Feeling a little restricted.

[Richard.]

Shame you missed Petes Bantam, as its pretty easy to pay that sort of money for a tatty MK1.............

I know. I've been looking at them and tatty 3phase ones fetch that money. I'm surprised Petes took that long to sell tbh. I actually thought Petes was 3 phase or I would of snapped at it much sooner.
My own fault for not reading the ad properly.

 

[gaz1]

richard i priced mine up before i bought 1 started off with ml4 then got a myford ml7 though i never used the ml4 as was going to use it as a newbie machine to try

the ml7 was a bid that id never thought id win in the first place at that a cheeky bid

my size also had to change due to the homemade gearbox on mine

odd bargains are there it depends on how many bidders are wanting the machine at the time ive also noted the more weight to them and people start to ignore them so the price is low compared to ones that fit in a car

id have gone for uk racers machine nice and everything with it but petes is loverly but a bit pricey on first looking but still a nice machine if you want to spend that sort of money just for a toy to play with

 

[Keith 66]

A used warco will be cheaper for a very good reason, probably knackered out, last one i had anything to do with was showing heavy wear after just 18 months. Also sold a boxford to a guy who had had huge trouble with a variable speed warco, he scrapped it rather than inflict it on somebody.

 

[Kent]

Dealers used to pick up lathes for the price of moving them. Anyone who has ever moved such a thing will know it wasn't too sweet a deal for them

 

[Richard.]

A used warco will be cheaper for a very good reason, probably knackered out, last one i had anything to do with was showing heavy wear after just 18 months. Also sold a boxford to a guy who had had huge trouble with a variable speed warco, he scrapped it rather than inflict it on somebody.

I won't be buying a warco. Seen too many YouTube vids showing serious runout on the head stocks.
They look a lot like the generic mini lathe things in different colours.
I want something older, well made and well cared for. It doesn't need to be big or powerful but it does need to be true.

 

[Richard.]

Guys this is the best Reccommend a lathe thread I Have read.
So many ideas been thrown my way it's opened up so many avenues I didn't think we're there.
I salute you all. I've just got to grow a pair and take the plunge.
I'm thinking I'll be sorted with something hopefully next month or so. So many clued up minds on here has made me feel a good lump more confident in what would suit my needs. If anyone is thinking of selling there units and they feel it's
1) what I need
2) within my budget.
Please let me know as all will be considered.

 

[Pete.]

http://r.ebay.com/Cx4bvP

 

[Chris Stevens]

Raglan and Smart and Brown are also worth considering. But best all round for home user with limited amount of space has probably got to be a Bantam. Mine is a 1600 Mk2, and came with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, all the change gears, and doesnt look like its had that hard a life...................

 

[penfold]

You need a raglan 5 inch. It's perfect size for you. Sadly mine has now gone but they knock spots of an Myford for less than half the price. Much more rigid but not much bigger and can be removed from stand if they do come with one.

Also consider Denford Viceroy and South Bend; the SB is the orginal from which the Boxford was copied and the Viceroy is just an slightly upspecced Boxford really. You should be able to get any of these with a decent wedge of tooling within your budget. All came on sheetmetal stands with an all up weight in the quarter tonne area.

 

[MattH]

I would also suggest that you go and have a look at a few even if they're not up to your standard for purchase.
You'll be surprised at how small a Boxford or equivalent really is.

 

[Gritineye]

Something to remember is that used lathe assessing advise usually obsesses on perfect ways with no measureable wear. Don't fall into the trap of refusing an otherwise perfectly good lathe on slight way wear alone.

A small amount of wear is a very good bargaining point, but because the tool cuts on the side of a workpiece, a couple of thou vertical wear makes very little difference to the lathes ability to hold a diameter along the beds length.

It's unlikely that anything you're likely to make will need to be within such tight tolerances, a rub with emery can have more effect.

Wear on the vertical way surfaces has more effect on flat bed lathes, as the carriage can move towards the front under cutting pressure.


Hard hat on now !

 

[MattH]

Something to remember is that used lathe assessing advise usually obsesses on perfect ways with no measureable wear. Don't fall into the trap of refusing an otherwise perfectly good lathe on slight way wear alone.

A small amount of wear is a very good bargaining point, but because the tool cuts on the side of a workpiece, a couple of thou vertical wear makes very little difference to the lathes ability to hold a diameter along the beds length.

It's unlikely that anything you're likely to make will need to be within such tight tolerances, a rub with emery can have more effect.

Wear on the vertical way surfaces has more effect on flat bed lathes, as the carriage can move towards the front under cutting pressure.


Hard hat on now !

I totally agree. My Cardiff has plenty of wear and looks shabby but it doesn't appear to have been abused, just used a lot. It can easily hold a 0.001" and if I try hard I can hit 0.0001" with it but that's lots of work.

 

[Pete.]

Hitting a tenth on any manual lathe is heroic.

 

[HughF]

Buy a 500vsl, I have 3 lathes and the vsl gets the most use. It's accurate, powerful and has a decent spindle bore. There is one on ebay at the moment for a little over 1300 quid. I would suggest that you don't worry too much about buying a lathe with live centre and running steady already, just make sure it is local enough to look at, has enough spindle capacity to take the bar stock you want to turn, and isn't a total wreck. A live centre and some tooling can be had for not a lot of money. Smart & Brown and Raglan are also worth a look in the compact category as has already been mentioned

Perhaps a lathe owner who is close to Richard could spare some time to view any potential purchases with him and advise?

 

[MattH]

Hitting a tenth on any manual lathe is heroic.

LOL, you've got to get to know your cross slide screw!

 

[brewdexta]

Or get a DRO

 

[MattH]

Or get a DRO

Won't help, no way you'd be able to hit a 10th using a DRO on an older lathe. It just doesn't work, there's to much scope for flex and lash between the tip of your tool and where the cross slide scale is mounted. I am a firm supporter of DRO's on mills etc but I find I can do a better job without it on the lathe.

 

[brewdexta]

I have a DRO on my Triumph 2000, it works in that it turns on and you can see the results of moving the slides, but still waiting for power to the lathe itself before I can play properly. Should be soon now, I have been waiting for new the boiler room to get to the stage of needing wiring before getting a spark in so that I can get them both done at the same time.

I see your point given its on the cross slide not the compound slide. I shall have to wait and see if she's as baggy as a wizards sleeve or not

 

[MattH]

It's not only than but a DRO can't account for tool pressure or spring so will never be a final finish tool.
Don't get me wrong, having one is "useful" but not essential. They are great for turning shoulders and the such, but don't offer you any more precision.

 

[Kram]

If the right unit come up and was 1350 long Im sure I could make it work. I was up for taking Petes bantam which was that size.
I'm looking at myford too. I am patient. I don't fancy a warco or Clarke etc tbh.

I didnt read whole thread, not sure if you have got one yet?

The bigger warco's quality is ok, it will do the job once set up, but dont expect it to last 100 years. Customer support is rubbish, but only had minor annoyances. I bought mine because it was the only thing that would fit and be big enough for my needs which includes milling. If you want to do any milling on it, I recommend the most centre height you can get. 10" is probably a good minimum, Myfords are all smaller/longer? I have no need for a long one..

If your limited in space so cant have separate lathe/mill, having a machine that can do both is a very useful thing.