Teeny weeny lathe tool list?

[TinyTurner]

I have a Sieg CO Lathe on the way, an N (or Z) scale lathe if ever there was one.  There are several re-brands out there, all the same thing.  I hear good things about them and the budget was right for starting out.

I would to make a list of tools I will need for it as it has a basic single tool post.
I can then prioritise. 
Is anyone familiar with what might be specially needed for a tiny lathe?

[Jim Starbuck]

I am not familiar with the Sieg lathe or what is included as base. I have a Sherline which I use a lot. I’m guessing you have a three jaw self centering chuck for the headstock. You will want a 1/4” Jacobs chuck for the tail stock. For cutting tools I got a set of 1/4” x 1/4”holders with straight, left and right offset that hold replaceable carbide triangular inserts. You’ll want a cutoff tool also called a parting tool. A live center for the tailstock is useful but not critical if your lathe came with a dead center. I would invest in a small set of quality metric and standard drill bits including center drill countersink bits. A good quality digital caliper is a must. I also bought an assortment of brass round stock off eBay. There are a couple pieces each of 5/16 down to 3/32 in 4 inch lengths. It’s handy to have because you don’t know what you might need to make.
A friend was over working on an engine when a small brass bushing gave the dreaded “tick” from the tweezers and disappeared forever. He was upset that the engine was now out of service and he wondered if he might even be able to order a replacement. Within 10 minutes I had made him a new one.
Micro machining is almost a hobby within itself.

Jim

[Lemosteam]

Calling @mmagliaro

You might want to invest in a collet chuck as well with multiple collet sizes.  They can grab diameters under 0.5mm tightly (not knowing how small your chuck can go).

[Chris333]

Little Machine Shop is where I got most of my lathe and mill stuff.

[mmagliaro]

In addition to what has already been suggested:

Egad... I wrote a book... oh well...

1. Yes, a collet chuck that will fit your spindle.  I have used a few different ones over the years, but I have settled on ER32 collets.
They are available down to 1mm (and maybe smaller) up to 21mm (not a whole inch, but pretty big, especially for N Scale).
And don't go too cheap on these.  Chinese-made are okay, but if you choose a source (like Little Machine, or Techniks), buy a few
and test them for run-out before you start amassing, like, 12 of them.   If you do anything really small (like wire drills) or
you try to chuck a wheel in the lathe to turn the flanges or cut a traction tire groove, you are definitely going to want collets,
NOT a 3-jaw chuck, which won't be able to grip well enough, and will crush or make horrible digs in the metal on something like a loco
driver.  Try to get the collets that have 6 rounded faces around the bore (some have 3).   Look closely at the photos before you
buy, and look for the collets that are completely flush at the face, as opposed to having any slight chamfer or taper at the edge of the bore.
I say this because if you ever want to grip something like a driver or other thin object in the collet, you are going to NEED those jaws
to be ground and flat all the way out to the face with no chamfer.  Avoid the ones that look "chrome plated".  They are usually cheaply
made and don't grip well at the edges.  A crisp, flat, matte-finish ground surface is what I look for at the face of a collet.


2. Speaking of run-out.   A piece of hardened precision drill rod.  1/2" is a good size, about 6" long.   And a dial indicator that can read
at least down to .001" increments.   I have a cheap $30 one from someplace like All Industrial (I really can't remember), and it works
fine.  I also have a Starrett because I found a beautiful one for good price ($90, which for Starrett machine tools is good), and I couldn't
resist the "snob appeal".  However, I have to admit, that the Starrett, which is good to .0005" is pretty darn amazing.
You can put the drill rod in your chuck, set the dial indicator on it, and slowly rotate your chuck to see how good, or bad, your
setup is.  You will definitely want to check this.  It won't be uncommon for these inexpensive Chinese-made lathes to have .010"
or even .020" of runout in the chuck right out of the box.  Sometimes, it's a cheap chuck and there's nothing you can do about it but
buy a better one.  But sometimes, it's just a matter of unbolting and remounting the chuck, or rotating it 120 degrees on the spindle
before bolting it back down, to make a huge improvement in the runout.

Speaking of chucks... I don't have any great advice here.  The cheap ones on these lathes can be great or lousy.  It's real crap shoot.
I have a an ordinary 3-jaw self-centering scroll chuck (the standard type that usually comes on these lathes) that only has .0015"
run-out which is phenomenal for any sort of self-centering chuck.   I also have a 4 jaw that also came with the lathe that is an
absolute piece of junk.  It is "bell mouthed", and too much to correct just with shimming or grinding. Bell mouth means the jaws
don't all close flat and true against each other.  They have a taper error so that either the tips touch and clamp before the back
end of the jaws, or vice versa.  So they only really grip anything you put in the jaws at one end or the other, and that doesn't keep
the stock from shifting in the jaws while you are cutting.  It also makes it darn near impossible to put anything in the jaws and clamp
it so it is really perpendicular to the chuck.

My favorite tailstock chuck is an MT-2 taper keyless 3-jaw from Grizzly that is branded "South Bend" (not really the South Bend we all know
and love from lathe days of old - it a name now used by a Chinese company).  It is an integral chuck/spindle so they won't separate,
and they are machined as one piece so it is super accurate.  It cost $85 when I bought.  Now, they are $160!  (ouch)  Make sure
you check what taper your tailstock is before you try to buy a chuck for it.  I think most of the ones in these inexpensive Sieg lathes are
MT2 or MT3.



3. For a caliper, I actually prefer an analog dial caliper to a digital one.  The digital one is not really any more accurate; it just has a
display.  And that just means a batter I have to replace.  A good American or Japanese made one will cost you $150 or more, even used,
but you don't really have to go for that.  I have one made in China that I have used for years, and it works reliably and the repeatability is good. VERY IMPORTANT -
Accuracy is important, but it is even more important that the readings be repeatable.  If you meaure the thickness of something 3 times
and get 3 different readings that are more than, say, .002" apart, it is maddening and you won't know what you have.  Don't get a plastic
one and don't go too cheap.  Places like Zoro have decent stainless steel ones for about $40.  Like I said, I have one like this and have
used it for years with good results.  (And yes, I also have a Starrett because, again, I found a used one at a great price, they are
beautiful instruments, and I couldn't resist the snob appeal).  Mitutoyo is also an outstanding brand (from Japan), but are $$$.

4. Sooner or later, you'll want a quick change tool post, as the standard tool posts make changing tool bits a time-consuming pain.
I don't know what your lathe looks like, but for these small mini lathes we all use, you will probably want a size "0XA"  (zero X  A).
You can get them from Penn Tool Co, Zoro, and even Amazon for about $150 with an assortment of mountable holders to hold your
tool bits.   They are not ultra precision devices, but since their job is only to hold a bit firmly in a fixed position, and they are adjustable,
they do the job.  You might have to do some DIY on the mounting platform for the tool post to make it fit your lathe. 

5 Probably you will find good use for some HSS tool blanks, in 1/8", 1/4" or 3/8" (at the most) sizes.  Little Machine and other online
machine places sell them.  You can shape these with a bench grinder or a Dremel with a grinding stone or diamond cutoff wheel, to
make your own custom cutting bits.  I shape the cutting edge of these blanks to make a cutter, for example, that is just the right width
to make a traction tire groove, and has sections of the tool blank cut back so they are out of the way of the rotating wheel that I am
cutting.

6. For drill bits, I use nothing but cobalt, and SCREW MACHINE LENGTH.  These are shorter than standard "jobber" drill bits, so they
don't vibrate or move off center as much as a standard bit.  Often, you can't insert a standard length bit into the chuck or collet
far enough to keep too much bit from sticking out, and the tip of that bit will move all over the place like a wet noodle, especially
as you just get the hole started.

6b. Already mentioned, but some centering drill bits. Worth their weight in gold.  Just because they stay right on point and get holes
starts dead where you want them, they will make all your drilling so much more accurate.

------
This is probably more than you want to know, or you may have already known a lot of this already, or it's more than you can use. 
But there's my dumped "stream of consciousness".

[Maletrain]

Nice write-up for tools, Max.

Do you have any tips for truing the lathe?

[Chris333]

Not lathe related, but at work I drill and thread a ton of 10-32 holes. I always hated how long the standard bits were. So I bought a bunch of double ended short bits made for auto body.

Next time I will try machine screw length.

[TinyTurner]

I really appreciate the flow of consciousness. Thank you 
Far more than I hoped for in a such a short space of time.

Apparently Unimat 3 & 4 (Austrian) lathes from the 80's have compatible parts, being M14 headstock.
Re-powering should be simple if necessary, I have heard of the electronics not lasting to long and scooter motors being used.  Its even small enough to take on RV camping trips and run of the solar batteries  

Littlemachineshop is a great find.  We just lost a store, arceurotrade which had everything, leaves very few British outlets, like Chronos and Axminster tools.  It seems that many modellers ship directly from Aliexpress.

I found an English made (CD-6''B) Mitutoyo digital vernier, boxed, for £10 at an Antique (junk) store. I didn't even try to haggle with that one   Do you ever get exited about something you found, you barely contain yourself and all the staff look at you?  Yeah...
Lot of good stuff they were selling for 'decorations', perfectly good files, chisels, scroll saw, oil cans ect.

Will start looking for some goodies.

I would also like to see a micro lathe truing guide.  It's what stumped me on the Myford.

Picture of the beast:

[ridinshotgun]

Interesting topic for the eventual future when I get a mini mill but why was it moved to product discussion when it actually a much better fit in the weathering and scratch building section since it doesn't appear to be any specific manufacturer being discussed. 

[up1950s]

Are those inch squares on the green mat below the lathe ?

[TinyTurner]

Are those inch squares on the green mat below the lathe ?

Oh gosh, no. They are 2'' squares.  Had to check though 
A0 mat from memory.
Lathe is still only 14'' long, so pretty small.