floor for table and y was over 15ft. VTL machined 20ft and bigger bullgears. Politicians let manufacturing leave our country and what stayed became CNC. Always loved milling and lathe work and will get them soon

[@alt-w7130]

The Grizzly Go602 looks similar had the grizzly lathe some years did big jobs and small jobs and still running.

[@hg2.]

Fantastic. Best intro-to-home/hobby-lathes ever seen. ... A "must see" for would-be machinists.

[@stu7161]

I have a Shop Fox M1112 Gunsmith lathe, and it's already paid for itself in side work, (no, I don't make guns!). One word about chuck mounts, mine is a D1-5 mount system. I love it, but while D1-4 and D1-6 Lathe Chucks are everywhere, D1-5 chucks are rare and expensive if you can find them, so I buy plain back chucks, and machine a back plate adapter to fit them onto my lathe. It's not a deal-breaker if you're really interested in a Shop Fox, but something you might want to keep in mind if you're still shopping around.

[@andrewsutherland6370]

Fantastic presentaion, so refreshing listening to someone that knows their stuff!

[@TheKuskokid]

I took delivery of a PM 1440GT and PM 1054TV mill about six weeks ago. Haven't completed setting them up, but getting there.

[@mightyweapon]

I'm a automotive machinist, have been using both metric and imperial together for the past 15 years sometime on the same engines as my supervisor and boss all done their time with imperial. I myself prefer metric, it has more accuracy as 1/10th of .01mm is smaller than 1/10th of .001", .001" = .025mm.

[@fabian-io1xe]

Wow, no idea how I got here, but I have never seen a better, more in-depth explanation with so much detail knowledge. You even know what Shenzhen is 😁.

[@garykirkpatrick8425]

Your tutorials are exceptional. I really appreciate that you are clear and concise, something one does not find in many KZbin videos. Thanks so much for your knowledgeable and professional approach.

[@bunnyrabbit4972]

Very good technical explanation of pros/cons, features, and failings. Well done!

[@robertbownes6718]

One of the good early projects if you have a mill and a lathe is making more tool holders for your Aloris style post. ToT did a good video on it.

[@larryschweitzer4904]

Tool holders are pretty cheap and all of the ones I have work well. I'd rather spend my time making & designing interesting projects.

[@thomasa5619]

Id rather make tool holders than make nothing

[@robertoswalt319]

Great tips Quinn. My first lathe was one of those combo lathe/ mill jobs. While I could do a lot of stuff with it, there were a lot of compromises. The chuck was always a challenge to mount and dismount due to the bolts on the back plate having to come out in order to replace it. The biggest challenge was with the mill having a very limited quill and table travel. I fee fortunate in having purchased that one though because it helped me evaluate my requirements for my next one. I feel that you hit on the main points that anyone needs to consider before purchasing a lathe.

[@Blondihacks]

Awesome, thank you! Those 3-in-1 machines are very tempting for lots of folks, and I think they can be a good way to get started.

[@mike-carrigan]

Nice! Are you going to do one on the mill too? Those are probably what I'm going to have eventually

[@mechanicsdiary1438]

I just found your channel. You due a fantastic job. I have just purchased a small lath and mill. I have started watching your channel and I learned more in 3 hours than I have after being around machine shops for decades. That is to say I paid others to make the parts. Thank you.

[@thefreese1]

Very Rarely do you ever come across a Lady that understands the mechanics of how things work... or the interest... And not only does she understand it , her ability to to convey it to others is outstanding.. I've been a machinist for about 27 years ..and i came to this channel to check the quality of a smaller Chinese lathe and the motor driven speed change.. Theres a lot of ao called machinist on KZbin... some are good .... most not so good ... but none actually delve into the fundamentals and relay it to their veiwers like her ... many take for granted that the veiwers understand certain things already... A real teacher doesn't do this ... but instead knows a person who already knows will FF through it meanwhile the unknowledged will listen through..

[@petermurphy5138]

Now that was timely Quinn, my new lathe arrived 3 days ago (Hare & Forbes AL-356V), I was 'ticking off' all your bullet points while watching the video, I did cheat a bit, I also used info from your previous 'lathe' videos, my new lathe hit a lot of the good points :-)