Is A $600 Mini Lathe Worth It - 2 Year Review

G'day everyone. I have been fortunate enough to have this mini lathe, which I have used almost daily for the past two years. I think the question on everyone's mind is how good can a $600 mini lathe be. I certainly had expectations, coming from using a Hafco lathe that was 10 times the size of this one, but I can say that I have had a great time using this lathe, through the highs and lows.
This lathe is a 350w brushed DC motor, 7x14 mini metal lathe made by sieg. The motor has been replaced for many of the shots with a 390w AC induction motor, but the cutting ability is very comparable to the stock motor.
This is the lathe made by Sieg, but it is very similar to the ones sold by harbor freight, grizzly and the generic metal worker. I have used this lathe for over 2 years to machine and fabricate many projects and parts, from pens, bolts and even a model steam engine.
This is my Mini Lathe Review.
Cheers
Timecodes
00:00 - Overview
03:04 - Mini Lathe Variations
04:10 - Overall Specs And Work Area
07:13 - Facing Parts And Carriage Lock
08:06 - Spindle Run Out And Chucks
09:56 - Tailstock
11:34 - Bed And Ways
12:09 - Carriage
13:30 - Cross Slide
15:11 - Leadscrew, Thread Cutting And Change Gears
17:21 - Power Feed
18:44 - The Motor
20:45 - Cutting Ability And Quality Of Parts
21:57 - Reliability
23:50 - Final Thoughts
#machining #lathe #review

[@artisanmakes]

Time Stamps 00:00 - Overview 03:04 - Mini Lathe Variations 04:10 - Overall Specs And Work Area 07:13 - Facing Parts And Carriage Lock 08:06 - Spindle Run Out And Chucks 09:56 - Tailstock 11:34 - Bed And Ways 12:09 - Carriage 13:30 - Cross Slide 15:11 - Leadscrew, Thread Cutting And Change Gears 17:21 - Power Feed 18:44 - The Motor 20:45 - Cutting Ability And Quality Of Parts 21:57 - Reliability 23:50 - Final Thoughts

[@wadekirby8575]

To help change the chuck I'd get a ratcheting wrench and rig up a reversible stop to keep the nut from falling out. (A magnet with a piece of plastic glued to it should work.) The idea being the stop keeps the nut from dropping out of the wrench while you hold things in place with your other hand.

[@Sombre____]

Why do you don't build a transparent enclosure to work on it ? An enclosure of the size of the table could be nice.

[@chickenman297]

G'Day matey. Maker from Brissy here. I'm in the market for something pretty much like this for my home workshop. I have searched for a place here where I can pick one up from, but can only find a Seig SC3 for $1300 from Victoria (would need shipping). There are Optimum TU-2004V lathes available here in Brissy for $1450 which have a bigger motor (600W) and thread cutting capability etc, but seem to be smaller between centres (300 mm). A couple of questions: 1. Where did you get your lathe from for $600? 2. In your opinion, would it be worth going for the Optimum, go for the Seig or splurge nearly 2 and a half grand for a bigger metalmaster (which may not fit on my bench lol)?

[@Sombre____]

@@chickenman297 Seriously, in the USA, it's easy. Just check for a second-hand on craiglist. Alec Steele is buying all his CNC & forging tool on craiglist. No need to get a new one.

[@chickenman297]

@@Sombre____ Bur I'm not in the USA. It's all good, I found a place that has them here for just over $700.

[@StuffMadeHere]

I had one of these for a while and it was surprisingly capable for the price, but if you're looking for a lathe I think you can do a lot better for 1.5-2x the price. I ended up selling my mini lathe and getting a larger lathe for a bit over $1000 and was vastly superior. Some of the nice things: twice the weight, twice the power, larger, stiffer, much less cramped, higher quality controls, metal gears, a real half nut for threading, a thread dial, power feed, etc. If you can handle the higher price I'd recommend looking one level up - you will end up with a much better machine that will allow you to make more things, faster and happier.

[@josephtaylor6285]

which one did you buy Stuff?

[@delasantos]

Wow! Great comment! PS: I love your channel!

[@MaximilianonMars]

Metal Gear...

[@danyCD17]

Can you recommend one?

[@generalawareness101]

@@MaximilianonMars LOL, that is a game not a lathe.

[@calvinmoreira4017]

well it's a lathe kzbin.infoUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.

[@podoclaste]

I have one of these, am taking it apart, fine tuning it one step at a time and learning along the way. You mentioned the affordability but I'd say it's this kind of quality and witty videos that make this hobby possible. Thank you.

[@lukearts2954]

This is THE most interesting, detailed and complete review of a mini-lathe on KZbin! With this video as effective user's manual, I'm sure new users will get a lot more out of their lathe than they would've without the knowledge you shared! Thanks!

[@georgescarlett2320]

Yup! Agree fully! I've owned this Lathe for about 4yrs now. Good shew mate!

[@richmac918]

Thank you for this most in depth review. I haven't used a lathe in 40 years but I do remember all the great things you can do with them and would love to have one. Problem is I don't have a lot of room in my workshop so one of these mini lathes looked like the perfect fit. Glad to hear that these are capable of making decent quality parts.

[@victorcroasdale4992]

Hi, great video. I have had the Grizzly G0765 version for about 18 months now. It comes with aluminium alloy handwheels , both centres and a fixed steady, but not a drill chuck or live centre.The handwheels all have dials. I bought a 100 mm 4 jaw chuck and made an adapter plate. I know from UK mags (Model Engineer and Model Engineers Workshop) that these lathes are available in the UK with either metric or imperial leadscrews and handwheel dials. In the US, where I live, only imperial is available. Cutting steel, I'm a hobbyist, I'm not running a production shop. It makes steel swarf quite fast enough. The gears in the headstock are plastic and I have stripped them when a tool dug in. Metal replacements are available but the plastic ones are less than $10 (US) each, a lot cheaper than a new electronic board! I also have a Toyo ML 210 lathe (similar is size and quality to the Sherline) so I also bought MT 3-1 and MT 2-1 sleeves to enable the use of its attachments on the Grizzly. I'm a retired professional engineer. In my younger days I was an engineering officer in the British Merchant Navy and I got my shoreside experience at John G Kincaid. They had a lathe about 40ft long for turning propeller shafts, and one with about a 12 ft center height for turning 65 ton crankshafts!

[@MolloRelax]

I think I might have read somewhere that those 2 lathes you mentioned had been stolen.....LOL🤣🤣🤣

[@cooganbeggs4942]

thanks for sharing your experience with us 👍

[@dozerboy67]

Thank you for this very thorough and well thought out review! I have been procrastinating for years now on my decision to jump into a mini lathe, because there just isn’t enough information out there in easily understood format. Good on ya mate! I enjoyed listening to your accent too, my younger sister lives in Albany, Western Australia, and so I miss hearing you Aussies! Cheers mate, from Northern California! 🙏💪🙌🤘🤘

[@szmyw7]

Nice review. I got one of these 27 years ago (!), and it's still working. Except of the control board, this was a bit of a pain to replace and modify, but there are lots of DC cotroller on the marked. Thanks to 3D printing I printed some gears to cut other threads than the listed and yes - setting up the gears is sometimes really annoying. The middle gears are on a plain bearing and like to jam if I forgot to lubricate.

[@robertverschueren9136]

A very good review. It's like you say, you must make comprimase with the price, your skills, the place of your workspace, and the kind of work you wanna do with it. Thank you for sharing this.

[@YAhoraTu]

Thank you for this review, this is super helpful. I've been mulling over buying one of these for a while, some really good points there to think about and look out for.

[@cackleberryfarm4598]

GREAT VIDEO!!! Thanks for taking the time to walk through so much of it!

[@randyshaffersr.785]

I’ve had that exact model in the auto restoration shop for 10 years ! It’s made a ton of drag racing parts and restoration parts ! Never had to do anything other than maintenance.

[@barry7608]

Thanks my fellow Ozzie, that was very interesting and it may well be my entry level as well. I used to love lathe work at school and as a home handy man inventor it would be a real buzz. I'll be looking into it.

[@pcrengnr1]

Thx for this review. You showed these lathes in their truest light. These lathes beat the pants off hands down over a homemade lathe. For small part these lathes shine nicely. Try to get one with the two speeds. That allows you to keep the motor RPMs up while having higher spindle torque and lower speed. After you tune these little guys up they are great. Don't think you are going to turn a lawn mower crankshaft quickly but they will actually do the job but it takes patience. A few things to upgrade that weren't covered. Change the fuse out for a breaker. Nothing is more frustrating than blowing a fuse and finding out that you don't have any more fuses. Don't go down to the auto parts store and use one of those fuses, they don't have the voltage rating to interrupt the current of a 100+ volts supply. They will catch on fire, explode; spraying glass everywhere. It will probably destroy the fuse-holder. If your electronic board fails consider a Harbor Freight Router dimmer followed by a 200V or 400V 10A Full Wave Rectifier. The downside is you lose some lower speed torque but it'll still run and the fix is cheap. All in all, within the size limitation of the parts that these lathes are capable of they are so much better than no lathe. If you need a bigger lathe stop your cryin and start your buyin. Hahaha. Again thx for taking the time in sharing you review of these great little lathes.

[@doc1701]

Thanks for the review - love my S3 but then, I'm a woodworker and love my wood lathe, too. Thanks for taking the time to upload.

[@3xcelsi0r10]

This is one of the most detailed videos I've seen. Good work !

[@billjackson9702]

Got one of these for a birthday gift a few years ago, the Harbor Freight version. Modifying and learning a little at a time.

[@artisanmakes]

Neat, from looking at them, they are the most similar to the sieg lathes

[@tomt9543]

@@artisanmakes Sieg makes them for HF. The Grizzly 0765 lathe shown early in this video is not a Sieg product. Sieg lathes typically have an “H” shaped carriage when viewed from above. I have a Grizzly 0765 7x14, a HF 7x12, and a 20 year old HF 9x20, and each one of them required equal amounts of work to be useable, accurate machines! Impressive units after a thorough going over though!

[@christianmccollum1028]

Lucky guy. I got a 3-pack of cotton boxers for my last birthday.

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

@@christianmccollum1028 my brother got me a shirt and a woman for my birthday and they were both too big.

[@CNYKnifeNerd]

@@JohnDavis-yz9nq So you're saying you were too small for the woman? Odd flex.

[@znaut]

What a fantastic review! Subscribed.

[@amanofmanyparts9120]

I bought one these lathes (second hand, but barely used) about a year ago. It has many small upgrades as it came from an importer that does that before sale. I haven't used it as much as intended, but it has allowed me to make a 3 way adapter for my 3" scale steam traction engine. More items will surely follow as I get more time on it. I would definitely recommend it as your first lathe, maybe the only one you ever need if your just making things in softer materials than steel of any flavour.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

Great review. Nice to have a review from someone that actually knows what to look for in a lathe.

[@shedmanx3640]

Great review. I bought one of these a couple of years ago from a Seig distributor in Dandenong, Victoria. I bought the upgraded machine with the starter pack that was very extensive, coming with a Jacobs Chuck, live centre, set of drills set of starter drills, tools, extra jaws for the Chuck, etc. I bought it to make parts for my restorations which it has done fantastically for a newbie that had no idea what I was doing. I purchased the quick change tool post within a week and interchangeable carbide tools. It works great on aluminium, plastic and brass. It will cut steel but as you said, light passes are required. I honestly can’t fault it. As long as you use it within its limitations, care for it and don’t abuse it, you’ll be happy. It has got me out of many a sticky situation when I’ve broken a part on a 100 year old piece under restoration and there are no spares you can purchase. 👍🇦🇺

[@suilqknadrotu934]

Nice use of punctuation marks. 🤓👏🏻

[@Cyanide300]

Well done. And thanks for doing a long term review like this. These are so much more valuable than the "out of the box" reviews most people do.

[@rickkephartactual7706]

I haven't used a metal tithe in about 50 years (two years of high school metal working) and remember a beast of a machine. I remember the first time I saw it with an ungodly number of adjustments possible. Like you said yours is about one/tenth of the weight of those things (and that might be conservative). Your video just might have gotten me inspired.

[@1crazypj]

That was a really good review that I agree with from my experience. It's far more useful than any 'unboxing' review with a piece of 6061 being skimmed to make it 'shiny' I also trained on much larger lathes, my previous lathe before the mini was a Colchester capable of 4 foot long 10inch diameter work (actually much bigger than I really needed but right place, right time, right price) I first felt I had bought a 'toy lathe' but it is quite capable of doing very accurate work after adjustments and reassessing expectations for cut depth/speed ( I had been trained to do production work to sub 5 micron tolerances) Changing the bearings to taper roller (or angular contact if you want to spend some serious cash) makes it much more capable when parting off and could improve surface finish in some circumstances. I disagree with the QCTP though. They are convenient but putting tools further away from the 'pivot point' on compound slide usually results in chatter, poor surface finish and possibly broken tools or work (it can be mostly rectified by set up but a beginner isn't likely to know how) Overall, great channel, good information and some interesting things being done

[@rjordans]

Great video, great to see the motor modification I'll have a look at that. Been looking around for a brushless motor upgrade with vfd but not decided yet. My version of the mini lathe doesn't have the high and low gear and it gets to start quite a bit when working on larger diameter projects

[@duncanmarks1590]

Hi, this is a very good review of what most "buyers" would us this type of small lathe for but I do have to add that turning between centers is a skill that is very important for "small" or instrumentation lathe use. i.e. making pen bodies requires turning between centers as; the three jaw chuck has run out issues, a four jaw cuck takes a lot of setup time, but "between centers" allows an relatively easy setup (in my opinion) and repeatability with multiple items including the removal and refit of work. My current choice of machines is I use Taig micro lathes for small work (i.e. the size of a large strawberry) and an Myford ML7 (1948 vintage) for larger parts (i.e the size of a large Orange). a good review bye Duncan

[@johnners911]

Thanks for this video. Very helpful and informative!

[@brianmoore1164]

I agree with you that these machines are better than people generally think they are. I have the C4 size which is a considerable jump in size and power, but it still fits easily on the bench top and runs on standard household current.

[@pkjmfineart1593]

Thanks for the awesome review! My 2022 Sieg SC3 500w brushless has been worth the money. Sure it has some sloppy stuff going on and definite limitations, but being pretty much a novice you grow with the unit. It's allowed me to make my own little machines/tools for my business which is fantastic. Always found Sieg Oz to be very easy to deal with too. (have 2 small mills also).

[@notsteve1475]

Thank you for that detailed video

[@nealramsey4439]

My dad just bought one of these for $185. The pan on the bottom was bent so he got it cheap. But it came with metal gears and extra set either different ratios or just extra. It also has a 600w motor. The more I learn about it the better it is for a mini lathe and especially the price he paid. It seems to be a better one and dirt cheap.

[@MrJoeGarner]

I have a G0602 9 by 22, and I love it, cost me about 1200 bucks from Grizzly. Great little machine.

[@mrechbreger]

I did not get around to swap the cross-slide leadscrew with a ballscrew yet - but I have milled 2 circles into the cross slide extensions to be able to insert 22mm bearings on both sides. That has got the backlash down from 0.5mm to 0.075mm. I'm not using the compound too much but that one has a backlash issue too. My machine is converted to CNC.

[@johnathonmontie2234]

Canadian here, I’m about to pull the trigger on a Canadian Version KING CANADA 7”X12” and your video has sold me! I’ve always wanted to get into hobby lathe work! Love your videos and hope to see more beginner and tips and tricks videos! Thanks bud!

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers, best of luck. Never heard of that version before.

[@romh7261]

How did it turn out?

[@wyo_garage20]

Great vid, appreciate the info! Well done

[@djaydeved]

spot these things every time i go to harbor freight, and honestly im surprised its recieving praise at all, and in all honestly i might see about getting one into my shop

[@justinwright6611]

What a fantastic review. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@albertogregory9678]

Excellent overview! Nice to see a “positive” but still balanced review overall. Edit: btw, maybe look into using a treadmill motor and controller instead of an ac motor, since you can get one for free.

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers. A treadmill motor is a great solution, but for my needs, an AC motor serves me much better than a DC motor.

[@millomweb]

@@artisanmakes Your brushed 'DC' motor could be fine on AC but wiring the reversing would mean splitting the internal wiring in the motor.

[@smallblockchevy1022]

@@millomweb do you think I'd have trouble cutting a 1.5 thread pitch into a 12mm , grade 5 steel bolt? And if so, how about a grade 2? Also, could you possibly lead me in the right direction where to by a carbide bit with the right angle to do this? Thank you so much, Steve

[@lukewarmwater6412]

looks like this will do most everything I need it to... cool, thanks!

[@LouwrensvanderMerwe]

Brilliant review! Many thanks.

[@Yogi_Bear69]

Better lathe than never, truly a man of culture

[@coburnlowman]

I have an old South Bend , like the ones used in schools. Well mine came from a local High School. It's great for farm repair jobs. But when it comes to tiny precision work , I've really thought about getting one of these. I do wish they came with a quick change gearbox tho.

[@fiorellogalluzzo7282]

Thanks so much for making these videos. I've been on the fence for some time about getting my 1st hobby lathe and this kind of information is getting me closer to pulling the trigger on something similar. Just have a couple of questions if you don't mind. Firstly, there seems to be quite a few machines around the $600ish AUD mark however the Sieg branded ones such as yours are usually around the $1000 mark and a little more for the high torque model. I've read good things and also saw a review on the Sumore mini lathe by another Aussie KZbinr 'xynudo' which is just under $900. In your opinion, is it worth to spend a few hundred extra on a Sieg or similar (assuming they'll probably benefit from some kind of improvement anyway) or am I better off getting one of the $600ish units (spending the rest on tooling) and just making improvements as needed? I quite comfortable and capable with anything mechanical and electrical. Cheers.

[@kengreenhall8762]

Thank you for the video and sharing your experience with us. I love to watch your videos you make them so interesting and easy to understand. I have a 7 x 14 mini lathe too, and I'm also pleased with it. Mine is mounted on 4 rubber feet, was your lathe the same when you had it? I've been thinking about taking the feet off and bolting it to the bench and leaving it properly, what do you think?

[@Thekingmaker]

Thanks for such a thorough review

[@kieranlatham]

best review vid I've watched thanks mate

[@larryschweitzer4904]

Excellent review. I've got a much bigger lathe and still end up not quite big enough sometimes. You did a good job of pointing out how much is lost to the length with tooling etc. Mini lathes are also available in longer lengths, so seriously consider the longer ones. Buying the next size up for swing is also worth considering. Swing over the carriage is really limiting on the 7x14's. As is often said, buying a lathe is just the start of a long trip down a rabbit hole. You need a mill to complete the set. All the tooling and accessories can easily cost as much or more than the lathe. Machining keeps your mind active!

[@R1mdennis]

Could've bought one of these. I wanted a metal lathe for so long. You can make so much stuff with them

[@KTA99]

Currently looking at buying this brand. Thank you for the information

[@PoodlePuncher]

Good thing you got it so long ago... The current equivelent Sieg C3 7x14 is currently $1249 USD. for a couple hundred more, i could get an old South Bend...

[@arthurpapazian6003]

Great review!

[@brassaap]

Mmmm, I've owned 2 of these lathes and both were prone to severe chatter when taking even light cuts. Tightening the gibs made marginal improvement at the cost of making the slides very tight to move. Had a tool dig in due to lack of basic rigidity and sheared the cheap plastic gears. in the headstock. The cross slide nut is cast metal and wore out due to having the gibs tight. The best thing is the headstock and if you make a new wider saddle and cross slide you'll have a nice lathe

[@genkidama7385]

This review is so good only the shipping costs prevent me from buying one, it would take 66 years and 33 million dollars to ship this to my location.

[@TheRebelmanone]

@@PaulJones-td9lm so would many people for 33 million dollars. lol Just put it in a back pack. lol

[@MF175mp]

I would go to China and bring it over for 3,3 million only! C'mon man, 90% discount!

[@izoyt]

great presentation! thanks.

[@isaacfulton7731]

Get you a magnetic indicator holder and use and indicator to get precise measurements on the carriage. You can even get them in several inch travel. Or make a mount for a digital 12 inch caliper as a diy dro

[@pauls5745]

Totally agree and I love my Grizzly 8688 a lot. 6 years with it, occasional use and I lament it's not heavy or powerful, rigidity suffers and you can't cut deep but it is what I go it do. Top upgrade you should get is a quick change tool post.

[@pauls5745]

I paid $575 back in 2018, now they are about 925 as of Spring 2024

[@johncorson6599]

Had a bigger combo mill lathe machine and it was a blast to use though couldn’t do threading on it which was frustrating … but with steel rod made fake mini cannon barrels which looked really cool and took no time at all to make

[@QurttoRco]

If your on very tight budget and need the thread cutting then go for this. Other situation I can recommend Proxxon 250 about 2x prices pre accessories but it does cut steel well. or Proxxon tools in general. From hand tool to power tools, price is reasonable and quality is great

[@peter2uat]

you get what you pay! I have bought mine (a NewInTheBox CJ9516 B) some 25 years ago for a VERY low price, even had the original red grease all over. Many modifications followed, and I am still very happy with it. Mods were - taper roller spindle bearings, speedometer, new motor mount, QCT toolholders (250-000), brass gibs, steel intermediate gear wheel, ball bearings for the leadscrews, a handwheel on the main leadscrew which unfortunately is imperial, and digital readouts on carriage and cross slide. Additionally I separated the whole electronics from the lathe and added a ventilator too. Sharp tooling is a must, carbide only if kept very sharp (do not buy cheap carbides, they are brittle, and re-sharpening is a pain). So take HSS, always keep it sharpened, and the surface finish will be perfect. Do not try to be Abom79 with these machines ;-) as the 300-400W motor cannot deliver these size of chips... Have fun on a small scale!

[@naomilaffer5079]

This was super helpful thanks! 😊

[@michaelboatman6934]

This is a great review, I think with everything iv heard here I'm going to get one. I plan on only working Delron, aluminum, and brass and with everything iv see here I think I will be very happy. Thankyou for your video.

[@TheRebelmanone]

With that material you mentioned and as long as you are only in need of making small parts then this could be ok.

[@guitarchitectural]

Thing is, once you start working those materials you start to think "hmmm things would be much quicker if I had a profiled cutting tool for this" or a profiled d-bit or whatever... And that's when you start working with harder metals and bumping into the limits. That being said I'm making pens and it would be such a time saver to have one of these for all the tenons and things I make!

[@berkeleygang1834]

Unfortunately, I can only give this one thumbs up. You deserve much more than that from me. Great job. Thanks.

[@juppster5694]

Excellent overview and description, thank you! I'm tempted to consider one of these :-) The motor can be replaced with a 3ph unit and VFD for ~$200AU (2021), maybe doubling the power at the same time. Great work, thanks again for the care and time in this presentation, much appreciated.

[@marvindebot3264]

Oh now that's interesting, any details?

[@justinwright6611]

I think I need to go over my lathe, not that I have noticed any issues but you have raised a lot of points. I seem to generally get excellent surface finish providing speeds and feeds are in the ball park. Lathe is an EMCO Compact 8.

[@mikedalakis5292]

A great review. thanks for sharing.

[@jimjones-mz1wh]

Have had a harbor freight one for two years and with some modifications they can really do a nice job on small parts. Take your time and don't push it past it's limits and it will do fine. It loves aluminium.

[@garypeterson3628]

Great review.

[@thomasjensen2048]

I’ve always wanted to buy my own lathe so i can play with it and make stuff at home since i dont have time to make things i want to make at school «industrial mechanic school». But luckily after sommer im most likely going to be an appreantice at a cnc shop where i can use the machines to whatever i want after work :)

[@melgross]

Great review, fair and complete.

[@interman7715]

Excellent review.

[@johnsims5330]

I've had my 7x14 for 6 months now. Mods I've done: tuned, headstock bearings, carriage lock, larger lead screw gears(127T), a fan on the tiny motor(for improved cooling), carbide insert tooling, and a quick-change tool post. It'll never be a Colchester or a South Bend, but it's mine and its paid for. As long as i remember 'Tiny Cuts!' and 'Go Slow!' , i don't see any reason to regret buying my mini lathe, and i expect it to last me for years. Thanks for the Vid!

[@olstar18]

@@davidwillard7334 Go troll elsewhere kid.

[@olstar18]

@@davidwillard7334 Go troll elsewhere kid.

[@olstar18]

@@davidwillard7334 Go troll elsewhere kid.

[@curtwuollet2912]

Carbide insert tooling is so convenient, but you can make better use of the limited power and rigidity with sharp hss.

[@brustar5152]

As opposed to some (most) of the other mini-lathes and combo units; this one has a prismatic way rather then just the simple flat ways that allow the carriage to deflect when cut direction/resistance changes. If not required to cut a variety of threads, this little lathe should perform just fine for most sizing tasks.

[@SidecarBob]

I've been wanting a lathe for years but recently came to the realization that I just don't have room for one as big as I wanted. Then this video showed up in my recommendations and you got me thinking about a mini lathe. After watching a few of your videos I subscribed, started watching the rest of your videos from the beginning. And started shopping and reading reviews. The lathe I ordered today is a 7x14 " with a 550W motor and it only cost about $725 Canadian (our dollar is about $1.10 AUD this week) shipped and even though it ships from within Canada they didn't charge me tax so it sounds like I got a bargain ;-)

[@jamesquinsler5607]

If you don’t mind me asking, how is the lathe? Did it live up to expectations?

[@SidecarBob]

@@jamesquinsler5607 I really haven't used it much but it has worked OK for what I have done.

[@dwightcarlson7136]

Thank you for your comprehensive review!👍👍👍

[@finecutpost]

I can see a lot of work went into this video. Well done and especially congrats that you resisted the temptation to add awful music that stuffs so many video's. On question, did you consider a brushless motor? and did you cost this options.

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers, there is a time and place for background music, but not here. I used to use in some video, but I use it to a lesser extent nowadays.

[@carlogic1960]

Thank you for a well presented and informative video. Straight to the point and comprehensive.

[@MrRossi1805]

Thank you, first time I see a review of such a machine!

[@Enrichener]

Great video man. I watched the whole thing on another device and just had to find my phone so I could comment lol (idk my password) I’m just a tinkerer and been thinking of getting one. I appreciated the vid

[@WowCoolHorse]

these mini lathes remind me of my ender 3 3D printer, it's just about the cheapest printer out there that still delivers adequate to pretty high quality prints, and has a huge community of people modifying them and improving them

[@TechGorilla1987]

I've got the original Ender 3 and it's the most solid printer I have.

[@WowCoolHorse]

@@TechGorilla1987 yeah they're great, I'm thinking about getting a second one 👍

[@abikelife1481]

Awesome you mention that, another tool on my to buy list!

[@cwalke32477]

Haha, I have all cheaps... This mini lathe, an Ender 3 pro, and a Vevor 3018 CNC router/mill. They all work perfectly, for my needs...with some minor mods.

[@zinithin-8208]

Thank you for your honest review. I see a lot of reviews of new tools then most people don’t do a follow up review after a few years of use to give you the real pros and cons of ownership.

[@artisanmakes]

Thankyou very much. To be fair, I didn't do machining videos back when I bought it :)

[@smallcnclathes]

A couple of things that might help the new owner. Carbide insert tools made for aluminium are ideal for low power machines. Aluminium, brass and steel are available in machining grade, much easier to deal with than the alternatives. Just be aware when turning brass that inserts like that may be a bit grabby. Find a good video on setting it up correctly, ie fine tuning the machine to get it as good as possible before starting to modify it. Then they can work out what to modify and the order in which to do those modifications.

[@tates11]

Good information, nice video.

[@garyandtricia1]

Well done review.

[@CaptZenPetabyte]

Instant *Like* for the opening gag, good one

[@jonbush9533]

Excellent review sir. Although you touched on the fine tuning of the lathe when you unbox it (e.g. gibs, tail-stock adjustment), when I purchased my Grizzly Lathe (and mill) 20 years ago my fathers' friend who had been a master machinist for 40 years suggested that I completely disassembly the units and clean, lubricate, and reassemble setting everything as precisely as possible. I'm glad I did, the mill chips and other 'junk' I pulled out filled a small cup. Also, the lubrication that is put on at the factory is very substandard. For about 6-10 hours worth of work, the lathe has served me these 20 years. I just recently replaced the bearings with tapered bearings with only a slight improvement on reducing run-out but quieted it down considerable... Again, nice job on the video.

[@wirefeed3419]

I have done some of the tear down on a new lathe so far only cleaned and replaced factory lubrication on the chuck. The change here was incredible. After completely taking apart and cleaning and cleaning up some of the rough casting areas then adding a good Molly type lube the chuck jaws now move very smoothly and unlike before they align perfectly at full close every time now. I purchased even after seeing many negative comments calling them junk, my theory is any lathe is 100% better then no lathe at all. I am looking forward to what I can do with it and do to it make as good as possible.

[@artisanmakes]

20 years is very impressive for one of those lathes. I have had my doubts about the longevity potential of this machine, but this gives my good confidence in mine. with the roller bearings, I upgraded mine too and the biggest improvement i was was deflection under load, run out under no load stayed about the same. Cheers

[@maxasaurus3008]

I’m impressed that it survived a drop.

[@taiwanluthiers]

Honestly I just think spending a little more (or buy used) for something bigger, but still fits in a small space is the better solution. For example something similar to Precision Matthews PM1228LB (there is likely a factory in China making it), fits in a small space but has features most big lathes have.

[@Master-ls2op]

its gets the job done for small items. use 3 of them in my shop. does need some upgrades to get perfect. it being so cheap cost balances out. and you can do some different upgrades. like adding a drill pres. we have a 50in and big boy 6 footer. the 2 larger ones are running 24/7 smaller ones are used for small parts that are not worth the run time on the bigger ones. ALSO handles way smaller parts. like firing pins, gas tubes, pins, rollers.

[@dfailsthemost]

Thank you for the video.

[@artisanmakes]

No worries, hope you found it useful

[@YT-User1013]

I’d say one of the best reviews of a product I’ve seen on YT. Thank you!

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Amazing review

[@jarekmace1536]

06:30 reminds me of a guy who ran the tip of a MIG liner through the lathe. He forgot the end would whip, and almost wrecked the whole thing. Take two, and he ran a piece of PVC pipe to hold the tail end. No surprise, it was rinse and repeat. Boss made him stop after that.

[@cda32]

Get some Wera Joker wrenches for that chuck back. Life changing

[@chriso1373]

This Old Tony piqued my interest in these, but your video might have sold me on it. Thanks!

[@francocarrieri1988]

Bought a mini lathe off Amazon (not that one) for £450, about 7 years ago. It broke down after a few weeks. I too was running my lathe at low RMP when the electronics blew. I asked Amazon for my money back, and they declined, stating their 28-day guarantee had elapsed.

[@treasuretotrash2067]

I have recently purchased a sherline and can confirm it is much better my old import lathe

[@CharlesNewkirk-lb6uh]

Nice video!

[@eddiesasquatch8124]

Very good learning video. Since 2 years what would you recommend for someone in America?