Taig lathe

[bigsteel15]

Any opinions out there on the Taig lathe sold by Lee Valley?
Is it worth the money for small items.
Looks like it can get very pricey for the capacity but is it more suited to small items than a bigger unit?

[Ken Massingale]

Hank has a Taig, Brian.
k

[bigsteel15]

Hank has a Taig, Brian.
k

Good to know.
Hank, chime in when you get a chance.
I'm thinking of eventually getting the PSI VSPro, but like the flexibility of the Taig for potential to machine metal parts.
I can get MT2 tooling easy and probably at decent prices so wouldn't have to buy those from LV.

[leehljp]

Yes, I have the Taig and bought the metal turning one, then bought the wood turning add ons.

There are other micro/mini lathes available suchs as Jet's Pen lathe but most people say they are adequate only if it is your first lathe and do not know better. I have never tried one or seen them except for pictures. When I read of other's suggestions, almost everyone will suggest getting a larger lathe so that you can do larger turnings, and in most suggestions there is at least an underlying hint to get higher quality machine. . . i.e. suggesting that quality comes with larger machines. That might be true with other pen size lathes, but not fair for the Taig.

The Taig will hold its own in quality against $500 to $1000.00 lathes. The Taig was originally designed to turn metal and as such does wood at higher tolerances than we can do by hand or need most of the time.

It is expensive for its size as compared to 10 and 12 inch lathes. But in terms of quality, it is VERY good. I bought one because I was back in the States for a vacation and wanted to get into pen turning. I bought it from LeeValley and also the options for pens and wood turning; I put them in my suitcase (post 9/11) and had no problem weight wise or content wise in bringing them back to Japan. If you want a pen lathe and want portability, then this one is MORE than adequate. Portable and high quality.

I just returned to Japan in June from a year back in the states, and brought a larger lathe back for larger turnings. It came by sea. I enjoy the Taig as much as my Rikon 12 inch lathe for pen turning.

I did buy some extra metal turning accessories and used the lathe to machine out the shaft hole on a second pulley made for a 1/2 inch shaft, (purchased directly from Taig) and that let me use a different motor than I had originally had. I was using a 3/4 horse motor with a 5/8 in shaft. It had too much power and was too big, but that is what I had on hand. I found a motor here with close to about 3/8 hp and a metric size shaft which was between 1/2 and 5/8. SO, I used the Taig to turn my own. Works well with not vibration.

One item that I purchased that I really like it the double posted tool rest. It allows much more lateral movement than the single post.

AS far as most machining jobs, remember this is primarily a lathe. IF you really want to get into metal machining, I would recommend another lathe based on the Taig is the Shurline lathe. Costs much more but it offers much more and is made for machining more so than lathe turning.

http://www.sherline.com/

AS to quality of a machine, the Taig is good. It is made of machined aluminum and steel.

Can you tell that I like mine?

[bigsteel15]

Hank,
Have you made your own pen mandrels? If so do you have a design?
Or do you just buy?
I have only seen them on PSI website.