Parkside (Lidl) Lathe - coming soon!

[sjp23480]

I have always fancied a lathe but could never justify the expense.  Nor do I know quite what I might use it for, but the man cave seems incomplete without one!

 

Then I saw this today: https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/diy-tools/parkside-lathe/p57760.

 

I know it is not a Proxxon or a Unimat but for £90 it seems quite reasonable. 

 

I know, you only get what you pay for and all that.  But.......has anyone any experience of one of these?

 

Steve

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by sjp23480
Added text

[Hibelroad]

That is a woodworking lathe, not a metalworking lathe which would be a lot more use to a modeller. 

[Dava]

It’s a wood turning lathe, ideal for table legs etc. For use with handheld chisels, sandpaper etc. Plastic turning but not metal.

 

Dava

[mikes rail]

Yes it’s a Wood turning lathe and as someone who does a bit of wood turning and owns two lathes I would not go for a machine like that, if you really want to have a go look for a small second hand lathe maybe from someone who is up grading to a bigger machine. There are a number of these cheap lathes around in different styles but they are not up to the task in hand.  

[cypherman]

Hi all,

I have a similar one to this. it is ok for soft wood and some plastics. Especially if you are using files rather than chisels. I even managed some aluminium. But for anything else it is of no use at all. Plus clamping it down so it is stable and does not move is somewhat a dark art. I ended up screwing mine down to a piece of wood and clamping it in my workmate. To be honest I would save your money unless you like turning wood.

Edited January 6, 2023 by cypherman

[2mmMark]

Save your money and try something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334664681392

for about £30.

With the addition of some gravers and a speed control, it can be used to turn small metal items like boiler fittings.

[Phil Parker]

14 minutes ago, 2mmMark said:

Save your money and try something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334664681392

for about £30.

With the addition of some gravers and a speed control, it can be used to turn small metal items like boiler fittings.

 

Even thought photos clearly show the tailstock is long way out of line from the chuck?

[Il Grifone]

Hmm looks interesting!

 

Presumably the tailstock can be adjusted?

 

I've got a set of similar chisels somewhere - case hardened cheese!

Edited January 6, 2023 by Il Grifone

[Peter Eaton]

31 minutes ago, 2mmMark said:

Save your money and try something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334664681392

for about £30.

With the addition of some gravers and a speed control, it can be used to turn small metal items like boiler fittings.

Someone on here must have seen one in the flesh?

Cannot see a misaligned tailstock from here!  

Its £30 quid delivered!

well spotted that man 

[PhilH]

Experience has taught me if it’s cheap it’s invariably nasty. I have found to my cost that trying to get cr*p tools to do a decent job is the epitome of thankless tasks. All the old adages apply, eg buy cheap buy (at least) twice etc., they are around for a reason.

 

You would, in my opinion, be far better served to buy better quality s/h tools, especially if they are for more than once in a blue moon, accuracy not important sort of task.

[spamcan61]

It can be a fine line between cheap rubbish and good value, but I've bought a fair few tools & gadgets from the likes of Lidl / Aldi / Robert Dyas over the last 15+ years and had no problems with them for occasional DIY use. e.g. baseboard construction. I can see no point in paying say 200 quid for a Fein Mutlitool when my Einhell 'inspired by' equivalent cost 35 quid and has been doing the job for 5+ years.

 

If I was a 'pro' using these tools every day then I'd buy 'pro' tools as part of my business, but that's a very different use case.

 

The only DIY related products I've found wanting from Lidl etc. are consumables like drills and screws, the latter in particular seem to be made of cheese or similar.

 

 

[Phil Parker]

43 minutes ago, Peter Eaton said:

Someone on here must have seen one in the flesh?

Cannot see a misaligned tailstock from here!  

 

 

It's not th first. I remember looking at a cheap Chinese lathe a few years ago, and chatting to an enthusiast for the brand, he mentioned that it suffered from an out of alignment tailstock, "But that didn't matter". It did. And it does.

[APOLLO]

These cheap Chinese "lathes" cut a nice oval loco works plate !!!!!

 

Brit15

Edited January 6, 2023 by APOLLO

[Happy Hippo]

19 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

 

It's not th first. I remember looking at a cheap Chinese lathe a few years ago, and chatting to an enthusiast for the brand, he mentioned that it suffered from an out of alignment tailstock, "But that didn't matter". It did. And it does.

I suspect  being an enthusiast for the brand, he meant it didn't matter because the tailstock is adjustable and can be aligned, but failed to mention this as part of the conversation.

 

However, if you are starting out with a lathe, knowing how to get the head and tail stocks to line up can be something of a struggle until you have gained some experience with machine tools.  

 

These days we have the advantage of You Tube where there is hour upon hour of hints and tips for upgrading and aligning Chinese lathes (other power tools are available).

 

The issue of alignment is down to price.  If you pay for the likes of a Proxxon lathe, you can reasonably expect it to be put together and you should get a certificate to the effect it has been tested.  Pay for a cheap as chips alternative, and don't be surprised to find it has been screwed together with the parts in an approximation as to where they should be.

 

[Phil Parker]

1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

I suspect  being an enthusiast for the brand, he meant it didn't matter because the tailstock is adjustable and can be aligned, but failed to mention this as part of the conversation.

 

No, he didn't. The "adjustment" involved a seperate plate that bolted on the tailstock support, with a new "spike" sticking out of the front that was in line with the centre. He'd got an example with him. It convinced me that I didn't really need a lathe after all!

[Hibelroad]

Experience (some of it bitter) has taught me that you can have good tools and cheap tools but you cannot have good cheap tools. Second hand is a possible solution but even then the good tools fetch premium prices. 

[t-b-g]

I have a good friend who, apart from model railways, has another hobby restoring old machine tools. He only works with good quality equipment and doesn't like having anything Chinese in his workshop.  

 

One time, we visited a model engineering exhibition and he came over to stand beside me as I was looking at a cheap Chinese milling machine.

 

All he said was that if I bought one of those, he would never speak to me again!

 

Another friend of his had bought one and used it twice before it fell apart but he used it so infrequently that those two uses took it out of its 12 month guarantee.

 

 

 

[RedgateModels]

43 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

 

It's not th first. I remember looking at a cheap Chinese lathe a few years ago, and chatting to an enthusiast for the brand, he mentioned that it suffered from an out of alignment tailstock, "But that didn't matter". It did. And it does.

 

Not usually one to disagree Phil, but drawing a line horizontal from the centreline of the chuck would suggest that it all lines up fine. You may be confused due to the 3 jaws of the chuck.

 

[Ian Simpson]

Completely agree that the alignment seems okay.

But i don't think this lathe is designed to work with metals. I think "metal lathe" in the title refers to it being made out of metal instead than plastic! The description says: "Suitable for engraving and grinding of wood, stone, peach kernel, eggs, handicrafts, glass, ceramics and other materials" - so it might be okay for soft metals but I suspect it won't work well with harder ones.

[Happy Hippo]

31 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 

No, he didn't. The "adjustment" involved a seperate plate that bolted on the tailstock support, with a new "spike" sticking out of the front that was in line with the centre. He'd got an example with him. It convinced me that I didn't really need a lathe after all!

Thanks Phil, I always like to see the best in things and people.

 

But if that was all that was on offer to sort out the issue, then that sounds truly horrendous.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Happy Hippo

[Happy Hippo]

53 minutes ago, RedgateModels said:

 

Not usually one to disagree Phil, but drawing a line horizontal from the centreline of the chuck would suggest that it all lines up fine. You may be confused due to the 3 jaws of the chuck.

 

The quick way to check centre alignment is to remove the 3 jaw chuck and replace it with a  dead centre.  when the tailstock is moved up to the headstock the two centres will touch.  If not, you need to adjust the tail stock until it does.  When you have it to this stage, you place a test bar between the two centres.  You then mount a dti (dial test indicator)  in the tool post fitted to the saddle and run it along the edge of the test bar.  The movement on the dti should not be more than 0.01mm over 100 mm.  If it is, you can make finer adjustments to the tailstock until it does.

 

We've gone a bit off track here, but to get back to the original query, for model railway purposes, I don't think this lathe is going to be of much use.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Happy Hippo
Punctuation

[Peter Eaton]

parallax error ? 

It can be seen the photo shows the angular bed plate view.

I have a big computer screen to use at work tonight and actually in our ''Tool Room !''

thanks.

[2mmMark]

I do already have a couple of proper 1¾" Centrix model engineering lathes but I bought one of these micro lathes as a project to see how they might match up to the concept of the 'fonly lathe which was designed my late friend and highly respected model engineer Peter Clarke.  Were Peter still around, I'd expect him to be looking at these mini lathes with some interest.
http://www.2mm.org.uk/articles/fonly/fonlypt1b.htm

Mine cost about £25 a while back. I added a PWM speed control for another £5 or so.  I haven't yet had time to fiddle about with it but the initial inspection showed that the chuck and tailstock centre lined up, and the chuck has an acceptable degree of accuracy.  It fits in a small toolbox and I think it's a viable option for casual occasional turning jobs, even simple things like cleaning up castings.

I've seen descriptions of turning being done using an electric drill held in a vice, using hand files.  My feeling is that for 2mm, 3mm & 4mm scale items, these micro lathes offer a safer option.

Realistically, for the money, you're not going to get a precision machine tool but for modelling, it's got more going for it than the Lidl Parkside wood lathe.
 

[Enterprisingwestern]

7 hours ago, 2mmMark said:

Save your money and try something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334664681392

for about £30.

With the addition of some gravers and a speed control, it can be used to turn small metal items like boiler fittings.

 

I've got one of those, but I ain't got no pearls!, very useful for using filing/graving tools to turn and fettle whitemetal/wood/brass etc fittings etc.

The real reason I bought it though was to drill straight/square holes in rtr wagon/coach bodies, which are obviously too long and too fiddly to fit into a pillar drill.

I dismantled and removed the headstock and adaptobodged it into a sliding sled/carriage affair, adjustable with shims to maintain the correct centre.

 

Mike.

[TheSignalEngineer]

10 hours ago, Il Grifone said:

case hardened cheese!

I've never tried turning that.