Undertake modifications at your own risk. Safety is your decision. Remember your warranty may be affected.

I changed some obvious and simple things right away after completing my out-of-the-crate evaluation for this review.

I used thumb screws in place of the Phillips head screws for the two cover fastenings. I also added some nylon washers that I had in my parts bin.

I removed the bent spring and instead wound Teflon pipe dope ribbon (folded three times lengthwise to fit the groove width) until it was just above the top of the groove. Then I "screwed" the dial into place, polishing the Teflon and molding it into a near solid. With just enough material (you can take some off or add more) the dial has enough friction to keep it from turning unless you want it to. And it really feels smooth when you do.

The ~1/4" plate that acts as a carrier for the tensioning pulley, jackshaft pulley, and gear mounting comes with a hole into the side of the electrical junction box. In addition, the inside of the sheet metal cover over the belt/gear assemblies has a bent metal tab welded to it in alignment with that hole. Some LatheMaster units have been delivered with a safety cut-out switch (mounted in the hole) that is wired into the power circuit so that the motor will not run if the door is open, exposing the moving belts and gears. Some LatheMaster units have not had this hole and I am not sure about the HF version but mine does have this hole.

This a good safety feature: it is fairly simple to mount a pushbutton switch in the hole, the one I used was the right size and had the right projection to be activated by the door tab. It only needs to be wired into the hot (line) side of the 120VAC incoming. The back of the switch is inside the electrical junction box with other 120VAC components so it is safe to mount there. The terminals could be insulated with heat shrink, I used insulated spade lug push-on connectors for connection to the switch since it had spade lugs.

I added a spring and washer between the Tailstock clamping plate and the underside of the bed to make the release of the bolt more positive.

This and the other Chinese lathes that come with an advertised 3/4 Hp motor appear to have enough power at the cutting edge but don't believe the 3/4 Hp hype. These motors are actually rated only in watts not HP by the motor manufacturer in China. The nameplate rating for most is 550 watts. The conversion rule for watts to Hp is 746 watts equals 1 Hp, so taken literally the Hp rating would be .74 Hp. In fact the rule only applies for a theoretically perfect motor, something never built.

These 550 watt Chinese motors draw less than 6 amps at full load and cannot be real 3/4 Hp motors. A true 3/4 Hp motor, nameplate rated at 3/4 Hp, draws nearly 10 amps at full load. The OEM Chinese motor then is actually less than 1/2 Hp in actual full load power available.

I have never had a variable speed lathe before, being of the belt and step-pulley persuasion. I decided it might be interesting and a good learning experience to convert this lathe to a variable speed drive. Looking through the various web pages of folks who have converted their 9x lathes I was somewhat concerned that most used surplus treadmill motors. And why not? After all they are cheap, of adequate Hp, the drive electronics are available, and they are usually rather slender so that they fit the space previously occupied by the Chinese AC motor.

Well, the main problems I saw with these treadmill motors are that 1. They are usually rated for intermittent duty only, and 2. They are all open frame motors, most without any cooling ability built-in. These matter to me because I don't want to have to think about a duty cycle in my lathe motor when I am in the middle of a project. I also do not like the idea of using an open frame motor on any machine tool that makes chips unless that motor is well removed from the active area of the tool. On this, and most benchtop lathes, the motor is tucked right up under the back of the bed behind the headstock.

So I looked for a TEFC (Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled) motor that was rated in a range that I thought usable and for which I could get an electronic speed control that wouldn't break my budget. I settled on a quality American-made Reliance Electric TEFC 1/2 Hp 120 VDC 5500RPM max. unit I found at Surplus Center for $80.00 and an open chassis Minarik Speed Control unit for $40.00 (www.surpluscenter.com) This motor is a combination base mount/C-frame motor. Why did I go with a 1/2 Hp motor when the original motor on this lathe is "3/4 Hp"? For the answer read the "Motors" section just above.

As you can see from the images, this new motor dwarfs the Chinese motor. I took some measurements of the area where the motor should go and I believe I can make it fit with a little trimming of the sheet metal cover. The mounting may have to be slightly different from the original motor that is bolted to the side of the bed with the base perpendicular to the benchtop since the base of the larger motor won't fit that same area. I also determined that the electronics board will fit up into the sheet metal cover, out of harm's way. A control pot(entiometer) is the only other device that needs to be mounted and that will go on the front panel.

I intend to add a switch to the speed adjustment pot with an interlock in the wiring circuit so that the motor must be started from stop at zero or low RPM. I will add images and more text here as I progress with this modification.

I have a really nice TS Engineering QCTP on my Sherline lathe and find it useful. (LMS sells them.) My Atlas 12" lathe has a 4-way tool post I installed when I got tired of messing with the original lantern style TP. I decided that this new lathe should have a QCTP too. Rene Teo at TS Engineering modified one of his excellent QCTPs for me to fit the 8x but when it came time to install it I just felt it was too small for the job and better suited to a 7x. J.W. Early, one of the "elder statesmen" of the Yahoo 7x10 group, and a professional machinist, has standardized on the Harbor Freight #39083 QCTP (buying when they are on sale for $80.); he has even put them on the 7x lathes although I personally think they are a little too big on that lathe.

So I waited for the next HF sale and picked up a #39083. As you can see from the images it is a little tall and I will have to shave the bottom of the main body maybe 1/4" to get the tool down to the right center height without the tool holder bottoming out on the compound slide. I don't want to weaken the tool holders by taking stock off their bottom surface so may just use a 3/8" tool bit rather than the 1/2" tool bits these holders were made for. The typical workpiece for which I will be using this lathe will benefit from a smaller toolbit anyway. More pics and text as I get this done.

I had installed a two axis DRO (Digital ReadOut) on my Clausing vertical mill about 15 years ago and have loved it ever since. I never bothered with a DRO on the Z axis but I put a modified Bridgeport power feed on the X axis. Those two mods probably save me 35% of the time in any job.

Anyway, I thought my first lathe DRO should go on this 8x since I'm playing with it anyway. The best buy out there right now in a DRO is the Shumatech 350 by Scott Shuma. (www.shumatech.com) This is a DIY unit with the PC boards, mylar face plates, and PIC software available from Shumatech. If you're not comfortable with electronics assembly you don't have to build it yourself, the "shumatech" Yahoo group has a few guys who will assemble one for you cheap. Shumatech supplies a BOM (Bill of Materials) that can be downloaded right to Mouser Electronics so you don't have to itemize an order. This is a very sophisticated DRO with capabilities far beyond just measuring axis travel. For instance, the third readout on mine for this lathe will be used for spindle RPM.

The Shumatech 350 can be used either with the Chinese linear scales (similar to the Chinese digital calipers but without the jaws) or with rotary encoders mounted on the axis screws. There are pros and cons for each type. I will use rigid scales on this 8x. Of course the big trick with a DRO is mounting the scales so that they do the job, are protected, and don't get in the way. Contradictory and not so easy, so I will report more on my progress here later.

Contrary to the image here I'll be mounting the DRO somewhere above or to the left of the electric control panel; I want it where I can reach the buttons but not where I have to reach across the workpiece.

For those occasions when you might want to turn a LH thread it is handy to have a tumbler lever to reverse the leadscrew direction. The basic 8x performs this task by moving the primary intermediate gear to a second position below the spindle such that it doesn't engage the gear teeth on the spindle. A secondary intermediate gear (supplied) is then mounted with its teeth engaging both the spindle gear and the primary gear that, in turn, (pun intended) transmits motion to the banjo gears driving the leadscrew in reverse.

That all sounds pretty complicated; it isn't, but moving those gears around in the limited space under the spindle gear and drive pulley is a nuisance. Also it is nice to have a neutral wherein the leadscrew is not turning at all. You don't need all that stuff rotating unless you are using the power feed or threading something. You can get a neutral by shifting the banjo away from the idler gear, but again its a nuisance to have to be wrenching whenever you just want to alter leadscrew direction or stop it altogether.

To be frank, I cannot remember the last time I cut a LH thread, but a simple lever-shift neutral setting is worth the effort of doing this, in my opinion.

I have devised (I believe; "looks good on paper" are famous last words) a rather simple and yet rather elegant tumbler lever arrangement that I will try to incorporate into my 8x when I do the variable speed DC drive thing. So more to come on this subject.

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