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Hi, anyone have any experience or knowledge about the Central Machinery 7 x 10 micro lathe sold by Harbor Freight? I got a sale paper today and it is on sale for 370 bucks from 430 regular price. I had been saving for a Taig but it is about a hundred more. Any thoughts??

bob gilbert

I have not seen or used it but I have a taig and this one has some better features. Variable speed so there is no fussing with belts/pulleys and the automatic feed I would think could come in handy. Also the weight, 89 pounds is less prone to vibration. However, I would also hope it is not junk machinery.

Harbor freight has a some what lack-luster reputation when it comes to precision machines. Save for the Taig.

If you are only doing stems with it and can get the 7 x10 for less money than the taig I would say go for it.

I went with the 7x10 back when they were going for $270 . . . and found the 7" throw was OK, but working with the 10" bed was reminiscent of trying to work on my MGA's engine: very cramped. One of the guys on here posted a link to LittleMachineShop.com and I bought a 14" bed for the lathe and am happy again. Even doing only stems, you'll need some room to put a long drill bit in the tailstock chuck . . . . and with 10" there just isn't enough room. But . . . visit LittleMachineShop.com and look around; it's very educational.

Thanks to all who replied. I haven't bought yet still mulling it over. John, could you point me to that 14" bed extension? I can't seem to find it over at the tool site you referred to.

bob gilbert

Sorry, I've been away. Here's the link, but apparently they're out of stock on the 14" bed.
http://littlemachineshop.com/products/p ... 1070498684

-- john

p.s. -- The cam-lock for the tailpost would also be much to your advantage if you go with this (or similar) lathe.

Bob,

The newer generation of these imports comming out of China are better than they used to be but they still are not great. Centeral Machinery, Enco, Grizzly, Northern, and several other brands of these little 7x10 and 14" hobby lathes are all made in the same factory. The main difference being the paint color and decal trim. That's why you can use parts from a Grizzly to replace parts on a Central Machinery or Enco machine. So there really is not a dimes difference in any of them.

To a real machinist or even a serious hobbiest these machines are pretty sloppy and not well made. They can be made into an accurate machine but it takes a bit of work. You can do things like lap the ways and compounds to take all the play out of the gibs and make them more uniform and accurate. You can replace the lead screws and lugs to take a lot of the backlash out, etc., etc. As a mater of fact there is so much work to bring one of these up to par that a hobby market has developed around "rebuilding" and customizing these cheap machines into something worth while. There are even businesses that have devloped around after market parts and upgrades for this purpose. By the time you brought the Chinese import up to par you will have spent much more in money and certainly time than it would cost to buy a good lathe.

You would be money ahead and end up with a much better machine to shop around and buy a good quality used lathe. Ones I would recomend would be

Atlas - 618 or 612
Craftsman - Dunlap, 101 or 109
A small Logan or South Bend bench lathe.
An Austrian made Emco #3 might be a good option.
One of the Cowles or Myford English made lathes are great but will be a bit pricey even used.

These lathes were made to take a hell of a beating and still hold up. They are made out of much higher quality materials and if you found one with some life left in it you would be better off than getting a cheapy import. A new import will wear out due to inferior materials while the atlas, logan, or south bend are living on to watch several more cheapies wear out.

Lathemaster (I think they are in Luisianna) has a series of these small Chinese type lathes that are supposed to have had the lapping and tweeking already done to them and are ready to go. But as you would expect they are considerably more money than the sloppy Chinese imports.

A good webstie to check out before buying a lathe is http://www.lathes.co.uk/
They have a very complete database with good info on just about any lathe you could ever want to look up.

Ray

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I have decided to wait until I can afford to buy something better. I will be purchasing something hopefully during the month of May.

I notice, Ray, that you don't mention Taig but I have never heard anything bad about the 7 x 10 Taig. Do you have any thoughts on the Taig?

bob gilbert

Both the taig lathe and mill have a reputation for being very good quality. I know a very good model maker who swears by his and he does some VERY small tight precision work.

I tend to prefer an older well made lathe myself but I don't think you would go wrong with the taig. I would definitely take the taig over even a sherline or praxon. The chioce between a taig and a Chinese clone would not even be a choice to me.

I do think that any of the Chinese clones would be a poor choice. You will be much happier in the long run to save for a while longer and get a good product.

Ray

Holy crap, that's good info! Thanks Ray!

Bob,

There is a taig on ebay right now item # 180111186828. The current bid os only $200. I am sure it will go up but you may be able to get this for a decent price.

Ray

Thanks Ray, I'll keep an eye on it. I have watched several for a month or so and they always seems to bid up about the price of a new one at the end.

bob gilbert

I've notice that too. On the Taig website, "starter sets" retail for $385 to $460, with free shipping. The auction that just closed on ebay was a bare bones package and finished at $270 plus $50 shipping. There is no guarantee that everything is "tried and true" on an ebay sale and with such a precision instrument, that is essential. At least if you order directly from Taig, I'm sure they would address any problems that arise within a reasonable time frame. That assurance is worth the extra $65 or so. The price would have to be less than half it's value for me to bite. I'm shopping around for one too.

I agree, that has been my thoughts too. I don't know who runs the prices up but I suspect it to be the hobby folks such as model plane and rail builders or perhaps it is the pen folks. In any case, to buy a taig or enco or any of the small lathes on ebay is to pay almost new prices for them. I do continue to watch though.

Thanks to all who have replied here on this topic and especially to Ray for his professional ratings.

bob gilbert

If all you're looking to do is turn tenons and other small items like this but want high quality and absolutely excellent customer service for the life of the machine, go with the Taig. I got the pipemaker's kit a little over a year ago and I love it. Any problems I had setting it up were answered quickly via email or a quick phone call. I had a part go bad because I goofed it in the setup and they sent me a brand new part at no cost immediately. It really all depends on what you need/plan to use it for. If it's strictly a mini(or micro) that you want, you could do much worse than the Taig.

Thanks. I have a Taig located locally. Should be getting it within the next two weeks.

bob gilbert