# Is this used 7x10 lathe worth the price?



## FredM (Nov 6, 2007)

A old 7x10 HF lathe for sale locally. It looks used for sure from the pics he sent (craigslist). 



> spindle center,follow rest,rolling center,tailstock chuck,face plate,lathe dogs 3pc.,knurling tool,5/16,1/8,3/16 tool bits,5pc.drill bits,edge finder,spring divider4",spring caliper inside and outside,machinist schriber,4 jaw chuck,lathe has 3 jaw on it,boring bar,arbors,knurling tool holder,spare parts kit for lathe,3pc.adjustable turning tools.



I know when I get a lathe I want a 4 jaw chuck.

I was gonna just get the cummins 7x12 for 465 shipped but this has the 4 jaw chuck and also has all the accessories the Cummins lathe comes with. 

The longest stuff I want to turn would be a 2D maglite so I'm not sure if I need the 4 extra inches.(?)


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## will (Nov 6, 2007)

I have an ENCO 7x10 lathe. You will not be able to bore out a 2D mag, the spindle bore is only 3/4 inch. The carriage will be at the end of the lathe with a 2D in the chuck. I have done a lot on the outside of a 2D Mag, grooves - that sort of thing. 

what is the selling price?


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## FredM (Nov 6, 2007)

Sorry I guess the price is sort of important with regards to my question!

He is asking 350.

What if I cut 2.5 inches off of the Mag body first? For instance sliced off the switch hole. Would I be able to bore and thread at that length? (5.5-6")


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## will (Nov 6, 2007)

If you are going to do any work on a mini lathe and a 2D Mag, you need a follow along center. ( the tool that adds support away from the chuck. )
I bored out the 3 jaw chuck so I can fit 3/4" stock through it. the original bore was 5/8" 
keep in mind - if you bore out 3 inches, the boring bar has to extend out from the tool holder 3 inches. On this lathe, if I cut the mag down 2 1/2 " the left side of the tool holder would almost be at the end of the mag. 

I have replaced the bearings on this lathe this year, they are not as robust as you would find on a larger lathe. 

So - I can work the outside of a 2D, but no cutdowns or boring 

The mag pictured has been powdercoated blue - with some GID blue mixed in...

Pictures
this is the lathe with a standard Mag 2D held in the chuck and the other end on a live center. Note - the center is all the way to right, almost off the lathe bed. The carriage is all the way to the right. 






This is the size of the outside jaws of the 3 jaw chuck, notice how small the gripping area is. 





the left side of the tape is 2 1/2 inches from the end of the mag. Notice where the tool holder is, it is all the way to right on the machine.





I moved the carriage to left. better picture of the live center.





another view. - hope this helps.


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## will (Nov 6, 2007)

one more picture

I moved the tool holder on the cross slide to the right as far as I feel is safe , the distance from the edge and the 6" mark is about 1 1/2 " . that would allow me to rethread or bore out 1 1/2 "


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## wykeite (Nov 6, 2007)

Give it a miss, trust me. I don't know about Stateside prices, but I have the feeling once you get it you won't be happy 6 months down the line. The reason, it's just too small, you may only want to do Mag bodies now but when you see what a lathe can do for you'll want a longer bed at least. It's one scenario where size does matter. Provided of course you have the space, that should be your only limit. Don't forget once your neighbors know you have one all those "can you just make" jobs will appear and for a nominal few bucks a time the extra you lay out will be repaid and you're on your way to the first million:twothumbs, they tell me that's the hardest one:shrug:.

I've got an Emco Compact 8, get one if you can. It's accurate, reliable and has more than made it's cost back for me without even advertising the fact I have a lathe. I've used a Myford ML7 which is a similar size but also agricutural in comparison to the Emco, the Myford also costs 3 times the Emco, even though I say 'in comprison' there really isn't one. Emco all the way. Go for a used one as the tooling you're likely to get with it will make a good deal even better. Tooling up a new lathe is expensive, so if you're looking in the 7 or 8" range it might be a good idea to think about getting your original deal and selling on the basic lathe, keeping the tooling for the real deal.

Hope this helps:duh2:.

Just a note, the post above happened while I was writing this, EMCO and ENCO are different it's not a typo on my behalf.


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## will (Nov 6, 2007)

wykeite .. You are correct - the 7x10 is really too small for the 2D maglites. The greater majority of my work has been on the 2AA mini-mags. Once I bored out the chuck, that lathe is the right size for working on the minis.


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## wykeite (Nov 6, 2007)

Will also made an extremely valid point in that generally and I do stress generally, the bigger the machine, the more robust it is and the bearings will last longer.


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## scott.cr (Nov 6, 2007)

$350 is a high asking price. I only paid $330 for mine new. This guy does seem to be offering a fair bit of tooling but I'd try to haggle that price down, and only if the lathe bed and leadscrew are in excellent condition.

It's not really large enough to work on the D Mags as others have said, but it's plenty for up to 3x CR123 lights (forget 4x CR123 lights if you want to bore them). A small lathe forces you to learn because, quite frankly, when you get anything larger than a 2C Mag, daylight tends to go away pretty quickly with these things.


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## FredM (Nov 6, 2007)

will said:


> one more picture
> 
> I moved the tool holder on the cross slide to the right as far as I feel is safe , the distance from the edge and the 6" mark is about 1 1/2 " . that would allow me to rethread or bore out 1 1/2 "



WOW!!! AWESOME PICS!

It looks like I could still thread a cut down 2D mag body quite easily. From the looks of your pics though a 7x12 would allow me to bore the entire length of a 6-7 inch piece (with flipping) from the aprox 4 extra inches (1.5 + 4).

Wow this is a touch decision.


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## will (Nov 6, 2007)

You could thread a cutdown, with a roll along center. But - I think the deepest bore you will get is 1 1/2 inch if the total length is 6 inches. There just is not enough room at the right side of the 10 inch lathe. I don't like roll along centers - I would be afraid that it will damage the finish if you make it too tight, or you get a chip caught in there somewhere. 

this is one 2 D light I did on the mini-lathe - all work was done on the outside of the Mag. I removed the anodize and then polished the aluminum.


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## will (Nov 7, 2007)

FredM said:


> From the looks of your pics though a 7x12 would allow me to bore the entire length of a 6-7 inch piece (with flipping) from the aprox 4 extra inches (1.5 + 4).
> 
> Wow this is a touch decision.



mine is a 7 x 10, if you go with a 7 x 12 - that is only 2 inches longer.

I took a quick look on ebay - shipping these gernerally runs more that $65.00.


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## gadget_lover (Nov 8, 2007)

will said:


> mine is a 7 x 10, if you go with a 7 x 12 - that is only 2 inches longer



Not quite true. I've had both, and the 7x12 is about 4 inches longer. It's based on how you measure, from dead center in spindle to dead center in tailstock or from face of the chuck to dead center in the tailstock. 

The 7x10 uses the most optomistic measure possible. You can not cut a 10 inch piece on the 7x10 without a lot of tricks. The carriage does not move that far.

The 7x12 is more reasonable. I can mount a 12 inch piece between centers and turn the whole length without remounting the tool.

In short, the 7x12 is significantly bigger than the 7x10. having said that, I should also point out that the 7x10 is still quite adequate for an awfully broad array of work.

Daniel


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## will (Nov 8, 2007)

gadget_lover said:


> Not quite true. I've had both, and the 7x12 is about 4 inches longer. It's based on how you measure, from dead center in spindle to dead center in tailstock or from face of the chuck to dead center in the tailstock.
> 
> 
> Daniel



I did not know that - I just have the one 7x10. It gets frustrating working on a 2D mag, it always seems something is in the way. The tail stock goes on an off quite a bit. 

The biggest improvment on mine was boring out the chuck to 3/4 inch. I can fit Mini-Mag bodies inside the chuck, I can work with 3/4 inch aluminum bar through the spindle with out having to cut it down first. There are a screws in the back of the chuck. 3/4 inch removes a little bit of the heads, but leaves the threaded part complete.


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