Mini Benchtop Lathe Dilemma

[Babur CinParticipant @baburcin52125]

Greetings my friends…

I decided to start my own company and make the products I'd been concocting for myself (rings, pendants, pens and any other accessories) legally available for sale. I have been processing metals such as Damascus Steel, Tungsten, Titanium etc. I using my friend's lathe at his workplace. As a wheelchair user, i have a hard time working with it because it is a big indusrty standard lathe So i decided to buy a mini benchtop lathe for myself.

I chose two different models sold in my country. Optimum D180x300 Vario and Proxxon PD250/E. Proxxon looks a bit suitable for me but it much weaker than optimum. As manual said, it has got 140W motor. I don't know if it causes problems with hard steels which i mentioned before.

What should i do? Any advice and suggestions would be helpful. Thank you…

[Babur CinParticipant @baburcin52125]

Suggestions for Wheelchair User

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

A bench top hobby lathe is unlikely to perform like an industrial machine.

Having no exdperience of either of the machines that you mention, I would feel tempted to go for the Proxxon. (WHY? Read Brian John's experience with the Optimum that he bought. It's a long thread! )

Howard

[speelwerkParticipant @speelwerk]

Agree with Howard, not knowing your budget and space available but perhaps a slanted bed lathe would be more practical for you, not cheap but something like a used Hembrug Ergonomic or a Weiler Ergodur. Niko.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Hi Babur. I have been making rings & have been turning Stainless steel bar & boring to size. I have a Myford Super 7 vintage lathe. I fitted a large motor to it but probably irrelevant. I think you may need more than a 140w powered machine if you are going to do steel. Unless you are going to buy ring blanks already made. Another thing is I fitted a inverter (VFD) so I have an infinite speed control. Meaning that when I do any detail to a ring or doing infill, I can slow the machine to nearly a stand still. Which is a bonus for that type of work. As for which lathe to look for , I cannot advise.

Steve.

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

[This posting has been removed]

[Babur CinParticipant @baburcin52125]

Thank you so much for your answers and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Howard, can you send me the link of Brian's topic. I searched it but i couldn't find it.

Niko, slanted bed lathes looks very suitable for me but way expensive for my budget.

Steve, i just checked your works. They looking awesome. Your VFD recommendation very helpful. I just started to gather information about inverters.

Bill, do you know what's the difference between C3 and SC3. Is it just a motor power / torque difference?

Babur

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Hi Babur,

C3 is brushed motor with high/low gear.

SC3 is brushless motor, belt drive, higher torque.

You can check for distributors in your country on SIEG website: http://www.siegind.com

Ketan at ARC

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

The proxxon is a nice machine but I think it may be a bit underpowered for turning the metals you suggest. I dont know much about the optimum but it looks like a mini lathe to me. A mini lathe would be fine but imo they are poor quality.

Have you considered buying secondhand? A few similar size lathes to consider. Emco 5, Hobbymat md65, myford ml10.

[Martin Hamilton 1Participant @martinhamilton1]

The Optimum 180×300 is basically the same as a Warco WM180 or Chester DB7, these are a heavier & all round larger machine ( even though the center height & between centers is the same as the various mini lathes around ). The Proxxon PD250 is an expensive lathe for what it is & very light weight indeed, the materials you list would be a struggle on the Proxxon unless you were taking very minimal cuts.

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