10 More Mini Lathe Mods And Upgrades - 2022

G'day everyone,

last year I made a video where I detailed all of the upgrades that I had made to the mini lathe. It has since been a year and I have made many new upgrades, some which I have shown here before, and some that I have not. Like the last video, not every upgrade will suit everyone, so it is best to pick and choose which upgrades would best suit you and your lathe. Cheers.

#minilathe #lathe #machining

Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
0:50 - Way Cover
2:19 - Headstock Spacer Upgrade (NEW)
5:12 - Headstock Rigidity Brace
6:28 - Button Oilers For The Tailstock And Leadscrew Bushings
7:04 - Tailstock Fine Feed Adjuster
8:06 - Extra Module 1 Gears to Cut Imperial Threads On A Metric Lathe
9:16 - Spindle Lock
9:53 - Tailstock DRO (NEW)
12:26 - Half Dead Centre
13:47 - Thrust Bearing On The QCTP

Links To Videos

Mini Lathe - Sieg C3 7x14 Mini Metal Lathe
Milling Machine - Sieg X2.7l

[seanb]

It’s amazing how many cheap and easy upgrades improve the lathe and your experience with it, goes to show you don’t always have to start with the most expensive machine, just get what you can afford and slowly chip away at upgrading it as skill and money allow 👍 cheers for sharing.

[peterspencer]

Thanks for all your content and inspiration! After watching your videos I took the plunge and got myself a vintage lathe, and since then I've managed to go as far as making a rotary broach and steady rest all of my own; I'd have never imagined doing this myself before. It's really inspirational to see your work.

[Sheevlord]

The use of digital calipers as the DRO is actually brilliant.
As for rigidity upgrade - I've seen someone fill the cavity with concrete. Unlike epoxy cement is pretty cheap.

[vwlifer]

Nice job on sharing these upgrades. I have a couple of those mini-lathes that I used daily in my business. I've used some of your ideas and enjoyed the results. Keep up the great work with your excellent content.

[Lucas_sGarage]

One nice upgrade would be to get a 6374 brushless DC motor with hall effect sensors and a vesc ESC so u can drive it in foc mode and get insanely high torque at low speeds, plus u can get really nice motor feedback and last, speed control
Also u will need a 50A 24V PSU (i trust meanwell but any other brand might do it).
Also, another tip for those who might have a 3d printer, although plastic 3d printed gears aren't that strong, they can still hold up a lot of torque, so if u have a 3d printer u can print your own gears and if u break one, it's just a matter of printing it again (i recommend petg, nylon, PC, abs PC blend, and pla will work pretty well

[dellmerlin]

To make longitudinal manual feed more smooth I put a hand wheel on the right end of the lead screw. I then use the carriage hand wheel for quick positioning, and then use the half nut and lead screw hand wheel for turning.

[TheRaibert]

Thank you for sharing your ideas about mini lathe(s) upgrades !
Tips and techniques in lathe operations, you might consider this basic knowledge but to me the ability to view how you operate your lathe allows me to learn and appreciate your skills and knowledge.
Thank you
from U.S.A.
-Rob't

[Ibeturhot]

That half dead center is what's up. I love it.

[johnstonewall]

Great video and ideas. I made a travelling way cover, a sheet of aluminium attached to the carriage and long enough to catch swarf. An advantage is that you can easily access the way for cleaning.

[trabantdelux]

Thanks for sharing all that! Awesome insights.

[johndecoteau]

insane depth of cut! all of the upgrades are for real :)

[joshclark]

I do like that tailstock DRO! That's a very cheap and affordable solution without having to do any special wiring!

[mati]

Great upgrades, great video. One thing you still need to upgrade, sawing material.

[dmazter]

You can cut off the depth gauge from the DRO calliper as well since you dont need it .

[steved]

Thank you your upgrades have been an inspiration to get the most out of my lathe.

[tahustvedt]

Good video. Many parts like spindle lock and gears can be 3D printed. I also 3D printed new metric dials for the cross slide and compound slide for mine with short 0, 01 mm and longer 0, 1 mm lines. It's surprising how sturdy solid 3D printed parts are.

[MachiningwithJoe]

Hey dude another awesome upgrade video. Really like the concept behind replacing the plastic spacer behind pre load nut. I will have to check my lathe to see if it is the same setup as I can’t remember. And thanks for the channel name drop 😁

[wizrom]

Nice mods!
Really enjoying your cinematography lately. Your newer footage is getting a really crisp "clickspring" kind of look. 🥇👍

[blank-iu]

Thanks, i now enjoy my lathe operation more

[dieselwelds]

I'm about to do the headstock support bracket similar to yours. I have the LMS 5100 so the brushless motor may provide more room than other models. However the 1"x2" block of steel will be turned 90° relative to yours and I will be using M8 cap screws on top of the bed and M8 Flat Head Socket Cap Countersunk screws on the bottom of the lathe so that it can sit flush on a workbench without having to drill more holes into a worktable.

Actually Im unable to bolt my minimill and minilathe down right now so I'm bolting the LMS 5100 to 4"x8"x5/8 plates with antiskid rubber epoxied to the bottom, and similar for the LMS 3990, but using 3.25"x12"x7/8 plates for it instead.

Appreciate the content! Thoroughly enjoy watching you, We Can Do That Better, and Joe π