As a school trained Gunsmith machinist I have to say that this really is an excellent video for new diy/hobby machinist. There's honestly nothing that I can think of that was missing or incorrect about the information you presented. You covered all the important topics that everyone getting into the mini lathe and hobby machinist world needs to know to get started. This exact video should seriously be required to be watch before purchasing your first lathe. Watching this video would save a lot of people a lot of money, time, mistakes, and headaches! I seriously commend you for making this video! It was very well thought out and presented.

Nice Job! My father was a machinist and I was five or so when I started working with a lathe. I learned the nomenclature early on and vividly remember Dad harping about never leaving the key in the chuck (drill press too). Now days, way too many videos are thinly disguised advertisements. Nice to come across one where the only intent is to inform. Keep up the good work.

Great video. I think the most important thing is the extra expenses. A lot of people don't realize that this is not a one and done. Especially with tooling. Even if you buy tooling it is still going to be a regular expense.

All that learning and experimenting is what makes this hobby fun!

Great video, thanks for posting. As a mechanical engineer I really appreciate the safety recommendations. I practice these as habit but many don't understand how dangerous and noisy these machines can be. It was a good reminder for me as well as I am just starting to learn how to use a lathe this week so thanks again and keep em comin' :)

Just diving into the hobby. Spent weeks now just watching videos so far. Thanks for the information.

Great video, raising awareness and good point’s especially around health and safety. As an apprentice, I still remember the day a chuck key wizzed past my ear, after being left in a pedestal drill before stating up. Also clocking up a 4 jaw chuck, I balanced my lead mallet above the box, started up the lathe, mallet tipped over, did a circuit of the chuck and lumped in to the wall. I had many years of work shop experience then, but accidents can still happen.

Great open and honest, down to earth video.

I bought a VEVOR that arrived with freight damage about two weeks ago. The RPM sensor also went bad. VEVOR customer service is very good. They are bringing the parts from the factory in China, that I need to fix the defects. They even offered me $20. Because it will take a little time. Can’t say enough about the service after the sale. Never had anyone offer me money because I had to wait a little longer to get the parts. The lathe is operational. The freight damage is mostly cosmetic. You should know, that you will spend hours setting these machines up. Not just adjustments, but modifications, filing fitting, even a little fabrication. Consider these Chinese lathes a “kit” After the setup, mine is a pretty good lathe for the $600. I payed. My Micro Lux lathe from Micro Mark came mostly set up and adjusted. I did do a little to set it up to my own liking. Micro Mark professionally sets up their machines, then they take everything off the bead, except for the motor, Headstock, gears, and apron., and package everything separatelyThey even have the Gibbs pre set with grub screws and lock nuts, which you are told not to touch. Tail stock was aligned perfectly, and everything was set up properly. This is far from the case with other Chinese Lathes. I ordered the “Hot Rod” version of the Micro Lux, and like it so well, I ordered the matching milling machine a day later. I suggest that you eliminate all of the repeating and repeating. This video could have been done in a lot less time. Also due to eye your editing (I guess) your video is chopped up. Just my humble opinion.

Thank you for the tips. I've been looking into the mini lathe world for some time now. The one consistent thing I hear over and over again from those seasoned folks are that the tooling is where the money will be spent. One guy said the lathe is like the printer but the tooling is like the ink cartridges.

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

This is great info. Especially the part about understanding what you get at that price point. "Accept it" is spot on. Some people have described it a bit like buying a kit. Walk in aware and have fun! I think that's a much better outlook than expecting everything to be perfect.

Excellent walk trough for us newbees, and soon to be newbees, on those mini lathes *Thumbs up*

Well said fellow Jeep owner (2002 Wrangler here) we have been machine and machine tool broke $$$ for nearing 30 years in May 2023. You sure share this well. To relate we own a Chinese or Taiwanese lathe, but it is from a long time ago 20 to 25 years+ we share it in videos it is maybe better built then the current ones, but it, as well had some tinkering to be hold and now it makes good mini general parts for our rebuilding of vintage machine tools. Nice to be here with you, please keep having fun machining, making in general is a great feeling of accomplishment for us all. Lance & Patrick.

Thanks. That was a good starter for me.

Came across your channel, and at last a sensible person.....I live in the UK and served my apprenticeship in engineering, and sailed in the Merchant Navy as a Marine Engineer...... The number of videos I have seen on KZfaq, with people buying a lathe, and having no actual idea how to use them, the dangerous practices, they have adopted, and people commenting on what a great video it was, and I worry that someone will take what they have said as gospel and end up having a serious accident. Well done, and hopefully a lot more will watch and follow your example.....

I really loved this video. Great information. I appreciate the mention of using correct terminology. I'm embarrassed to say that as a self taught newbie my worst mistake that I made was removing the shwarf by hand. It cut me to the bone. I was warned about the material still having tensile strength. I felt stupid when it happened and it happened in an instant. Now I use a pair of extra long needle nose pliers. Keep repeating the safety aspect in every video. Dummies like me need to here it over and over. Thank you for your video. 👍

Excellent video. You are spot on about everything. I am the opposite of your target audience. I actually had a machine shop and still have a ton of tools. But I need a lathe for racing RC cars. So I’m researching what is available. Great video.

Well made Video. good info for newbee's...

Glad that I watched the video.....when I decided...... I want a lathe...... I started by obtaining materials. Then a set a calipers 1 to 6 used. Then by chance got three chucks and loads of tooling which were given to my grandsons for trash. I asked them, where's the lathe? Bought it for 200 bucks. It is a 9x30 south bend 9A. Still needs a lot of cleaning but it works. Great video and advice.

Solid video! It is completely true that the lathe is only half (if not less) of the price, the terminology is key to troubleshooting, and that it will ultimately take practice!

Good presentation for newbies starting out. In terms of safety, one of the major safety risks is "entanglement", clothes and hair etc. People have been dragged in, even scalped.

Hey Dez, as a new Mini Lathe owner myself I like your videos because you really show the frustration we go though learning about these machines. And your #1 reason about the additional money is right on, maybe a little understated because the cost of the accessories usually will easily exceed the cost of the inexpensive lathe itself. Finally if I’m not mistaken your spindle is a MT 3 not a MT 5 like you said in the video. All of these Mini Lathes that I have seen have a MT 3 in the spindle and a MT 2 in the tailstock. Carry on my friend.

Great video. Some thing to consider is new people buying these mini lathes don't buy it with metal gears and buy plastic. Plastic has benefits but the metal gears will do better for the long haul and strains of machining the material.

If you get a tool post that’s oversized for your lathe, you might not be able to bring the center of your tool low enough. You have to check what size lathes a particular tool post is sized for. Don’t get one that’s too big. There are steel 0XA tool posts, not just aluminum ones. When you mount your lathe, it’s very important to make certain that whatever you’re mounting it on is actually flat. It’s likely not as flat as it needs to be. If it’s not and you screw the lathe down, you can twist the cast iron bed. It seems impossible, but even wood can twist it, if it’s twisted, you won’t be able to machine a shaft and get it the same diameter. Keep this in mind.

GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent video, you have a new subscriber.

I saw one mini lathe advertised that had a coil spring on the chuck key and it seemed a good idea from the point of view that you could not leave it sitting in the chuck.

You are so right about safety around your workspace. Thanks

I agree with your talking points..actually buying a mill or lathe is only 1/3rd the total cost for a new to the hobby person..the delivery and electrical requirements and location preparations are easily the same cost of the machine cost on larger equipment..then the tooling cost starting from zero can cost more then the machine too..a good practice is to buy the largest machine you can afford or fit into your workspace..you can buy the tooling later..this will save you from stair stepping half a dozen machines to to finally get to a full size..I started with a full size 5hp 12 speed 1440 I also grabbed a full size bridgeport clone 3hp 2,500 lb milling machine as both on the used market cost similar to much much smaller new machines..but they required 3phase so a rotary phase converter was needed to run them which was an unexpected additional cost..starting with used machines can be a gamble if you don't know what to look for or even what your looking at..lol..

Great vid! You also grabbed a subscriber. Thnx so Much

If you skin an old 9 Volt battery the metal they're made out of is always a hundredth of an inch thick. So that's free shim stock in a handy thickness. I'm always collecting different thickness sheet stock for stuffing material in setups.

I did an awful lot of research before buying my mini lathe about 5 years ago. Biggest lesson learnt...the harder the material you are trying to turn, the worse will be the surface finish. So materials like brass are fine, get to mild steel and on to stainless steel and the surface finish suffers...no matter how good your cutting tools are. The reason is simple.. the machine just does not have enough weight or rigidity....and I see no way of curing that...even with all the slides etc tightened up to the point of locking up.

Deez your a good man, I encourage everybody to stay the hell away from scamazon!!!

It’s not a pride thing to ask someone to use the proper terminology….using terminology that is foreign to the trade makes it a high maintenance conversation to be constantly trying to interpret what you are communicating 😊

Great video. Join a college course, in the UK it's EITB, like CITB for engineers. Get a pocket Zeus Book.

Thank you for the video, One question the tray where you have your tool holders sitting did you make or buy that, and could have a look at that please.??

spent 800 on the lathe but 2000 on extra bits lol,im a fitter and turner but haven't done it for ages and having fun ...

This is a great video. I bet that I spent more than double the cost of the mini lathe just purchasing the proper tooling, not the cheap shit from China. Then there was the cost of the upgrades that were done to make the machine usable i.e. bearings, motor, metal gears, chucks etc. Then there is the cost of the materials needed for projects as well as maintenance supplies needed for the machine. I don’t regret my decision to purchase my mini but I do wish I would have purchased a larger machine. It is what it is.

hey fairly new to machining been in the trade for about 3 years and was thinking about getting a mini lathe just to play around with and get my skills in tune do you think it would be a good idea or just a waste of money because e that’s what i can do at work

when you hung up on morse taper 2 , i believe the word you were looking for is "shank" , happy learning

Spring loaded chuck key.

I’ve a decent wood shop and was thinking of augmenting it with metal working, ie, lathe and a mill, but this has kind of put me off it.

Yes you get what you pay for, its bad enough to find out the price of the Sherline lathe AND THATS WITHOUT ALL THE NECESSARY BITS some of which should come with the lathe but are sold as extras so one can get caught in an expensive trap. BUYER " BEWARE".

I have an identical lathe to the one you are reviewing here. The only difference is that I have a good OXA tool post. After 9 months of screwing around with it I cannot get it to cut engineering plastics or any metal (aluminum, brass or steel) without excessive chatter. I have tightened and trimmed and adjusted everything I can think to do. Have you gotten your lathe to cut well?

Good vid! So if my budget is 2-3 grand. Should I get a 8-$1,000 lathe and buy a bunch of extras and tooling, or buy higher up and maybe buy less or still plan on buying more? I know that’s a tough question to answer. I’m more in the automotive field. Custom bike stuff, hot rod stufff. So nothing too huge as far as size and length.

Tinkering is an understatement, if you don’t have a large high performance milling machine and surface grinder you may never get one working decently….

Any one who is a professional machinist knows Japanese equipment is the gold standard

Like most hobbies... "going down a rabbit hole" LOL

get a tool worth the tooling! initial cost of the machine pales in comparison to the cost of the accumulation of quality cutters & mics

Safety 3rd

I would encourage anyone considering a mini lathe to not buy a mini lathe. Buy a used south bend 9” instead. Be patient, wait for one to come up locally. It will normally come with all of the tooling required to get started, and quite often some stock may be included as well. You will end up spending the same, or less, and you’ll have a MUCH better machine, MUCH better tooling, and it will last MUCH longer.

Content starts at 3:40 for the impatient.

Thanks for your video. No offense, but the first four minutes was a long ramble with no serious content. Folks don’t have time to listen to a 30 minute video with 15 minutes of valuable content. Recommend tightening up your presentations and get to the points quicker. Thanks

Boring 😮

Get on with it you talk to much

now you need a mill. a drill press.