Customer Reviews

Bolton 7" X 12" Mini Metal Lathe is small yet powerful with 3/4" spindle bore MT#3 taper, cross travel 2 3/4",3/4 hp motor 110 volt

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my second lathe. I am told that all of the small Chinese lathes are basically the same. I picked the Cummins because (1) I could pick it up locally and (2) it come with a bunch of extras (like rests, a jacobs-style drill chuck, face plate, etc., it is big enough to do some jobs I enjoy. The machine is no Leblond, but hey, its a pretty accurate and very capable little machine that turns beautiful finishes and has plenty of support backup through Little Machine Shop. If you want to try your hand at a bit of machining but do not have room or money for a bigger machine, you might consider this lathe.

This lathe is my first and I didn't know exactly what size I would want for hobby work. This one meets the bill and has plenty of room. It has exceeded my expectation of a foreign made machine. The smoothness and accuracy of component movement is great. I am really impressed with the accessories that come with this lathe. The very low price will get you a lathe that is ready to go to work straight out of the box. I did even before I had completely unpacked it.

The lathe had taken taken a real beating in shipping. Both of the bolts that secured it to the bottom of the box had broken off. The lathe was undamaged aside from a slight bend in the backsplash. I am totally satisafied with this purchase.

I have had three of these ChiCom lathes and it doesn't really matter who is selling them or what color they are painted. The quality control the Chinese put into these is spotty at best, you might get lucky, you might not, kinda like rolling dice. The larger ChiCom lathes are of generally much better quality, so if thats what your looking for, and can manage a 300lb.+ bench lathe don't waste time with this model! What you will get with this is a inexpensive course in rebuilding a lathe, and a quirky, somewhat competent mini-lathe, if you don't turn anything much over 2.5", and take shallow cuts on anything other than delrin or aluminum) As long as you don't get carried away and want this just for something to play around on there's worse ways to blow some cash. Don't expect too much out of this thing (it's not a prazi, emco, or proxxon either!)or your new hobby will be rebuiling and modifying mini lathes! You will blow lots more cash for tooling than you ever imagined if you really get into this, we are talking money pit! If your looking for a small accurate hobby lathe a Sherline or a Taig would be a lot less hassle, but then again you wouldn't be a Sieg Industries certified mechanic when you were done!

After quite a bit of research this lathe was selected as having the most for its price (more bang for the buck). There are probably better deals available but, they are rare and difficult to find. Lathe machining is truly one of those areas that you get what you put into it.

My original intended use for this lathe was for making 1:35th to 1:700th scale model parts and associated tools. For such use the lathe is a bit over-sized. Even used smaller lathes are, generally, much more expensive. The biggest drawback(s) is/are the lathe is not very ready to run "out of the box" and to make the lathe fit your particular use several 'accessories' need to be purchased. Purchasing lathe 'accessories'(machinist jargon: tooling) can cost as much, or more likely, more than the original lathe. Thus, for budget considerations plan on at least doubling the price of a lathe for tooling. As an example plan on spending, at least, $800.00 if you find this lathe on sale for $400.00.

Some reviewers, found on the internet (search for: 7x10 or 7x12 mini-lathe), have stated that this lathe comes boxed as a kit. For most common purposes they are correct. Quite a bit of time and effort go into dis-assembling, cleaning, reassembling, and properly adjusting the lathe before it is ready to make anything (machinist jargon: make chips). There are also several modifications that may need to be made for general and custom purposes; it's an individual choice. There are very few step by step instructions available for making parts in a lathe. The bottom line is a lot of time and brain power is necessary before any part gets made.

To sum things up, purchasing this lathe one day and making useful parts the next day is not likely to happen. Having a very clear idea in mind of what your goal is or what specific parts are to be made will save time and money. Also, if you are willing to do a lot of reading, research, planning, and practice getting your hands dirty in addition to making a number of mistakes, this is an ideal lathe to start with. The only way to cut down on time and expense would be to have a machinist willing to teach you...

the shaft and chuck is off by a bit so it is pretty useless for most work. I think I just got a faulty one. I will have to get a new chuck and turn the shaft and plate into shape. The gears also grind a bit but Im sure it can be adjusted with some effort. I still think it will work well after these problems are sorted out. Well made and worth the money if you get one without these problems.

When I bought my unit from Amazon.com they were offering a unit distributed by ToolsNow.I downloaded the Bolton manual and found that the two distributors offer almost a carbon copy.
I'm not going to review this unit, because I didn't work with it, but I take the opportunity to ask the readers to pay attention to the fact that these units are not "ready-to-be-used", and, as pointed out by two former reviewers, they have limitation in size (weight).
Making screws with a minilathe calls for some shortcomings. I recommend that the buyer calls the distributor and ask these questions:
Do I have to clean the unit before I use it?. Cleaning means dissasambling and re-assembling the lathe. How the tail stock locks? If with a wrench, like my ToolsNow, you will find trouble adjusting the locking nut when the tail stock is close to the cross slide. How you adjust the tail stock for taper turning? Mine has the adjustment on the bottom of the tail stock which precludes an adjustment from the top. This makes it difficult to match the center of the chuck with the tail stock counterpart.
The ToolsNow was sold with movable and fixed rests, making it the lowest priced unit.
Also remember that buying a lathe, mini or not is the 1st expenditure. You will need quite a few attachments!!