Buying a Lathe

[jimmy shoes]

Hi, been awhile since I last posted.

I have been looking at small lathes lately, just to learn mostly and do the odd project.

Found this one on Ebay earlier http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMA210VG-...erTools_SM&hash=item53eaecb4be#ht_1438wt_1041

could you tell me if its a sound investment.

I can't really have a big lathe as i have a small shed.

Thanks!

 

[Shox Dr]

how much have you got to spend, at 700quid you are well into Myford prices and at least you'll have a lathe worth selling after you have finished with it

 

[brightspark]

how much have you got to spend, at 700quid you are well into Myford prices and at least you'll have a lathe worth selling after you have finished with it

worth the investment just make sure u go have a look at it 1st before buying theres some right sh .,././te advertised on ebay and theres some decent ones 2 its just that some peoples description as good condition leaves a lot to be desired . make sure theres a 3 and 4 jaw chuck with it as well prefrebaly

 

[jackjosh]

Not sure what it would be like but it goes down to 50 RPM so you should be able to cut threads on it as some of the others have a min speed of 100. Myfords are good but you may also want to look at some of the smaller Boxfords or even an atlas 10". I have a Raglan Littlejohn, which is quite hefty but a great piece of kit.

 

[jimmy shoes]

well i would like to learn how to cut thread and such, the low RPM caught my eye. Are there any questions i should ask the seller, im not that knowledgeable right now about laths etc, all i know is that clarke aint good lol

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

These Mini Lathes are common and just have a different name plate.

ArcUrotrade do one for £561 and is similair but without the speed readout which in my opinion is not necessarily needed as you can usually guess speed variants once you have had some practice with the lathe.

Dunno how much their carriage is but I think it'll be around the £40 mark?

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catal...Model-C3-Mini-Lathe/Model-Super-C3-Mini-Lathe

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

all i know is that clarke aint good lol

Well that ones a clarke in disguise.

 

[brightspark]

Well that ones a clarke in disguise.

badged up tools

 

[Pete.]

I would never pay £700 for that.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

I would never pay £700 for that.

Neither would I but on the face of It being like JimmyShoes do not have the space for real lathe and so have to do with a small mini-lathe.mind you though I only paid £300 for mine......damned if I'm gonna fork out £700 for a new model.

I've found out how to part the job without sweating and biting me nails.

 

[brightspark]

[Q

I've found out how to part the job without sweating and biting me nails. [/QUOTE]what run the lathe and cut it off using a hand hacksaw instead of a parting tool

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

what run the lathe and cut it off using a hand hacksaw instead of a parting tool

Nah man.....turn the tool upside down and throw the machine in reverse.

 

[Pete.]

Parting is easy if you make a tool like mine:

http://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/vids/parting.wmv

 

[brightspark]

Parting is easy if you make a tool like mine:

http://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/vids/parting.wmv

a standard parting tool on some small ally bar . try it with steel on something larger at a slow speed.the acid test

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

We're talking MiniLathe here,Pete

The forces is far greater in normal parting on the mini lathe and can create chatter and if we reverse the rotation and put the tool upside down the forces become lesser

 

[Pete.]

a standard parting tool on some small ally bar . try it with steel on something larger at a slow speed.the acid test

http://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/vids/partingsteel.wmv

 

[brightspark]

http://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/vids/partingsteel.wmv

more small bar try parting 4 inch steel tube and not climb out of the chuck

 

[Pete.]

Part off 4" bar in a 5" chuck - right-o.

It's not a standard tool BTW, I made it by cutting a slice from a sawblade. Loads of relief and clearance means that it doesn't really matter what diameter bar it's parting, within limits - it has no problem clearing the chips.

 

[Rudi McAnichal]

www.Lathes.co.uk has a page of advice on buying a lathe, plus an enormous amount of information about different models, and there are usually a number of small secondhand machines listed for sale. Another place to look for used lathes is www.homeworkshop.org.uk

A good quality lathe will typically have a bed that is quite wide in relation to the centre height. High centres and a narrow bed tend to indicate a lack of rigidity, making it very difficult to do any accurate work.

To my eyes, the tailstock in the picture of that AMA lathe seems very tall in comparison to other dimensions. I have difficulty seeing how that can be a rigid machine, unless the AMA designers are much cleverer than those employed by Myford, Boxford, Harrison, Colchester, etc.

 

[brightspark]

Part off 4" bar in a 5" chuck - right-o.

It's not a standard tool BTW, I made it by cutting a slice from a sawblade. Loads of relief and clearance means that it doesn't really matter what diameter bar it's parting, within limits - it has no problem clearing the chips.

i did say 4inch tube not bar and no problem with a 5 inch chuck using reverse jaws