considering a lathe but so unsure

[gaz1]

im wanting a pillar drill for drilling bars and other stuff that im building however sometimes ive often thought is it worth getting a lathe instead as in my eyes i can do both jobs with it drilling holes and turning stuff in the lathe

ive had minimal practice at school with one about 30+ years ago

ive read up on some stuff on here about laths and alot going for the myford range but noticed sometimes a not named one is better sometimes as lower cost when buying one

ive spotted one and have noticed sometimes it can be taken by other people on here so am slightly reluctant to post any links for it

i have no idea what im looking for or what i should be looking for i presume moving the head piece to see if theres any wobble to it

a drummond bros early century a travel steady, 40 various cutting tools, a 3 jaw chuck, a 4 jaw chuck i only have a 9' x 9' shed so has to be small so a myford would be too big

motor collars, shaft turning of bar for say a cnc machine and other turning applications including making other wheels that have to be machine turned and threaded

could anyone advise please

 

[MattF]

That one you're referring to is a Pre-B. What type of work are you intending doing with it? They are a nice lathe, but they have limitations. The headstock bore, for example, is very small, they're MT1 in the tailstock, and they aren't best suited to heavy/large work. The styling is bloody sexy though, and the build quality with the Drummond's was exemplary.

 

[gaz1]

ive got no idea

but heres the link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/metal-wor...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item3cf08b7fce

its kinda close to me so was considering it but ive got no idea what im looking for

 

[ukracer]

If a myford is to big I would not be bothering to be perfectly honest....

 

[gaz1]

theres a few in the range i can travel to get

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boxford-L...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1c4ca730f7

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1936-ward...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item3f4440dfae

from what i remember from school its about 4ft or 5ft by 2.5 ft is a myford but myfords prices go through the roof

 

[MattF]

ive got no idea

but heres the link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/metal-wor...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item3cf08b7fce

its kinda close to me so was considering it but ive got no idea what im looking for

I'd just updated my first post with a bit more info before you posted that link, as I thought that description sounded familiar, (I have a soft spot for Drummond lathes, so keep an eye on listings ).

The main thing to check with any lathe is wear. Is there notable movement when you grasp both ends of the headstock spindle and wiggle it gently; Is there excess movement in the tailstock quill if you extend it slightly and gently wiggle; Does the carriage have tight and loose spots as you traverse the length of the bed; Same type of test with the cross slide as for carriage, as in tight and loose spots etc. You'll always have some amount of wear, but it's a case of finding one with acceptable wear. What's acceptable varies depending on how well you personally can adapt to the machine and also what type of tolerances and work you'll be working to and on.

That pre-B has a bed length of around 3', btw.

 

[Wallace]

The Boxford would be my choice from the ones you have listed despite being 3 phase. Using the lathe as a pillar drill is possible but you would be better off with both or the pillar drill first then add a lathe to your arsenal at a later date.

 

[Digger6135]

Boxford, without a shadow of doubt, they are very versatile machines, that have a massive following, spares are readily available and extra accessories are easy to come by.

Digger6135

 

[zzr1200]

I agree with Digger and Wallace, the Boxford would be the one to go for imo.

You could get a phase converter/inverter or change the motor for a single phase, there's not much difference in conversion costs between the two depending on where you buy/obtain the bits.

The only down side is that the Boxford's price will probably climb due to the included equipment, but there is a chance being as the Christmas Expenses have still to be overcome by most people it will sell at a fairly cheap price.

Good luck.

 

[piman]

Hello Gaz,

you say "im wanting a pillar drill for drilling bars

If I understand correctly then a lathe won't do that job very well it needs to be a drill?

Alec

 

[rtbcomp]

I'm not sure whether he means cross-drilling or drilling a hole in the end along the length.

 

[ukracer]

The box ford has gone now. Bigger than a myford anyway. No comparison to his other link. I think the OP really needs to do some reasearch on what lathes are out there and what he really wants to do. That second link is a capstan lathe.

I am guessing he said he did not want a myford based on price rather than size.

More haste less speed would be my advice.....

 

[MoreWellie]

i only have a 9' x 9' shed

Given the weight of most halfway decent lathes you need to consider whether your shed floor is up to adequately supporting one, especially if you are going to put it on a bench with legs and don't forget you really need a strong flat surface for the lathe otherwise the bed will twist if the bench doesn't support it correctly

 

[gaz1]

i am probably bitting off more than i can chew at moment i really have no idea other than i would want 240v and not 3 phase

would i want to pay the price of a myford for just hobby use, no parts maybe better getting for them
ive looked at hobby machines for the job and noticed on here there not worth buying the same can be said with the pillar drill hobby or low cost is cheaply made

what would i be using it for machining
motor shaft collars, shaft turning of bar for say building a cnc machine and other turning applications including making other belt pulley wheels, wheels that have to be machine turned and threaded

drilling a hole into a bar and then threading it, drilling a hole into a blank disc ( flywheel) and drilling it and threading it, a pivot arm
also with the building of rocket burners i would need to drill a bar and use screw threads for certain things

would i ever use the lathe unknown at the moment as ive said before ive only casual used one at school a long time ago

is roughly what i would be using it for the pillar drill taken under advisement already but im seeking an old one even if it means fitting a new motor on it i presume i would also be looking for the same play on the head shank of the drill

i also was curious if i wanted to buy one what i would be looking at if buying a used one where would the faults be on a lathe if it had any

thanks for all that have replied so far and i had to think what i would be using one for if i did buy one of them
but i do find the hobby ones are cheap and from reading here some would be fit for light usage and thats it chuck away buy another

 

[Kent]

A man needs a pillar drill in his shop before he needs a lathe!

 

[optima21]

when I started playing with metal,my shed was 5ft x 5ft, so a boxford of myford would have taken up too much space, so instead I ended up getting a hobbymat lathe (manufactured in East Germany just before the wall came down). over the years there have only been a few times that its been too small for what I need to do, but most of the time its only small things I need to make. if you can get them cheap enough,they're not bad toys, but like most things, as the range of equipment and accessories grows so does the prices. I think it was about £400 new when I got it, then I got a 2nd hand milling head for it for peanuts, from a salesman that I knew who worked for the importer and it had never been used ( the importer was c z scientific instruments, who were importing inspection and zeiss optical equipment). then I eventually got the compound table for the milling head and so a toy milling machine as well now. these were bought in the days before the internet so tracking down good second hand equipment was harder than it is now.

you have to work out if you can live with a smaller lathe and their limitations, and some of the quirks, like I think either the leadscrew or cross slide goes in the wrong direction compared to a normal lathe.

also it looks like many of the newer "toy" machines (mines a toy too), have variable speed drives rather that fixed speed drives, so if they are used on larger diameter workpieces (larger being a relative term) they loose massive amounts of torque. mine has a slow speed attachment it will run at 75rpm with full power from the motor. I've seen standard ones that basically look like new for £200 on ebay (none are listed currently)

http://www.lathes.co.uk/hobbymat/

 

[waddycall]

You never know what you'll use a lathe for until you get one. Once you've got one they're great for getting you out of trouble.
If you mainly want to do drilling I'd be tempted to get a decent pillar drill. Drilling in a lathe from the tailstock can be tedious unless you get a lathe with a lever feed for the tailstock quill.

 

[MrFluffy]

No offence intended here, but I personally think you'd be better off getting a cheap chinese mini lathe small enough to fit in the boot of a car while you work out what your going to do with it and a old pillar drill, to see if the lathe does what you need and doing a bit of learning on it + the two complement each other.
Then... you will be in a better place to buy a nice old substantial lathe eyes open to potential problems + prepared for the extra costs in moving it, knowing what you need and have a bit of experience under your belt having worked out what it can do for you, know what sort of tooling you want, and you'll appreciate how much nicer it is too.

 

[MrFluffy]

Have to add, your things you want it for can be mostly accomplished on a smaller lathe with a bit of cunning and patience.

Yes, on your used drill, extend the quill fully down and try to work it back and forward, they will all have a tiny bit of flex, but if you can feel more than a bit or can feel it loose enough to click then its worn and needs some attention. I did go a local tool supplier and his new line of cheap pillar drills all failed my tests and they were brand new mind. Depends on how picky you can afford to be

We all bite off more than we can chew, I still get that feeling occasionally when venturing into new to me territory and Ive got a shed full of machinery. Buying a blown up wire edm for its scrap value nearly pushed me over the edge, but now I have a working cnc wire edm in my shed worth several thousands. If I'd listened to all the sensible peoples advice...

 

[MattF]

A man needs a pillar drill in his shop before he needs a lathe!

Tosh. I'd have the lathe over the pillar drill every time. Even now, I still only use the pillar drill if I must. Granted though, it does make drilling so much quicker, simpler and straight forward.