A New Easy Very Effective Upgrade For The Chinese Mini Lathe Carriage
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2017
- A new easy method of making the carriage assembly absolutely solid on the Chinese Mini Lathe. This upgrade is low cost and only needs a few hand tools and a bench drill to do . Complete with a new carriage lock.
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It is always a pleasure to watch a thinking craftsman working, and presenting a very informative, well-made video. Thank you, Steve.
By far the best carriage upgrade that I have seen for the 7X mini lathe. Very thorough explanation. I appreciate the time spent filming, editing and uploading this information.
Hi Hans, Thanks for watching and your encouraging comments....Regards Steve
Hans Schmidt - Just saved me some writing.
Thanks Steve Jordan. ;-)
Awq
I agree, thanks for all that you do. I know i must take alot longer than we think to make up a video. Ta.
@@SteveJordan Really great job Steve (My name is also Steve). Great ideas, and great, calm, explanations/demonstrations. I really appreciate your style... It's like listening to one of your best friends explaining something to you, rather than listening to some robot instructor you don't know. Thank you so much Steve. Also, is there any chance you could help me with the problem I'm having with my machine? I just bought it preowned (supposedly never used). It's the 7x12 harbor freight, online order only, model. I'm still in the process if figuring it out, but for some reason I can't get consistent cuts. Because of this, I took pretty much everything apart. I cleaned everything up, spent a small amount of time lapping the ways/cross slides etc (very little... Not enough to measurably change any of the tolerances), relubed, and put everything back together, making sure everything was adjusted. But still, when making a a cut across the length of a 4 inch or so long piece of material, I get inconsistencies, as though something is still loose. (Please forgive my lack of knowledge rearding terminology) I've got both of the cross slides (left/right, forward/backward adjusted super tight, to the point to where it's even miserable to advance either one of them, but still I'll get deviations of several thou. of an inch on the diameter of my material over a couple inch section.
Please help. I bought this lathe for the specific purpose of making a rear axle for an ebike I build for a friend. An axle that is far back ordered, with no other possible sources, and he is very anxious to get his bike going.
Thanks so much
Steve
Thanks Steve, I've just recently joined the ranks of mini lathe owners and your videos are excellent education for me.
Nice Job, I have a lathe that has a great deal of movement in the carriage and in the cross slide, and I appreciate receiving ideas from those who have figured out how to fix these kinds of problems. Once again, Good Job!
That looks like a great upgrade, and the weight that's added must have made it even better for rigidity, brilliant!
The best method for tightening studs is to thread two nuts onto the stud and then tighten them up against each other. You can then use the nut on the opposite side of the direction you want the stud to be driven to turn it in. The nuts lock together allowing you to apply a lot of torque to the stud and once you're done, you release the lower one [on the side of the part that is was inserted into and then simply spin bot off. Saves damage to the thread and allows far more torque to be applied to the stud than the pliers method. Has the added advantage that if needed you can torque them to a specified value with a torque wrench.
Looks like a nice mod, might have to give it a whirl as parting on my CJ18 is a fraught affair.
Keep up the great vids!
Hi Thanks Yes that is the best method really. Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
With all these awesome mods you’re making, I’ll never get out of my shop! Perfect!
Wow. I always suspected these saddle pieces were the weak link in the carriage. Thanks for doing all the leg work on this. You CLEARLY are both dedicated & competent. Great work on those upgrades!
I love the way you mount the rear splash guard. Very convenient and certainly something I will make myself!
Steve, thanks for that! My lathe is a twin to yours, without the very nice makeover. I've been slowly making modifications along the lines you have, but I was a long way behind where you were. No more after this video! The solidity of the carriage and the carriage lock is just awesome! Thank you for that video, you have given me a great project to start immediately!
+David Kennedy Hi David thanks for watching. I may not have any more Mini Lathe upgrades but I hope to show more tools to use on it and work holding fixtures etc....Regards Steve
Thanks Steve, God bless your soul. I love the use of valve grinding paste idea, the clamps for clean food for your chickens I'm guessing and the spaced out nuts on your back guard. From Terry, in Australia :-)
Just finished the mods as per your video it is a big improvement thanks for sharing your ideas keep up the good work
+Roger Halcrow Hi Roger Great...Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
Thank you for the time you spent on this; a lathe like that is about all I have room to house and it's comforting to know there are meaningful upgrades for them.
I just did this up grade and it works great..thank u
I really must do this carriage mod. The carriage is pretty chattery as it is. Thanks for sharing Steve...
Another great mod Steve the lathe had no problems with steel it was machining, thanks for sharing.
Hi Robert, Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
So glad I found your video's Steve as I've just purchased a mini lathe and I've never used one before so hopefully I'll get the basics sorted and then have a go at making some of your great modifications
Hi Steve Great that you have bought a Mini Lathe. I had mine about a year before I did any modifications. They are usually ok from new as long as you check the gib strip adjustment regularly.
Also don't be tempted to make massive cuts like people say they do. I only take .010" cuts (.020" overall) maximum on most turning operations, even on my Myford lathe now. Also I do not use a parting off tool except on brass as I do not have coolant. I just use a vice and hacksaw to cut bar or components off then face to length on the lathe. I say this as many people have tool breakages which can be quite off-putting when starting machining, especially with part-off tools. Hope you get on well......Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
Steve Jordan thanks for your reply , have you done a video on how to cut threads using the mini lathe as I've watch quite a few and still don't understand it but I assume it's because the Ines I've watched are on bigger more professional lathes.... thanks
Looks like my carriage is coming apart this weekend. Thanks Steve!
Hi Joel, Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Nice job Steve. Very professional. After I get done building my CNC machine, I'm thinking about setting up a mini lathe.
You've inspired me to look at my mini lathe, it suffers from too much play in the carriage. Thanks Peter
Hi Peter....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Hi Steve, I’m new to machining, so your videos have been extremely helpful. I just purchased a new Sieg SC3 7” x 16” lathe with 500W brushless motor, and completed my first cut on steel. Suffice to say it was not pretty! I had massive tool chatter from excessive play in the lathe. I actually saw the tool move when in came into contact with the steel! This modification will be one of the first things I do to the lathe, so I can get some half decent cuts. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Greg, You should be able to machine ok with the lathe from new. Many people when they first get a lathe and start machining tend to make the mistake of taking too deeper cuts. Also when cutting steel I only use carbide insert tools such as the ones that take the 070204 inserts. If you have this tool set on center height, the lathe gibs correctly adjusted on the saddle and cross-slide and only take .010" cuts (,020" overall) you should get good finishes on stainless steel. Obviously you can take deeper cuts on softer materials.
The upgrade does make the lathe much better especially for milling, but it is still best to use the machine as I have mentioned above. I say this because there are people that try to claim that they can take massive cuts with this lathe. Or they say that they part-off steel. This generally isn't possible with the standard compound slide and the fact that the lathe doesn't have a coolant system anyway. I do all 'parting-off' off of the lathe, in the bench vice with a hack-saw then finish face on the lathe, except when machining brass or plastics!
This lathe is a great machine and I have made hundreds of great components using it, but that is because I know not to try and use it as a much more expensive heavy duty machine. Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
Steve Jordan
Hi Steve, thanks for the reply. To be fair, the first cut I did, the lathe was in ‘as delivered’ condition. I was certainly not making deep cuts, 0.002” was all. I spent some time today cleaning up the lathe, adjusting both the gibs, adjusting saddle, lapping, lubing etc and have now removed nearly all the play. Now when I push/pull on the toolpost there is no discernible movement which is great. It’s now making decent cuts with just the cheap carbide tipped tools.
Now you've done it. I am tempted to get one of those lathes just so I can upgrade it as you have.
I think I would go with standard metric threads and fasteners in the places where you have used BA.
Also, I am leery of having steel (even mild steel) rubbing up against the cast iron of the bed. One of the advantages of having precision scraped surfaces is that they are not perfectly flat and are instead composed of both slightly low and slightly high surfaces. The lows serve as oil reservoirs that stop the cast iron from wearing quickly. Finely ground surfaces rubbing against each other wear much more quickly than precision scraped surfaces.
My approach would be to mill the mild steel 5 or 10 thousandths too deep and then fill the gap with brazing rod. Then mill the brazing flat and hone to a precise fit. Let the brass soak up the wear and be replaced when necessary... sort of like Turcite.
Have you put tapered bearings into this machine?
Cheers,
Norm Berls
Katy, Texas
Thank you so much for this video. It is exactly what I need to do to my new Chinese mini lathe, I will also be using your compound slide locking screws to improve that.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your comments.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your comments.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your comments.
Great improvement. Thank you for sharing
I'm kind of at a loss for words that was great your workmanship is unbelievable I wished I had the talent and was able to do that to mine
Absolutely brilliant work! Thanks for sharing.
I agree with you, that is a quite nice upgrade. And I like your ingenuity on the fasteners for the back plate. You have the alignment length but you don't have to thread the nut all the way down. Good one Steve.
Hi Glenn....Thanks....Regards Steve
very nice and rigid upgrade there. i like it so much .I think i will go for it for mine .thanks Steve for sharing with us.
Hi Al.....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Ah..Oh..
Wish I d seen you videos before I sold my Conquest!
Looked at a much bigger version with 1200 w motor but its not exactly portable.I have a 1910 Drummond ,strange choice perhaps, but seems to have had very little use, instead.
When I m a bit more settled I ll look at the bigger lathes again and suspect your upgrades are going to be useful even on that.
Very good Steve thank you for doing the videos
Inspired Steve - brilliant job and nice results too. How great to improve the machine so well.
Happy chickens :)
Thanks Chris......Yes chickens are very happy...probably a bit over fed with nice food!! Regards Steve
yes I love the chickens too! thank you for helping everyone make our mini lathes better!
interesting toolpost also.
That's a valuable improvement to the stability of the saddle
PRO TIP
+Steve Jordan
To install the STUDS you DON'T use Emery cloth and Pliers!! LOL
YOU USE 2 NUTS together on the end but then you ONLY use a wrench on the TOP-MOST nut which will cause the nuts to lock together w the thread and you can then tighten the Stud as much as you need. Then you use 2 Wrenches, one on each nut to Break them loose, and easily remove them w your fingers.
To REMOVE the Studs you also use 2 NUTS but this time you use a Wrench on the LOWER nut and unscrew until it locks w the upper nut and the thread Then you can remove the Stud.
then finally you use 2 Wrenches, one on each nut and break them loose of the stud!
and VIOLA.
Hi you can use whatever method you like...LOL....it doesn't make any difference on this particular job, as most of the thread doesn't get used....I did it like this for a quick method to keep the video short, rather than showing other screw-stud installation methods..... Lengthening the videos, I think, would be nuts for the viewers....:)
great video Steve ,always a pleasure to watch.
Hi Ray....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
I really do need to get a couple of chickens! We used to have some when we lived in Bolton 15 years ago and I found they take all the tension and stress out of your life, I could sit and watch them for hours. We live in Norfolk now with big gardens so it is ideal...
Yes the chickens are really nice to keep. They all have their own individual character. It is very relaxing watching them. The eggs are exellent as well, so much better than shop ones.
mmmmmm ... I forgot about the eggs, they are fantastic. I used to go to my local fishing tackle shop every now and then and buy a tub of maggots, put the tub down and listen to them 'chirp' in delight, all their birthdays have come at once...
Splendid idea! I'm going to think about that middle plate for my machine (an Aussie metric equivalent of the popular American G0602) this weekend.
Thanks for sharing! :)
Hi Adam, Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
Yay, I finally get to see the chickens!
I keep hearing them in the background of your videos, so I knew you had a few. :-)
I do need to figure out a good way to attach a shield to the front of the carriage to keep the chips off the bed in front of it when cutting. I don't know if I'm ready to do the full carriage upgrade just yet, I'm still learning to use my 7X10 mini lathe.
Great video Mr. Lawrence Welk
I will try the shim idea that looks amazing. I have a similar rear guard system, but mine is a bit more fiddly... guess I need to upgrade that too 😁
Love the girls having their greens!
AAR
PS: Great Mod for the lathe!
Hi Albert, They get greens every day if they are available!....Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
great idea,will make one cheers
Brilliant idea, i like this idea, one machine serve many things.
Thank you.
Hi Steve - I would like to thank you sincerely for posting such brilliant videos. I am very new to the metal working hobby but I am so enjoying making stuff and your videos not only have some great projects but the manner in which you deliver the content makes me want to get in the workshop and make things. My thanks again and please keep up the excellent work - for me you have one of the best channels. Regards, Jim
+Jim Morrison Hi Jim, I'm pleased you like the videos. I hope to do another one soon. Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
have to send you a pic Steve my carriage is scollped out in the middle so don't have 6mm hole's in the centre of the ways ... going to have to rethink doing this mod but up for the challenge
Hi Steve, best one I have seen yet! chickens love them some greens! :)
+Lawrence Harasim Hi Lawrence thanks. Yes they do love their greens...:) Regards Steve
Looks a good job.
always fun to watch!
Nice job, those clamps are also doing a good job holding the egg machines greens
Hi David, Yes the clamps are great....The hens love their greens. Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Thank you
absolutly brilliant idea
Hi Lajos.....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Thankyou
Interesting use for old jumper cable clamps !!
Hi, where did you see those?
@@SteveJordan At 22:15- look like old clamps holding the leafy chicken feed.
Oh yes. I forgot this chicken clip was on this video!. 😃
@@SteveJordan Chickens are easy to forget til ya get a rooster learning to crow. At 3, 4 and 5am !!
Thankyou Steve. One thing that does puzzle me about this upgrade though is why use steel against steel. Maybe I'm mistaken but I assumed that the piont of using the brass strips was to take the wear though I recognise that it should be minimal anyway on the undersides. Did I misunderstand this. Lovely work and great how to demo, thankyou.
Excellent!
Hi Steve, instead of s/s stud could you use a s/s flat point grub screw, say M6 x 40mm? then I could use an allen key to tighten it.
Hi, a tip to screw in a piece of threaded, screw 2 m6 nuts on top an put some tork on them so they will hold tight to the headless bolt (sorry I'm Dutch) then you don't damage the thread. and still can use force to screw them in. If it's fermly in, turn the bottom nut clockwise and the 2 nuts spring loose
The same goes for removing thread that is very tight in a screw hole. Kind regards Hans
Nice work
Hi i had a Minilathe until last year i bought a bigger lathe with 265kg and this carriage clamping was the point which I found most wrong designed... the original assembly is to weak... So first i changed the thin cast iron into thicker brass which was better but after a while i was still not satisfied... After thinking and looking for a better alternative i build a new one with a slight taper gib....that worked perfekt with one revolution of the screw holding the gib the space between the gib and the slightly tapered plate changed for 0,01mm.. Knowing that it was very easy to adjust it so that it had no play but still moved... I was very satisfied with that improvement and showed it everybody of my friends having minilathes and 2 of them copied it as well... After that chatter and bad surfaces were banned from the Minilathe as long as you handled it normally... 👍
It amazes me the lengths people will go to try and make a silk purse out of a sows ear!
There are dozens of small classic lathes in very good condition for the same price or less than being paid for these badly designed and made Chinese machines. Check out "Home and Workshop Machinary"
The carriage on the machine shown here is too narrow in terms of its length and engagement with the bedways.
Nice neat & tidy job
Hi....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Steve, as usual a very good, instructive video, I am sure that when I get more proficient, I maybe able to improve my Myford ML4 a little bit to.
many regards Colin.
Hi Colin, Great.....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Hi Steve you have been recommended to me so I have subscribed. I am new to this and have bought a Super mini lathe.
Hi thanks for subscribing. Great that you have bought a Super mini lathe. I hope to do some new engineering videos soon using mine. Just waiting for some warm weather as I have no heating in the workshop. Regards Steve
Very nice job. 😎👍
You might consider selling that setup as a kit. I'm pretty sure I'd buy it. My carriage is fairly loose, even after tightening everything as best as possible it can still rotate 0.025". I suppose everything would have to be fine tuned to each individual lathe however... May be harder to manage than I was thinking.
Tip for fastening studs without damaging the threads: lock two nuts together.
Thank you for the tips by the way. You could get to the point a little bit earlier in de video: the first minute and a half you were just beating around the bush ;)
Hi Steve!
I'm considering doing this mod to my stock CJ18A mini lathe. How has it held up over time? Still working good?
nice one steve.
Well done and very well explained
Hi Isidoro....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
The first carriage stop I made for mine, I used two pieces of metal in the centre of the ways too. Lol I've since made one to fit on top of the V way.Excellent job Steve,....I must get around to making that tool post rotate easily, think that you did a video on that??
+Steve Clark Hi Steve....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Great video and very well made.
Have You noticed any problem with the rear middle plate screw loosening because of vibrations? Also using it for locking the carriage is just brilliant.
i watch all your videos,very easy to understand, and very well put together.....keep up the good work......ray
+Ray Falcone Hi Ray...Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
Quality content.... Chickens are happy & so am I.
Hi Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
Nice improvement. Now the spindle gear, which is sounding like a gravel crusher, needs a work-over
PERFECT!!!!
DAMN, Those bearings. LOUD
Nice work. I had no idea chickens would eat lettuce.
Hi Bruce, Yes they love all types of greens....They even like red grapes!....Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
I was able to use the original plates and setscrews to get movement under 0.001" on both sides. You could probably use the setscrews in the back to tip the plates up a bit and take up that last bit of slack.
I'm surprised how well it takes that cut considering how far your tool overhangs the edge of the cross slide. On my machine the gibs are very weak, possibly not cut correctly. They will lift off the dovetails on hard cuts.
I've been looking for a more reliable way to stabilise the carriage and this is a really nice mod. Unfortunately many of these Chinese mini lathes have a H shaped saddle so there is no place to attach the new plates to. Also, on my lathe at least, I know that the underside of the bed is not parallel to the ways. Not too big an issue for the tail stock locking mechanism but would require some grinding to make this modification work. BTW, you still sound pretty good at 2x ;)
Hi Steve! I enjoy yuor videos very much, specially the way of your teaching. I'm 66. Some years ego went retire. On last Christmas I've got a new SIEG SC4 lathe. From that time my favourite pastime is doing something in my shop. In your videos the QCTP is not familier for me. So many types are recomended to mini lathes (Shars AXA,OXA, A2Z ........) My SIEG SC4 has 210mm (about 8") swing above the bed and M12 thead size on cross slide for the stud. Please give me the type of your QCTP and where I can get it. Thanks a lot. László Lendl from Hungary. By the way I also had worked for aviation more than 30 years.
you've coined a new phrase: "chooks approval"
i have never seen a piece of steel being cut like that on that particular lathe model
that's F'n impressive, SJ!
Damn good job
3 JAW EVEN!
holy smokes!
with all that you've done to that machine,,
when do you stop calling it a Chinese mini-lathe and start referring to it as a JORDAN?
Hi Atticus.....Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
A lot of work but you explain well. Just drives me nuts though with all the metric fitting and plate dimensions. I loaned a jig I made to drill and tap and it seem to never get returned so I guess I need to create again after watching you.
Nice modification Steve. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Robert....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Nice to lettuce see your off sprung dinosaurs.
7.40 wise words steve just cracked the saddle plate on mine bummer ....
Cheers
Very informative video! Thank you! Can you share the tolerance this lathe has working with hard material like steel :D I got a used Chinese lathe which creates unacceptable tolerance working with material like cast iron or steel. I gave up using it for a long time as im disappointed cause I bought it to work with said materials, but the thought that you are able to upgrade it give me hope again :D
Nice chicks btw haha
Hello from the guys on the outher side of the globe. (Montréal Quebec Canada!) Found your channel from the @UCgye4RmWOR8AmleinMxgbYw channel and your mod is surely the first thing I will do to mine when it gets here. If anyone have a good provider for those nice little machine let me know. I know they are not equal and some are worst then the other. As a new guy in machining stuff it wont be a bad deision to pay some extra to start with a not too bad bed. Nice trick with the valve grinding paste.
Nice mods. Nice finish on the cut. Is that with the original ball bearings? I have mine apart right now to convert to tapered roller bearings. Mine cuts nice but going to tapered bearings. I bored out my tailstock to take slightly larger pieces, larger chuck, balanced the chuck to remove all vibrations. Modded tailstock. Scored gears to lower my feed rate. Most people with a 36" lathe only uses the first foot. Thats why the first foot of lathe ways are worn down. You never use the other 2 foot of ways.
Hi Thanks, I changed to tapered roller bearings a while back although I did use the original bearings for some time. You have done some good upgrades. It really does pay off on these machines.
My carriage is made differently. It has recesses in the middle, It is shaped like an "H". There may be aspects of your mod that I can use though.
Complimenti, hai delle galline stupende 👍🏿
like your chickens
Steve, excellent video and a great upgrade. One question, how did you calculate the required shim sizes?
I put several shims in first tighten up and see how it is and gradually reduce the total thickness until I find the optimum setting. Regards Steve
Steve I noticed that you have put oilers in the carriage to oil the ways. Can you give me some details about the oilers, i.e. size, and where to get them.
I love it... Anyone building the parts for sale?
I like it Steve ! I'm doing it to my Chinese lathe right now . is it really necessary to have lock washers and lock nutts?
Bart - As I see it, might be slightly overkill.
But for sure it will stay locked where it´s supposed to be.
So I would do it anyway. ;-)
The added weight alone should have a positive effect.
Hi Yes it should ....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
What do you consider to be mild Steel? Thanks Greg
Hi Steve very impressed with this video, I will be looking at my Chester 9-20 lathe to do these modifications, it's very important to have a rigid carriage especially when parting off as we all soon find out, do you have names for your chickens?
Hi Grahame, I must admit that I rarely part-off on any of my lathes, except for brass. Mainly because I haven't set up coolant yet. I still rely on the old hacksaw! ....Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Hej Steve it looks very rigid and promising , but my mini lathe has got 4 korner on its kompound and there are not any places for those 2 middle screw . How can that be made. keep up the good job.