Barry's Eagle Modeling Page

 

--7 X12 Lathe and Milling Page---

 

A new hobby to get into, Metalworking. Wanting to be able to make metal and plastic parts for my models I decided to learn how to machine metal.  The lathe I settled on is a 7X12" sold by Grizzly tools and is made in China by the SIEG Company. The machine can turn a 3" part and the bed is 14" long. I figured this was a good starter machine.   Shortly after getting this I bought a Milling Machine, the Grizzly Mini-mill also by the same maker. Most of what I make is of plastic and aluminum so these machines have more than enough power at ~1/2 HP. Tolerances can be had in the thousandths repeatedly. If you are considering a small lathe or mill these machines are of good quality and well worth the asking price. They need some attention but, for me, it's fun to get into the guts of the machines and figure out how they work and make these modifications to improve them like they need to be. In fact, sometimes it’s as much fun to fix the machines as it is to make something with them....toysJ. I can see why these lathes have been in production since the 70's with little change in design; they are great for the prototype engineerJ.

 

Lathe BEFORE TWEAKS