Harbor Freight micro lathe?

Could I get away with using a Harbor Freight micro lathe to make bushings? Does it have a big enough work area?

I'm trying to come up with how this one will be used as a hammer.

Yes. Of course, it all depends on how big you want to make those bushings. They are decent little lathes.

My regurgitated not-personal-experience reading tells me two things: You may, depending on which shop it came out of, need to do a bit of cleaning/fettling to get that little lathe up to its potential. My understanding is that the castings are frequently the same as for more expensive machines, but the care that goes into cleaning/assembly is sometimes lacking.

and...

If it is remotely a possibility in terms of space, you should consider finding a larger, more robust lathe used. You will probably get a better quality lathe for your money, and you will not say "D'oh" the first time you want to make something larger than a bushing.

If all you've got is a little room on a bench, obviously that's not an issue.

Compared with about any other lathe they're garbage. If you have space for anything bigger and are willing to trawl craigslist and drive a few hours you can find a real lathe. Bear in mind that the lathe itself is a small part of the process- tooling and learning work holding, tool selection and setup, speeds/feeds and the myriad other things a machinist has to know can take a while.

I started w/ an old Atlas 6" lathe. Flat ways, loads of lash and play, no rigidity to speak of, minimal tooling, much of which was junk.Over a period of a couple years I made loads of little round things eventually found a very small niche to serve with a service and product. A contract to build a prototype instrument for a government agency paid for a Smithy Granite 1324 3-in-1 machine w/ digital readouts and basic tooling. Even this machine which was between $3-4k all in was in need of extensive rebuilding before it would produce repeatable, accurate work.

BTW - regarding 3-in-1 machines: If you have space for real machines, ie a lathe and a milling machine, don't go 3-in-1. I had major space and access restrictions so there was no choice, but the amount of time it takes to switch between turning and milling operations and the tiny work envelope while milling is a huge pain. Yes, it's better than nothing, but still, you'll waste a lot of time.

I'd start by searching all the CL in your maximum willing-to-drive radius by using searchtempest.com. Try for a Clausing or South Bend. Taiwanese stuff is good too. The Chinese stuff is universally junk and has no parts availability.

If you're not too far from Ohio, HGR industrial surplus has loads of lathes, mills and machinery, but you need to know what you're looking at to avoid a heavy. expensive mistake.

I currently only have room for a micro lathe like that. I may try to find a micro lathe that isn't harbor freight on craigslist. But I don't really know good or bad brands.

What about something like this: http://www.grizzly.com/products/7-x-12-Mini-Metal-Lathe/G8688

Not sure of the real quality to an actual machinist but I have heard ok things about other grizzly lathes. I own a pretty sweet bandsaw of theirs that is well made and reliable.

mtn wrote: I'm trying to come up with how this one will be used as a hammer.

With HF, extended warrantees are your friend..

I've got the micro mill. It's not the best in the industry, but for the price it's hard to beat. It, as well as the lathe, is also well supported by aftermarket companies, notably these guys. http://littlemachineshop.com/

My mill has done everything I have ever asked it to do.

I've got the 9x15 i think micro lathe, it works well enough for a $300 lathe. I've gun some gun barrel threads on it, as well as small bushings. The diameter of the chuck isn't that huge though.

I can get access to a full machine shop if I need to but it would be nice to have something that I can get access to easier to do little things like the bushings.

Then again according to Harbor Freights website their metal lathes start at $500 so I might as well go with the Grizzly.

Just Gonna Leave this one here...