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How long things take: one to two weeks on almost everything, two to three on the heavier machines. A few items ship from a US warehouse and go to US addresses only. Here is whyOne to two weeks. Why?
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$219.00
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Mini metal lathe, 24 W, for brass, aluminium and wood

$219.00 USD
$219.00 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Plug: US plug, 110 V
Ships from: United States
One to two weeks from a US warehouse, tracked. United States only.. Shipping is free.
30-day returns
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  • 30-day returns

Description

A working metal lathe small enough to sit on a desk. It turns brass, aluminium, plastic and wood, a few millimetres at a time.

This is the classic all-metal mini lathe that model makers and watch hobbyists buy as their first one. Red headstock, black bed, a three-jaw chuck, a tailstock and a cross slide you wind by hand. It comes as a set, mostly assembled.

The numbers, per the maker

  • Turns work up to 45 mm across (about 1.8 in), and 135 mm between centres (about 5.3 in). A riser block in the set lifts that to about 50 mm across.
  • Centre height 25 mm.
  • Motor 24 W, 12 V DC, up to 20,000 rpm. The maker says to slow it to around 2,000 rpm for metal.
  • Holds work in a three-jaw chuck, or in a collet from 1 to 6 mm.
  • High-speed steel cutting tools.
  • Runs from a mains adapter with a US plug, 110 V.

What it is good at, and where it stops

Pins, bushings, pulleys, knobs, small shafts for models, brass fittings, turned pens. Soft metals and wood. Steel is a different story: 24 W is not a lot of power, cuts have to be light and slow, and hardened steel is out.

One owner's review is worth reading before you buy. It arrived nearly assembled, but the chuck was not tightened properly and the tools needed sharpening. Check both before the first cut. Sharpening a lathe tool is part of owning one anyway.

What we have not checked

We have not had one on our own bench. Every figure above is the maker's. The runout of the chuck and the real speed at the spindle are things we would measure before printing, so we have not printed them.

Why it is in the gift section

Because a lot of people who would use one every weekend will never buy it for themselves. If you are buying for someone who builds models, repairs clocks or turns pens, this is the tool they point at in videos.

Delivery

United States only. This one ships from a US warehouse, with a 110 V plug. We do not send it to Australia, New Zealand or Canada: the mains there need a different adapter, and we would rather not sell you one that does not match your wall. Free and tracked, usually one to two weeks. We hold no stock ourselves; the order is posted by the supplier after you place it.

30-day returns from the day it arrives. Return postage is yours, the price of the item comes back in full.

Shipping is free on every order, to the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, tracked, with no minimum. A few items ship to the United States only, and their page says so. Orders are processed within 2 business days.

After that the number depends on what you bought, and the line under the price gives it. Most of the catalogue takes one to two weeks, and the heavier machines two to three. We hold no stock and we have no warehouse of our own: the order is picked and posted by the supplier after you place it, which is why every page gives a range and not a date.

Australia is not slower. An earlier version of this page said three to four weeks, on the assumption that further away means longer. It is the opposite: the parcels leave China, and China is closer to Sydney than to Philadelphia. The carrier quotes Australia no slower than the United States, and it costs us less to send. So the Australian figures here are the same as the American ones. What we cannot claim is that we have watched it happen - we have not shipped an Australian order yet, and the day we have real tracking from there these become our numbers instead of the carrier's.

On the plug, we have to correct ourselves. This page used to say our supplier sells an Australian-plug version of the adapter at the same price. That was wrong, and we are leaving the correction here rather than deleting the sentence. It came from a different machine in a different supplier's catalogue. The listing this machine actually comes from has no plug option at all. We asked the supplier straight out and they answered that they fit a compatible plug for the destination country - which is an answer, but it is theirs, not something we have checked. The plug block further up this page says what we will do if what arrives does not fit your wall.

You get a tracking number by email as soon as the parcel is scanned, not before. A link that sits at label created for a few days is normal on this route.

Returns: 30 days from delivery, unused and in its packaging. Nothing is excluded - there is no rule here about sale items. If it arrived damaged or does not hold tolerance, we pay the return label. If you simply changed your mind, the return postage is yours and the price of the item comes back in full. Email support@arvonelle.com before sending anything back.

Will it plug into my outlet? Voltage, yes: the supply is rated 100 to 240 V, which covers both 120 V American mains and 230 V Australian mains, so no converter and no transformer. The plug is the part we cannot promise yet. The machine has no plug option we can select when we order it. We asked our supplier and they answered in writing that they fit a compatible plug for the destination country - we are quoting them, not claiming it, because we have not yet had one in our hands. Our sample is on order. If what arrives will not go into your wall, tell us: we post you the right adapter free, or refund you in full with the postage on us. An earlier version of this answer said the supplier sells a separate US-plug and Australian-plug version at the same price. That was wrong and came from a different machine; we are leaving the correction here instead of quietly deleting it.

Can it mill? As it ships, no. Milling needs an ER11 collet spindle in place of the drill chuck, because side load pulls a bit out of a chuck. That spindle is a real part and we are sourcing it. Until it is on the shelf we do not sell collets or end mills either.

Do your vises bolt to the press? On the $129 machine, no. We took one apart: its base has four screws holding the rubber feet and one unthreaded hole in the middle, and nothing else. Several pages on this site used to say otherwise and all of them have been corrected. Two things fix it - the 120 x 150 mm base plate, which replaces the original base and carries tapped holes, or the collet drill press at $149, whose base comes with two slots and a bolt circle already in it. The bench vises are a different thing entirely: the clamp-on ones, the engraving ball vise and the toolmaker's vise are bench tools and must not go under a spinning bit. Every page says which it is.

Do I pay tax or duty? In the United States, sales tax is added at checkout where your state charges it, and the total you see is the total. In Australia, consignments under AUD 1,000 normally carry 10% GST collected by sellers whose Australian turnover passes AUD 75,000 a year; we are well below that, so nothing is added at checkout and nothing should be asked of you on delivery. If a carrier ever asks you for a fee on a parcel from us, do not pay it - send us the notice first and we will sort it out with you. We are not going to claim we cover all duties everywhere. We cover what we control and we tell you about the rest.

What if a part breaks? For twelve months, tell us which part and we post a new one free. No return, no inspection, no photograph of the packaging. That applies in Australia too.

Can I cancel? Yes, within 24 hours, no questions. After that it is usually already moving.

Why trust a shop you have never heard of? You should not, on our say-so. Check instead that every page tells you what the tool will not do, that each product carries its own delivery number for your country, that we say which figures we measured and which we were told, and that when we get something wrong - the plug, which spindle fits, how long Australia takes - we say what the page used to say.

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If something goes wrong


If your order arrives damaged or defective, email support@arvonelle.com with your order number and a photo. We replace it or refund it — you don't have to argue for it.