Mini Lathe Upgrade

[VicParticipant @vic]

I have an 8 1/2” x 14” lathe and don’t have too much trouble parting since switching to the HSS T shape blades. Kept sharp they work very well. Like others I don’t find my lathe is particularly rigid and as a result I’ve stuck with a four way toolpost. I bought the T blades from Chronos. **LINK** So far I’ve used them on stainless steel, mild steel, brass, aluminium alloy, plastic and even wood. I screwed a spacer on the bottom of the tool holder so it’s permanently on centre height.

[Niels AbildgaardParticipant @nielsabildgaard33719]

Parting need less overhang and stiffer spindle.The picture shows a mini lathe upgrade where spindle (ca 15 $ among chineesemanufactures ,bearings (less than 2$) and drive system (30$) has changed.The spindle belt drive disc cannot sit between bearing and has to come out in free air..

The gearing to leadscrew is unchanged and the 125mm four jaw is bored to 50mm.Front end of new spindle is 30mm bore.

Enjoy or improve

[KEITH BEAUMONTParticipant @keithbeaumont45476]

I have been using my Clarke 300 mini-lathe regulaly for 14 years. I have changed the bearings some years ago, but in all that time I can say I have not had any problems with parting off or deep grooving. I always run the lathe in reverse with the tool upside down. My usual tool is mounted in a quick set post and is 0.060" wide. The big advantage of having a bolt on chuck and being able to reverse the motor,seems to be ignored by a lot of users.

Edited By KEITH BEAUMONT on 29/11/2020 20:22:09

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I bought a couple of new chucks for my Warco 7 X 12 mini lathe, an 80mm three jaw scroll which was a direct replacement, and a 100mm four jaw indipendent, which was rear mount and required modification to fit directly on the spindle. They are Sanou, Chinese and better made than the original pair. It was not difficult to turn a suitable register and drill front mount holes in the 100mm body.

[Niels AbildgaardParticipant @nielsabildgaard33719]

It will also be no big deal to fit a 125mm big hole fourjaw on a 80mm mini spindle

Edited By Niels Abildgaard on 30/11/2020 05:33:53

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