GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Machine Shop Talk & AG Parts Machining => Topic started by: msurf on March 02, 2019, 01:29:55 AM
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Well, this is definitely an addictive, wallet draining hobby, as with many outdoor hobbies like fishing. Freshwater fished for most of my youth on the mainland starting at 3 years old, moved to Hawaii at 15, and integrated saltwater fishing (yes you can fish freshwater in Hawaii, and it is quite good, actually) then on to saltwater kayak fishing, then to boat fishing in saltwater. BOAT = break out another thousand dollars...and that especially rings true on a saltwater boat.
But I digress. I was given a Unimat SL 1000 by my father, and quickly realized (as have others) I needed a bigger lathe. Amazon ships to Hawaii free with Prime, and after searching for the best deal, keeping in mind the prices might increase for Chinese goods, I determined the best deal and went for it.
A greasy WEN (it is actually a SEIG) lathe arrived, and is now cleaned and ready to be put to work. I have a .30 Marauder project started, and this will be an integral part of the process. I know enough to be dangerous with lathe metalworking, but am learning along the way. Here we go! :)
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Congratulations - since you have already done some very small lathe work you know how to approach the mini-lathe.
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Wow, I didn't realize WEN sold these. Looked it up, Home Depot carries these as well. It says you get a 2 yr warranty . That's pretty good. In the photos, can't tell if those are metal gears or black plastic. Might need some tinted safety glasses with that color.
Great find, have fun
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I purchased a 7x10 mini lathe a few years back as a backup for another lathe that was being converted to CNC. It was great and did a great job but now, after a lot of mods, it is a 7 x 16 (longer bed from LMS) with a ELS so it is my go-to-lathe for small projects.
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you get a 2 yr warranty . That's pretty good. In the photos, can't tell if those are metal gears or black plastic. Might need some tinted safety glasses with that color.
I would take the very safe bet of the price of the lathe that the change gears are plastic. In fact, they are plastic. But that is of little or no importance. I have never broken any of these plastic change gears.
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Thanks guys, yes they are plastic gears. I did some searching and it matches the SEIG 7x12. It has a 3/4 horse motor. Everything seems well built and precise, the runout was .001 out of the box.
The only issue I will address is the cross feed does not operate as smoothly as I would like..I will lap that with some valve grinding compound at a later date.
I did some turning and knurling on aluminum stock yesterday for the first time...what a blast. The surfaces came out like they were polished. Impressed! It will take some practice on the knurling, but the first results were decent.
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I have a Grizzly 8 x16 I think at work that I bought when I first started my business some 28 years ago ... we still use that lathe for touch up work today !!!
But now i want to do some stuff at home, I have a WEN small drill press that runs like a Swiss watch, I love it and because of that I'm very seriously looking at the WEN &x12 ... perfect for small jobs and does not take up lots of room. It has a .800 spindle hole which is more than enough for the stuff I have planned.
I'll be watching this thread closely as in all probability I will order a small lathe before Sept 15 or so.
You guys that have this WEN lathe, speak up and tell me your views !!
wll