Gano, Ken wrote:
>
> Does anyone have any experience with Harbor Freight Mini lathe #33684?
> I realize I would be very limited in what it will do, but the price seems
> right and it's small enough not to get in the way.
This one I'd probably stay away from. I've seen copies of it in other
discount machine tool showrooms, and it is Chinese-made, and quite cheap
in many respects. The one I saw had lead screws with machine threads,
which would not last long at all. Another thing to keep in mind is that
the overall useful length is measured from the headstock plate to the
tailstock with a dead center installed in the latter. Add a chuck and
either a live center or a drill chuck in the tailstock, and the useful
distance between centers is 3-4". Which makes it unbelievably tight to
work in and around.
By contrast, I have an Enco version of the #31316 on the same page,
which is still fairly compact. It has healthier Acme lead screws and is
a bit longer. The one shown in the Harbor Freight catalog seems not to
have a quick-change gearbox--the Enco versions are available with and
without. With quick-change is something like $100 more. Enco gets
about $200 more for the base model, I think.
Only problems I've experienced with the one I have is the drive, and the
proximity of the motor cooling air inlet screen to the cutting area.
The drive is through a too-small miniature v-belt, so it goes through
belts fairly quickly. The problem with the motor is that it's too close
to the cutting area, and inlet screen gets clogged with chips and
shavings fairly quickly. I clean it often, because I worry about the
small bits getting sucked into the motor and shorting it out.
Thankfully, hasn't happened yet. One of these days, I'm going to modify
the drive pulleys to a Gilmer belt drive and put a variable speed
controller on the motor, as soon as I can find the cog gears to fit the
back gear arrangement, and that should solve the drive problem. I could
probably solve the motor/chip problem with a shield of some sort, but
haven't had time to find a place to mount one.
Those problems notwithstanding, the lathe has been useful... used it to
make tool steel/Delrin AF bushings for the suspension on my GT6, for
example.
And, while larger and bulkier, you might look around for a used standard
lathe--South Bends are fairly common. You might also check at your
local technical high school, if you have one. Some have sugar daddy
foundations which buy new equipment fairly regularly. When I taught in
Michigan, the local trade high school bought new equipment every five
years, and auctioned off the old machines. They bought new Clausing
lathes every five years, thanks to an ongoing grant from a local
foundation.
Cheers, Ken.
--
My other Triumph doesn't run, either....
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