# Bench Lathe for tube mitering?



## febikes (Jan 28, 2011)

I am thinking about getting a bench lathe for my garage in general but also thinking about how it might be useful for framebuilding.

In particular, I am looking at bench lathes, these tools are sold under various brands with different configurations. They are small so I don't expect the capacity of a big lathe. The one I find myself looking at most often is the Grizzly G9972Z.
G9972Z 11" x 26" Bench Lathe w/ Gearbox

I am also thinking that the G9729 Combo Lathe/Mill might be an option.
G9729 Combo Lathe/Mill

In particular for bicycles, I want to build some fixtures and use the milling attachment for hole saw tube mitering. On the combo machine I would have access to the milling feature. The other option is to use the lathe with a milling attachment.
Milling Attachment, SIEG C6 Lathe - LittleMachineShop.com

Is anyone else using small bench machines for bicycle related stuff like tube mitering and if so what are your thoughts?


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## Mr.Magura (Aug 11, 2010)

I use my lathe for mitering. 

I simply made a "V" clamp for the tool holder.

Worked rather well. 


Magura


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## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

All are good tools, just depends upon how you use them. My shop has a small Micro-Mark 7 x14 with the SIEG attachment. For mitering tubes I have a few blocks clamping and holding tubing as not to compress / deform the material. My shop is not all that big, but it is sufficient for current usage.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

I tried doing some mitering on my little Atlas bench lathe and it was lacking in rigidity. It did work, but you had to go really slow otherwise things would get exciting. I was also using a milling attachment which didn't help. Given the choice, I think it's better to rig up a way to clamp directly to the tool holder.


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

my lathe has its problems, and it really isn't rigid enough to do mitering on. Wasted a couple of days making a fixture before I found that out. If there is a rigidity problem, putting mounting to the toolholder will probably show that pretty well, that was my first failure. Then I replaced everything on top of the cross slide and it didn't tighten things up enough.


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## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

unterhausen said:


> my lathe has its problems, and it really isn't rigid enough to do mitering on. Wasted a couple of days making a fixture before I found that out. If there is a rigidity problem, putting mounting to the toolholder will probably show that pretty well, that was my first failure. Then I replaced everything on top of the cross slide and it didn't tighten things up enough.


Thanks for the post. I forgot to mention when I first bought the lathe it was loose and not very accurate. I spent 2-3 weeks in the evenings fine tuning the lathe eliminating slop. Had a friend who was good at fine tuning bench lathes. Still need to dial in cut and feed speeds minimizing tool chatter. Once it is dialed in your good to make a few cuts. On a smaller machine you will need to take slower passes, but for the limited amount of work I do it is not bad.


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## smdubovsky (Apr 27, 2007)

You'll be a lot happier w/ 2 machines than a combo. How about a X3 sized mill and a bench SB 9C or 10K (both come in bench versions)? Should be close in $. If you can find a used X3 on CL you'll be way ahead in the $ department.


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## swift (Apr 3, 2007)

For what it's worth...I'd skip all those machines. I started with an import mini-lathe and mini-mill. I spent considerable time tweaking them out of the box to get accurate parts and lots of time using them, making painfully small cuts on harder materials. While they served a purpose, they are long gone! Search your local area for old, used iron. When discussing manually operated machine tools, the old USA made stuff is hard to beat on the value scale.

I have 2ea, USA made, 10x24" lathes that are accurate and reliable, without having to disassemble and rework. One from 1946 and the other from 1965. Depending on where you are in the country, these can be found for pretty reasonable cost if you're patient and resourceful. If you're not familiar with machine tools, best to find someone who is that can accompany you. Used equipment can be a great value but should be scrutinized prior to purchase.

Best of luck and, regardless of what you ultimately decide, enjoy your chips.


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## Mr.Magura (Aug 11, 2010)

That is correct for some of the import machines.

However the ones branded Optimum are not so. They are actually quite fine machines.
They are also sold under a number of other brand names.

I have a few of the lathes and one of their milling machines.
Their milling machines actually resembles shrunk Bridgeports.


Magura


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

swift said:


> ...Search your local area for old, used iron...


+1. If you have the space, go for old and big. The little hobby lathes will leave you unsatisfied for anything other than small jobs in alu or nylon. Smaller quality lathes are very expensive because everybody wants one. Larger lathes of quality will generally be better and far more versatile. Try to get one that comes with lots of accessories - look for clearance sales when engineering shops close down. The tooling can be worth much more than the machine itself. I have seen people buy these little hobby lathes and mills and then spend twice as much on cutters, toolposts, live centers, 4-jaw chucks, live centers etc.

A big machine is also great when you want to machine the brake discs on your car or you're doing a run of things using bar stock where you can feed it through the hollow spindle without having to cut it into smaller bits.

The only reason to get a small machine is if that's all the space you have.


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