Five Quick Mods to the CJ0618 7x12 Mini Lathe that Anyone Can Make 

I wanted to improve my life, so I bought 8 tools holders. I don't have a lathe....... or a wife now. Thanks!

When you started to put the radius on the first washer I thought it looked a little big. Thank you for not editing your “error.” It is nice to know that even professionals, occasionally, make the same errors that I often make. Wasn’t that “snap” sound when everything fell into place, sweet? Yeaaahh, Baby.

Made the washer this morning - on my lathe 14mm x 10mm x 0.26mm. No sign of backlash now.. Nice tip.

Comprehensive video, Thank you! I use videos like this to demo lathe work in remote parts of India. A small drill-powered lathe and a welder are usually sufficient to fix half the broken machinery in an entire village, directly impacting the lives of hundreds. Note to new machinists: Consider the order of operations before drilling. 1. Drill first, with coolant, if the holes need to be a tight/sliding accurate fit. 2. Drill last, after facing & turning, without coolant, for a tight/press fit (undersized holes) 3. Heat the drill bit (hss only) with a hot air gun and drill last, without coolant, for a loose fit.

Thanks for your very well done and informative video. The reason I asked in the chat about using thrust washers for the cross slide was that I was in the middle of boring out the cross slide bracket to fit a pair 8x16x5mm thrust washers. The tolerances are not critical as if you bore to far you can fit a plan washer as a shim. It worked very well but was quite a bit more bother than using the shim as done in your video, although is does have the advantage of no play at all from the handwheel. For the compound slide I had used a single 8 x 22 x 7 mm Deep Groove Ball Bearing that also worked very well and has no play at the handwheel but it turns so easily it feels loose. Please keep up the excellent videos, Larry

Those were some cool ideas. Especially like the brass washer to eliminate that backlash. 👍

One mod i would add is to cut a small piece of nylon ( weed whacker, whipper snipper , line trimmer) cord and fit into the grub screw hole on the dials and re fit the grub screw and tighten it down to give a friction dial like on a big lathe , easy to do and cost nothing ! - one of the best things i did to my lathe !

My little 7x14 lathe has earnt me well into 6 figures over the past 10 years, it is in dire need of another overhaul, its 3rd! But still going strong with no major component failures. I have just added another bigger lathe to the fleet which is yet to be used, it is still being assembled and correctly sorted before being used, some time doing what you are doing to a new Chinese lathe is time well spent!

Alistair, that's a nice collection of upgrades & improvements, Well done!! I look forward to seeing your other solutions to the lathes problems.

Just a quick note on your side clearance parting tool comment. When you grind back rake on the tool extend it back far enough to cover the full depth of the cut. Now the cutting edge is the highest point that enters the work. The side clearance built into the tool steel now also provides a tiny back clearance. Squaring the tool up carefully will take advantage of this. Not a big deal as your washer did not have a huge wall thickness. Parting can be one of the the most challenging operations on small lathes. Line up all the ducks and it can be satisfying when it works. Great video as always :)

What a well made video. Nice editing and clear voice over and script. Excellent work

Thank god! Finally somebody else that knows a file only cuts in one direction.

I noticed the chuck shaft ends right above the change gears. Any chips that get in the shaft will eventually fall out and land in the change gears. I used a piece of 3/4" copper pipe (turned down ever so slightly) to extend the shaft outside the gear box area.

I thoroughly recommend the solid toolpost riser; my machine (a 250mm swing Chinese benchtop model) is now taking cuts on par with the 400mm swing machines in class! Parting with HSS is a dream (before my entire compound would bend and wobble, even when I had it wound back to minimise the effect of levers!). Stefan G and Robin Renzetti have both got excellent videos on this topic. The one addition I would have on top of their designs and commentary is to lower the height a little (if you can) to use larger shank tools. I went from 12mm to 20mm so I get more rigidity in the tool shank if I need to stick it out a little from the holder. That cross section area (second moment area) does wonders. Have a good one!

I have this very lathe. It came with a bent cross-slide shaft, and I nearly managed to get it right, but it still tightens and goes slack as I turn it. It's adequate for my needs. Your tutorial is very worthwhile, some tips and tricks I was unaware of. I fettled the carriage running using tips from other videos but I do need to address the compound slide. I don't use the lathe for screwcutting. I was shown how when I was an apprentice fitter but that was a long long time ago. I did have a large lathe, a proper one, but sold that for various domestic reasons. Anyway this one does small jobs. Larger jobs I could farm out to my local engineering company who has done work for me before. Many thanks for sharing...

Well done mate very nice additions to enhance the performance of these machines. I have a couple of thoughts I would like to share as well. I keep a collection of AN and NAS Aircraft grade washers which are made of high alloy steel and very flat... make sure you put this type of washer under each one of your Gib nuts. This will prevent galling and give you a better feel when adjusting the Gibs. Next, I could not tell because of camera angle if you already did this but when using a single cut file on non-ferrous metal make sure to "Chalk it" which will prevent your file from loading with the brass in this case or bronze. Also, when drilling the primary hole I would recommend stepping up with a couple of undersized drills and then for those who do not have a 10 mm reamer (which I'm going to guess is pretty rare for a lot of folks) you have a perfect opportunity to final size the ID with a small boring bar. This boring bar should be de riguer for anybody owning a lathe such as this. Final comment just to add style points would be to drilli and counter bore an oiling hole to allow a spring-loaded brass/ball bearing oiling port to be pressed in at the 12:00 position right above your new thrust washer. These pressed-in ball bearing/ brass oiling ports are commonly available these days on Amazon.. A little more work but there is nothing like fresh oil at the business end of an area you're trying to get a "smooth as butter" feel out of. Again well done and kudos to your presentation and editing style you get right into it and this makes it ever so enjoyable for your fans. Thank you.

Great improvements, nice photography. Thanks for sharing.

The washer was a brilliant move.

Very good videos, love your style of presentation, I have craftex 7x12 lathe on order here in Canada so will be using these tips, thanks for posting!

Interesting, well produced presentation. Well done.

Great video, I like that you are ready to accept a challenge and duke it out to the end. Thanks and cheers!

A very definite example of watching the video, before making a decision about buying this particular piece of home workshop machinery. I suspect I have been like many, many others; buying on a budget, before looking at the pro's and con's! Thankfully, I have had the time to watch this really great series of videos while waiting for delivery. It might mean not actually getting to use the lathe for a while yet, but I think the strip down, reassembly and completion of most of the quick fixes will be essential to successful use of this workshop machine. Thanks.

Great modifications great work look forward to the saddle repair and headstock repair stay safe all the best

Cheers! Nice how you did this video, the steps, the point made. Appreciate your honestly in describing your machining experience, I say this as machining tips and tricks were not your focus, only the five things you wanted to fix.

Nice Job on fixing the Backlash!

Great demonstration. Def worth following these tips and tricks :)

On my lathe, it became apparent that the stability of the tool post was very questionable. I took several steps to correct the problem which helped a great deal: the first step was to replace the 8.mm stud used for mounting the tool holder. I drilled out the hole in the slide and threaded it to take a 14mm stud; This worked very well, giving the tool a solid feel. Then I took out the screws holding the slide/gib together and replace them with some quality stainless steel set screws, this improved the ease with which the tension on the gib can be adjusted. Everything on the carriage must be as solid as possible, yet still adjustable with ease. My next step will be to replace the Feed screw with one made of good quality steel, that won't bend.

Hi, I like a few of your ideas here. Nice simple and easy for everyone to accomplish. You wanted ideas for the sloppy fit at the interface from head to bed, also saddle and tailstock too. Modern machines have a pad type of surface applied, the surface is a good bearing and vibration damping agent too. RULON is one of those bearing types used although it is not the type I would used. They all have a bonding procedure then need to be scraped to fit the machines. Quite sure with judicious cleanliness you could adhere some phosphorus bronze and achieve the same results. Even bonding on some (fragile) cast iron could be a solution but brittle and not wise. A Russian enthusiasts has made tapered bronze gibs for the under saddle keeper plates, I don't have a link sorry: Although he does have a youtube video posted showing them.

I punched a washer out of teflon for #5. Even a little thick the low coefficient of friction of teflon still allows free movement with very little backlash.

I had bought one of these Sieg clones from Vevor. It had the same problem with the tailstock. My fix was to talk Vevor into giving me a $200 rebate on the lathe. I then bought a new tailstock from the Little Machine Shop company. That had the V slot cut to the correct depth and so it is now usable.

Probably the best improvement I've made to mine is the solid block that replaces the compound slide. Just a chunk of mild steel cut to size and drilled. Makes everything more rigid, makes parting off less traumatic.

The headstock bearing swap transformed mine into something usable, that is a must. I also did the cover on the saddle (another must). Next is the carriage lock. Cheers

Another interesting video, well done, nice fixes, thank you 😊

Splendid! Make more of these please!

Immensely satisfying video and delightful editing and narration. I don't know the cost of the two lathes you mention, but if the Proxxon doesn't have the Chinese vices, I would have paid the premium. But I don't have your skills (any more). I last touched a lathe in English metalwork 'O' Level 50 years ago. All the best, Rob in Switzerland

Chinese lathes can be modified to work just great .You did a great job on it especially replacing the capscrew with a button head stainless one . I recently restored an old Walker Turner drill press and replaced all fasteners with stainless ones and It looks great . Can't wait for the saddle fix video .

Hi Alistair, Some nice simple updates (well 4 of the 5)... Take care Paul,,

Great lathe fixes. ...nice photography

Thank you so much for your videos keep up the good work brother 👍🏻. Greetings from Ireland 🍀🇮🇪

Thanks for sharing! Happy Thanksgiving

My Dad has a similar model 7x12 and he has done a few modifications to it as well. I am still considering getting one but given what I know of Dad's machine, and what I've seen from others here on RU-vid, it appears that they all generally need a little fitting and finishing and then they become much more enjoyable and reliable to use. Thanks for sharing what you've discovered so far.

Me (over a megaphone): What do we want?! Everybody: More Adventures with a Very Small Lathe Me (over a megaphone): When do we want it?! Everybody: at least once a week!

Very good video, I have got some great ideas from ur video got a old atlas leather going to try some things ur said on it Again thanks

Great ideas for improving the mini lathe! Thrust bearings also work great on improving collet drawtubes for bigger lathes.

Along with the quick-change tool post, I would recommend a wedge type quick change tool post. I've tried a few of the peg type, and they're horrible. The tool *always* moves when you tighten it, making it difficult to level your cutting tool. I ended up getting one similar to what's shown in this video and am very happy with it.

No need to face the washer off again with the parting tool before you part it off. That face will be parallel to the cross axis of the lathe, no matter what tool is used. You can also grind the parting tool to have a bit of angle with the forward tip facing your finished part. That’ll reduce the burr.

Another simple addition is to use spring clips to mount the chuck keys on the front of the lathe for quick access.

Thanks for sharing !

its fantastic you showed us your mistakes. I learn more from them than anything else.

These are excellent tips!! 👍 ❤

Excellent video, thanks 😊

I love your voice... It reminds me of my dad when I was a kid.... Love your videos to cuz I will get one mini lathe soon, learning about small project for it is great! 😁

I enjoyed the vid. A thought that popped into my head was why these lead screws are not spring-loaded against the shoulder by a Belville spring and needle thrust bearing. This would give zero backlash at this end.

Great work

13:09 I have the same lathe. At the factory the grub screws holding the cross slide and compound graduated dials had been tightened down sufficiently to gall the shafts. I removed the grub screws, smoothed out the gall marks, and replaced the grub screws with socket head cap screws. I made a couple of small brass plugs to go between the tips of the cap screws and the shafts to prevent galling. Now I can adjust the graduated dials as desired, and secure them when needed by finger tightening the cap screws.

Good stuff! 👍

Thanks, great ideas

Ich bin fasziniert von den Videos. Man kann noch so alt sein, man lernt immer noch was dazu.

If you have a grinder it is a quick job to grind relief on the parting tool so it will not rub and get pushed off. If you don't do a perfect job and grind too high the width of the cut will change. Usually not a problem.

I have something similar, a 3 in 1 fong kong, one mod among many was was that I eventually made and replaced a longer and more precise gib on the tailstock.

very nice tips. rather than make a washer I sanded a stamped steel one to thickness

When using a vice to knock off the burr left from parting, stand it vertically (not horizontally like you had it) and gently tap it down between the loosely snug jaws. Thanks for the vid :).

1) Not sure I agree with Fix #2. When you get heavy side load on the cutting tool, it can try and push the tool post away and any opportunity for the post to spin will occur. Even though the post may feel tight with the handle locked down, you now have a much reduced friction surface than if you clamp the two metal faces directly together. Just my two cents worth of input and not a criticism. 2) Another option for Fix #5 is to machine slightly larger and deeper holes in both the saddle and cover block so you can use thrust bearings on both sides. This way you can really clamp down on the screw and trap it between the two thrust bearings with almost zero slop (basically immeasurable on a dial gauge). I did this on my lathe and there is no slop due to the screw moving around in the housing and the screw turns freely. 3) Another thing I recommend is to take the cross-slide nut and cut it in half and then drill and tap two small holes in the face of one of the halves. Put small allen screws (similar to your grub screw replacements) in the tapped holes and then remount the two halves on the cross-slide, fit the screw, adjust the allen screws until there is minimal backlash in the screw, and then tighten down on the hold down screws (you might want to oval out the holes for the hold down screws in order to allow them to adjust slightly). Based on the quality of the rest of the machine, I highly doubt there is anywhere near a precision fit between the screw and lead nut and having some adjustability can take care of this. This move does negate the use of the top grub screw to adjust height of the lead nut, but you can use shims to take care of that. It will be a bit fiddly, but you will appreciate the accuracy greatly as you work with the lathe. 4) I recommend you measure the thickness of the bearing surfaces of the bed as if those are not parallel to each other, it doesn't matter what fix you do for the saddle hold down plates (had to do this on my lathe even though it was much better quality than what you are starting with.) You may have to find access to a surface grinder or do some hand scraping in order to get the bearing surfaces parallel and same thickness the total run length of the bed (you can also lap in with sand paper, but this is time consuming). 5) Little Machine Shop (on the web) in the U.S. does sell an extended bed kit if you want to go down that route. 6) I believe what you refer to as the motor adjustment screws (mounted in the bottom surface of the lathe bed) are in actuality the screws used to adjust the headstock to a planar position and this is why you see the headstock currently at an angle. The saddle mounting plates use this same system to adjust the plates for height (i.e., the two smaller screw holes between the three mounting holes on each plate). You tighten the two inner screws on the headstock to raise the headstock until the height is correct (suggest mounting a taper point in the chuck) and matches up to the tailstock height (using a taper point in the tailstock as reference). You then tighten the two outer screws to pull the headstock down tight against the two inner screws. Double check measurements to make sure everything still lines up. This is a cheap way to adjust the headstock, but then again this isn't a high precision machine to start with. 6) You also probably want to check to see if the headstock and tailstock are truly in line with the lathe bed. There are videos showing how to do this and it is more involved than I can describe herein. This is a must do as any machining of longer parts will have taper error if the headstock and tailstock are not parallel to the bed. 7) Also recommend you measure the gear rack position relative to the bottom bearing surface of the lathe bed after you complete step 4. Making sure the gear rack is parallel to the bearing surface makes the carriage move much smoother and you will appreciate how much this improves your control of the lathe. Even though the lead screw can adjust up and down, it does no good if the gear rack is not parallel to the work surface. 8) Highly recommend you replace the plastic gears (both the gears you can see and the gears inside the headstock) with metal gears. It is not a question of if you will strip the gears, it is only when this will happen. 9) Also highly recommend you replace the spindle main bearings with taper roller bearings. Little Machine Shop sells a kit for this and it really improves both the running of the lathe and the run-out accuracy of the spindle. I have done this along with a motor replacement (with a treadmill motor) and I can run the lathe at 6K rpm all day long (if I need to) with no heat build up in the bearings and run-out on the spindle is less than half a thou. 10) Although the saddle bottom mounting plates use the opposing screw forces to get the plates parallel to the bed, in reality this is a crap method and doesn't work very well. Much better to machine up a spacer block slightly thinner than the space needed to obtain parallelism and then use shim stock to get the last couple of thou of adjustment (this allows for future adjustment for wear on either the bed or saddle). You get a much more solid lock down on the bottom lock plates this way. You also want to lap the bottom mount plates where they contact the bottom of the bed so you have a smooth sliding surface (take a look at your plates and you will see what I am referring to, again poor quality material). You may even want to go so far as to machine new bottom mount plates. Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing how you handle the many improvement opportunities this lathe presents :).

I have to modded the hardened steel slider because the screw would nicked and damage the sitting hole on the slider. It does happens when you're parting or turning gummy materials. The shape of the setscrew is also important to ensure better stiffness .

i snipped off a piece of o ring and put it under the dial set screw and put just enough drag so it could be turned with ease but not to loose

I love this channel! Could you do a short review on the proxxon lathe?

Nice work Also a tip for removing the external burr on the back face while parting: start parting, back the tool off once a groove has been formed, and then run a file over the newly formed edge. Then you can continue parting as normal. However, I don't have a fix for the internal edge of the bore though, let me know if you find anything 😉

The Mrs Mills of milling. We love you too.

Do NOT use a baring on the toolpost. Just a hardened ring will do. Or a bronze one, but it is essential that the post can under no circumstance swivel when tightened down.

On the cross slide washer fix, I'd add grease to the shaft and washer so it's smooth for yrs to come!

Spring washers can help to reduce backlash, as well.

Excelente felicitaciones desde Uruguay

great channel. thanks!

I have a genuine SIEG C2 and it looks a bit better made than your lathe. I am currently replacing the tailstock handwheel. I have a metal substitute from a small sewing machine. The original plastic handle kept loosening and now I am making a metal handle which can't loosen itself from the handwheel by putting the handle on a separate axle. I did the same for the carriage handwheel. I also added extra gib screws on the cross slide and the compound slide. This gives more rigidity. Thanks for this video!

Aha, yes, nice one :o) If you don’t want to fight a very thin brass/bronze washer, combine it with a thick shim between the cross slide casting and bearing housing. Maybe shim it out enough for two? And if you don’t want to make a shim, just pack it off with washers, it’s only end load :o)

I've been buying up vintage atlas lathes, have 3- 6 x 18 inche and 2 - 12 x 36 inche and one 109 6 inch,, all over 50 years old but still better than and new lathes I've seen at a reasonable price,, can't beat the older made in USA lathes,, heavy cast iorn with timkin bearings, and very little back lash,, l bought 2 for the price of one Chinese lathe,,and have already proven the test of time. And my 12 inch lathes both have quick change gear boxes that cost as much as the lathe itself to buy when new,, the market is getting higher in price to find them now I'll set on them until the price increases enough,,,but a new 12 inch lathe would cost 4 times what I spent as it is.. l almost made the mistake of buying a Chinese mini lathe before I found my first classic vintage lathe, atlas was more a hobbyist lathe and not many was in class rooms are factories so they wasn't abused.

Even without the thrust bearing 2 washers and some HP grease is a big improvement. Round side facing each other.

Jolly good show old chap! :)

Phosphor bronze is what is used to wrap acoustic guitar strings. Did it sound bell-like to you during turning ops? I love the shearing angle on a lathe file, smoother feel when using. Keep it coming! Love your channel!

Ok, just one more - I made a sleeve that fits over the end of the feed screw (tailstock end), with a shank that fits in the chuck of a cordless drill. Power feed at any speed you choose! The prototype was 3d printed, works so well I haven't got around to making the steel version yet. Thinking of a permanently mounted stepper motor and Arduino controller...

Nice vid. I found the same problem with the crossfeed screw assembly, and fixed pretty much exactly the same way. The problem I found though was once the washer bedded in the backlash returned, albeit not as bad as it was. Next time I'm in the mood I'll make a slightly thicker washer and allow it to bed in before maybe stoning it to exact size. Edit - just a thought, if you buy a sintered bronze bushing 10x14x20mm - perfect material (oil impregnated), and already the right id/od. Just need to part off a slice...

With that bronze washer, you could heat the bar stock red hot and drop it in motor oil for a day, it then quenches in the oil. You can machine it after that. The washer is so small that post quenching might deform the bearing. Personally, I would polish the lead screw that contacts the area you intend to put this bushing, then bore the area that houses the bushing maybe 10mm deeper and machine a deeper teflon bushing, maybe make several as they will wear out. Also the movement you see on the indicator is not entirely accurate. If you take off the scale and measure the metal beneath that you will probably measure an even lower run out. Because the scale has only one grub screw, you can see towards the end of the video that it leans slightly forwards where you tighten the screw.

Thanks

All good tips. My 2 cents: 1) get rid of anything plastic...like the pulleys and gears. Right out of the gate I blew apart the plastic motor drive pulley plastic keyway...30 minutes after it was fixed destroyed the low speed plastic transmission gear... 2) consider buying a second lathe to do the upgrades needed on your first lathe. 3) loctite the handles or they thread out when you use them. 4) Are you related to Jeremy Wade? (River Monsters on TV).

Your first thing, a better tool post made a big improvement on my toy lathe. I always wonder why the worry about back lash. Don’t you always feed the cross slide the same direction? Why make a washer? Would milling off the excess work?

Nice video mate the washer did the job. L am thinking about buying a mini lathe but that many out there witch one do l buy l know l will have to rebuild it But with this video l.l know what to look for and build up to standard it for to make a mine steam Engine L.ve alway wanted to build a mini steam Engine it all started with a model boat l made. It only has a hobby. And You tube there to help me it all about taking your time. Thank you for this video mate.

Nice vid.. Where to get your wedge style quick change tool holder instead of my A2Zcnc piston style one? A little bit of clearance never got in the way of anything...

Nice work on the washer, it's difficult to hit tolerances with stuff like that. As a point of order, you shouldn't ever run reamers backwards, it'll kill the cutting edger or maybe even break it off. Not sure if it was the editing but when you were hand-reaming it looked like you ran backwards a bit. For the dial adjustment, I'd probably go for an interior groove in the dial, holding an o-ring that fits relatively tightly on the shaft.

Love you toothanks for the show

Thanks from Russia! I don't understand what you speak, but video nice!

Try facing off the tool clamp screws, and finish with a file. Low RPM with more file movement while trying to keep the screw end as flat as possible. This way your screws will be very slightly domed, so they won't pull tools to the side while you tighten them, and will have a consistent feel. And the filed finish will not chew up any softer tools or blackening on hardened tools, unlike a raw or cutter faced finish.

the manufactures should not assemble the lathe... they can keep their tool box ,throw in a selection of shims and a fortune cookie(with the instructions inside) ...this would save time taking it apart to fix it when you unpack the lathe.Recently fixed HF cross slide and vice with variation of shown method .Nice vid

This series is really helpful, I'm working through exactly the same issues with my own £500 7x12 lathe. Are you planning on fixing a thread dial at any point? I've bought the bits and it's next on the list, but would rather hold off if you were planning a video showing this at some stage. Best, Jim

That washer hack to counter the backlash is ingenious. Well filmed and explained too!

I’m curious if it would not have been easier to take the extra depth off the pocket face instead of making the washer? Or would modifying the face been disastrous in some fundamental way I can’t see? It seems like the dial was quite adjustable.

Dude, do you have the right thrust bearing listed? I thought it was 10mm by 24mm when your link takes me to a bigger one.

Thank-you. On the diagram it says part #30 is a shifting fork. What is that? My has a detent and detent spring. Is that the same. I am new to using this lathe. So any help will be greatly appreciated

We love you too and your smal lathe. Its something nice

Shim the bed and dowel, bronze dowels, steel shims hold the shim(s). hollow dowels can be expanded to hold the sims. shims scored to hold oil

It is much easier to get the width of the washer right by making an initial 1 mm cut, then measure and correct.