On 7 Jul 2005 23:55:28 -0400, (DoN. Nichols)
wrote:

In article ,
Eric R Snow wrote:
I have been thinking about buying a Taig lathe for making small pins
and related parts. I have larger lathes but it seems like they are
always tied up when I need to make a small part. So, I was wondering
how well these lathes work and if they are comparable to larger lathes
if scale is taken into effect.

I've got one, and like it for small work. Note that the
standard collets for it are not particularly impressive, so I am glad
that I also bought the watchmaker's spindle for it when I got it (some
years ago at a hamfest, and without the "Taig" label on it anywhere --
before I had even *heard* of "Taig". :-)

I already had the watchmaker's collets, as I also use them in
the watchmaker's spindle for the Unimat SL-1000. Note that one
difference between the two spindles is that the Unimat one also has the
tapered exterior surface to open the expanding stepped collets for
holding inside of rings, while the Taig one has a threaded exterior
which matches the thread for the normal spindle to accept chucks and
faceplates.

I've actually set up both of them recently to handle different
stages of a recent project. The first (and most complex) stage was
handled on the Emco-Maier Compact-5/CNC

On the Unimat, if you want to turn tapers, you can simply swing
the headstock to the appropriate angle. On the Taig, your choices a

1) Turn between centers with an offset tailstock.

2) Mount the compound and use it (if the needed taper is short
enough.

3) Make a taper attachment for the lathe. (Perhaps someone has
already done this -- I don't know.


But I do find it to be quite a rigid lathe for its size and
price. The Unimat SL-1000 is probably the worst for that, with a bed
consisting of two steel rods of not particularly large diameter.

Enjoy,
DoN.
Thanks for the reply DoN. I know a guy with a Unimat. I used it and it
was pretty flexible. As to collets, the collets for my Levin are not
the same as the ones the Taig watchmakers spindle uses. That's too bad
because then I'd already have 80 collets for the machine. I've looked
at the collets on the Taig web site. They don't have a large selection
but seem to stout enough. What in particular did you not like about
their collets? As to tapers, most of the tapers I do on small pins
would be short enough for the compound. I did think about a taper
attachment. Maybe there's a market for some.
Eric