lathe suggestion

[fragalot]

Hey, I'm quite new to this forum, and figured i'd jump right in with a question

I'm looking for a new/used small yet usable lathe in belgium to make the piston and cylinder with for small vacuum engines.
I can make the flywheel & mounts on my cnc mill..

I wondered if any of you had suggestions for tiny lathes (I don't have the space to put a decent sized one in the garage anymore)

I do have access to an amazing set of big lathes at a friend's place, but I can't keep going there to make things in my spare time.

There is somewhat of a budget for the lathe, but it's yet to be determined
I have 3x220V available, or 220V 20A single phase.


Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm not going to go for big engines on it, so I think I should be fine with a chuck size of 80mm (to make the flywheel)

 

[lazylathe]

Hi and welcome! ;D

I would recommend either Taig or Sherline lathes.
They are small enough to store under a bench and sturdy enough to make very high quality parts.
I had a Sherline and really liked the adjustable speed control. It is something i want to add onto my Taig someday.

Another one to consider would be a Chinese 7X lathe

Since you are in Europe why not look at Proxxon?

Andrew

 

[fragalot]

Proxxon seems like a good suggestion,
though I was wondering how many watts the spindle aught to be.. 140W for the little 230E seems a little bit on the low side?

 

[pete]

An Emco built compact 5 lathe that's been used but in still good shape would work real well. Their about 65 lbs/ 30 kgs. The new ones are I think not built in Austria anymore. If you need any dimensions I can measure mine. If you could go higher in weight and leave it permanently set up I'd suggest maybe looking at the Sieg C4 lathes with the power cross feed. But I really don't know much about them. Their certainly not in the same build quality class as the small Proxxon's would be.

Pete

 

[fragalot]

I'm currently staring at a Sieg C2..
it's well affordable at 500 euro.. which also makes me wonder if it will be any good :/

or I might spend a bit more to avoid a headache and get a HBM 180V

not quite as portable, but it just looks more.. rigid. (not to mention twice the power)

 

[Tin Falcon]

the seigs are basically pre-assembled kits. good bones the newer supers have 500w servo motors nice the older models have 350 watt motors. if you have someone in Europe that sells the super c2 that would probably work the supers have most of the bugs worked out and have some of the accessory bells and whistles lacking on the older ones. and having access to a mill and bigger tools things can be made if needed.
the proxxon taig and sherling have a good rep and good support as well good luck on your search.
Tin

 

[pete]

Fragalot,
I Googled that HBM 180V, I'm pretty sure it's built by the same manufacter as my 280V-F. Their badged with various names. Weiss would be just one of them. As I said,I don't have any experience with the Sieg C4s or the HBM 180Vs but if there's the same difference in quality as the Seig C6 is to the 280V-F then your HBM would be the way to go. Your current parts may be small now but interests change, Projects have a bad habit of getting bigger, Ect. It's far better to get a somewhat larger lathe than what you need today. The Variable speed and tach on the HBM would be very useful.

Pete

 

[mygrizzly1022]

Hi. Fragalot

The Sieg C2 is widly refered to in North America as a Mini lathe. A Google “Mini lathe” search should supply you with a ton info regarding these little characters.
They are by no means perfect, but all their faults and suitable fixes as well as desirable modifications are very well documented all over the web.
Parts are readily available from Little Machine shop .com which of course is not terribly convenient to you in Belgium but it is good to know there is a place you can buy virtually every nut and bolt.
A good place to start http://www.mini-lathe.com/
Regards …Bert

 

[fragalot]

Your current parts may be small now but interests change, Projects have a bad habit of getting bigger, Ect. It's far better to get a somewhat larger lathe than what you need today.

For the bigger things I can use my friend's workshop

I think i'm going to save up for that HBM Thanks