What lathe for small jobs?

[timberfly]

I've never owned a lathe before, but need to make some shallow (up to 10mm deep), 10mm diameter holes in the end-grain of 20mm hardwood dowels. A lathe seems the best way to do this accurately and with repetition, with a drill chuck attachment for the tailstock. And a great chance to try something new...

What I'm unclear on is how much size determines accuracy and usability with lathes. I've basically narrowed my search down to something small but basically normal-sized, like the Axminster AW205WL - or a micro-lathe designed for smaller work, like the Proxxon FD 150/E. The former looks cheaper and likely to be more use in future, which is great, but I'm not clear on the downsides.

Given I'm new to lathes, I'm looking to buy something new rather than fix up a older second-hand machine.

 

[Sideways]

The only opinion I'll offer is that a lathe with an induction motor and stepped pulleys / belt drive will be more reliable and last longer than one of those variable speed lathes that have a brushed motor underneath the headstock and bed.
Brushed motors are what were used in all power tools. Their brushes and eventually their commutators wear. Induction motors onnthe other hand are the staple of machine tools and last for decades.

In general terms, more weight = better rigidity, less vibration and likely better accuracy, so I'd pass on the proxxon (even though I have their alternative to a dremel).

 

[Orraloon]

The Axminster is a small wood lathe and will do for pens and small stuff as said in the description. It will be able to do holes in those dowels you mentioned. That said most people with a lathe soon get a hankering to do bigger work so trade up to bigger lathes. I grew out of my first lathe in a year. As the saying goes a big lathe can also do small stuff but a small lathe will not do big stuff.
The proxxon is more a small metal lathe and would be aimed at those into model making.
Regards
John

 

[ChaiLatte]

How long are the dowels into which you want to drill the holes?

The 20mm dowel cannot pass through the hole in the lathe headstock of the two machines you are considering so you need to consider its length projecting from the headstock chuck plus the length of the drill bit and drill chuck projecting from the tailstock.

That would tell you the minimum length of the lathe required to do the job.

What is behind your conclusion that a lathe is the best tool for the job? Take a 50mm cube of wood, drill a 20mm diameter hole 20mm deep into one side. Change to a 10mm drill bit and continue the hole until it comes out of the other side of the cube. Place cube over the end of the dowel and use it as a drill guide for the 10mm hole you need. This would work on a dowel of any length.

 

[HamsterJam]

As well as the length of the dowel fitting on the bed (unless you can find a lathe large enough so it can be fed through the spindle), you’ll need to consider work holding at the headstock end. - A chuck seems the obvious choice but that’s significant additional cost on top of the lathe. However if you are considering turning other things then a chuck will be a useful addition anyway.
Also accuracy may suffer if the dowel projects a long way from the headstock, possibly requiring a steady (more cost/complexity).

Unless this is a short dowel and you really want to buy a a lathe and chuck for other purposes, I’d be considering the jig suggestion from @ChaiLatte above.

 

[timberfly]

Thanks everyone. The dowels are really short, about 50mm, but I need relatively precise depths of about 10mm as I want to embed a small magnet flush in the end of each. Even if I make more variations of this in future, I don't see them ever exceeding 100mm in length.

I have a very cheap, ropey drill press which I've tried to use with a variation of the alternative method suggested above. The problem I've had is that the drill press just isn't consistent enough, either in terms of centring the hole or getting a repeatable depth.

I'd briefly considered a self-centring pen drilling vise, but a lathe seemed like the "proper" way to do this. A real entry-level machine is fine for now, so long as it can complete the above, but I'm not sure how much I need to spend to make that happen. (I'll probably play with a tiny bit of turning too, but it isn't the main purpose.)

After a bit more googling, this one from Machine Mart (currently on offer) seems okay with a 1MT tailstock? But even then, am I likely to be able to drill accurate, repeatable depth holes, or do I need more machine to do that?

 

[ChaiLatte]

But even then, am I likely to be able to drill accurate, repeatable depth holes

With any of the three lathes you show, what is your proposal for achieving the repeatable depth?

Only the Proxxon one appears to have a graduated tailstock dial. On the others, you would have to stick some tape onto the tailstock handwheel and make a mark when the depth is correct.

You can buy drill bit depth stop collars. This style appears to have advantages as it clamps around the bit rather than relying on a grubscrew pressing into the side of the bit:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CESFONJER-Positioner-Spacing-Locator-Woodworking/dp/B0832G8S9B

If purchasing does not work, you can make a stop collar by taking a cylinder of wood and drilling through it. Bottom out the drill bit in the chuck and push the drilled wooden cylinder onto the drill bit until it contacts the chuck jaws. Measure how much of the bit projects. If it is too little, sand some off the end of the cylinder until the depth is correct. The stop collar would work with the drill guide described above.

What you want to do is easily achievable on the most humble of drill presses. To centre the hole, clamp a piece of wood onto the table and drill mostly through it with a 20mm bit and then the rest of the way with a 10mm bit. That is the holder for the dowel, same as previous post.

Until you unclamp it, it cannot be anything but centred under the drill spindle. When you do unclamp it (or reposition the drill table), you can use a 10mm bit in the drill chuck poked into the 10mm hole in the block to re-centre it before re-clamping.

Set up a block of wood between the top of the drill table and the underside of the drill quill to act as a depth stop. Tune its length so the drilled hole depth is correct. Using a block between table and quill does not rely on either being in any specific position relative to the rest of the drilling machine's structure. The table could be low and the quill nearly at maximum extension or the table could be high and the quill nearly at minimum extension.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

How many and how long the dowels? This'll hugely influence the decision.

 

[HamsterJam]

For 50/100mm long dowels, either the Clarke or the Axminster should be OK. The Proxxon is really a metalworking lathe and although quite capable of drilling wood, may ultimately be limited for future wood turning projects.
(Of course if you only want to drill these dowels then use the lathe to turn metal, a metal working lathe will likely be a better choice.)

With either the Clarke or Axminster, you’ll need to factor in the cost of a Jacob’s (drill) chuck for the tailstock and ideally a chuck for the headstock too, although if budget is tight you can mount a block of wood on a face plate and drill it with a 20mm hole to take the dowels.
You’ll probably need a wrap of paper round the dowels to make a tight fit or you could make a saw cut in the block and fit screws to act as a clamp.

Before you take the plunge, it is worth scouting your local area as these size lathes are common in the secondhand market and if you’re lucky will come with one or maybe both chucks and possibly some tools.

 

[Richard_C]

The Axminster, and the record power 250, are small versions of proper lathes and you can do a great deal on them. The Clarke has some shortcuts, things like the tailstock handle, and although I've never owned one when I have seen them in store I've not been impressed. If you take up turning budget for at least 2x the lathe cost, you will need chuck and jaws, Jacobs chuck for tailstock, some tools and something to sharpen them with, at the very least a cheap bench grinder. This is not to put you off, it's just being realistic.

Even without a depth gauge in the tailstock slide you can get consistent depth by counting turns.

You might be able to improve accuracy on your drill press by using a Brad point wood bit and using a depth stop. You can also get 3mm diameter 13mm long neobidium magnets, might give you more wriggle room.

 

[John Hall]

Use a drill press with a vice that has a vertical V in the jaws, clamped in position on the table so the operation can be repeated..

 

[pidgeonpost]

For 50/100mm long dowels, either the Clarke or the Axminster should be OK. The Proxxon is really a metalworking lathe and although quite capable of drilling wood, may ultimately be limited for future wood turning projects.
(Of course if you only want to drill these dowels then use the lathe to turn metal, a metal working lathe will likely be a better choice.)

With either the Clarke or Axminster, you’ll need to factor in the cost of a Jacob’s (drill) chuck for the tailstock and ideally a chuck for the headstock too, although if budget is tight you can mount a block of wood on a face plate and drill it with a 20mm hole to take the dowels.
You’ll probably need a wrap of paper round the dowels to make a tight fit or you could make a saw cut in the block and fit screws to act as a clamp.

Before you take the plunge, it is worth scouting your local area as these size lathes are common in the secondhand market and if you’re lucky will come with one or maybe both chucks and possibly some tools.

+1 for looking at the secondhand market. It's not hard to pay as much for the tooling as it is for the lathe. Ask me how I know.

 

[Jonzjob]

As a mate of mine has always said

You can do small things on a big machine, but you can't do big things on a small machine.

There are loads of bargains on the second hand market and as gas been said an induction motor will last you out and is quieter than the brushed version.

At the moment I'm turning a 14" bowl from a plank thing on mt Record CL1. Possible because the head swings outwards on it, But I've also done small

 

[ChaiLatte]

... you can't do big things on a small machine.

What you say is true, but using the grey matter between your ears, you can achieve a lot on a modest machine.

You only have to look in the model engineering world to see what can be achieved on a humble Myford ML7.

If time or efficiency is not an issue, ingenuity and cunning can overcome size limitations.