Lathe (moved from bench drill thread)

[snowcat]

sentiments of Herang, buying machines on ebay blind is pot luck, dogs of machines seem to make stupid money, a machine with worn bed-ways saddle cross slide etc, will always be hard to use, its much the reason why many home users have problems with jobs like parting....... My smallest Colchester a Master, has developed a nasty rattle, which can only be gearbox problems, along with slack in the crosslide, and a four way tool post which no longer wants to stay tight, its going you've guessed it on ebay, in the near future. I suspect many machines on there have a similar story.....

Ohhh and dont even get me started on the state of some of the Bridgeports people have paid money for on there....

Colchesters BTW, are now Chinese made and have been for some time.....

 

[paulmowers]

Hi Guys

Anyone know if the lathes sold by axminster are any good?
keep looking at them in the catalogue, price is good but wonder about the quality.

 

[hareng]

Being honest here, my old Myford ML7 was left outside for three years without tail stock, motor, switch but on its stand.
I bought a cheap ****** miller from Chester on an Open Day 5 years ago about 3/4 tonne, needed to get it home and unloaded. Gave what was left of the Myford to the bloke who brought the miller back.
Stand went for £140 odd and got more than £300 for the chucks, face plates, full set of change wheels, cross and top slides, travelling and fixed steadies (3.) Sure i gave him £50 to bring it back as well
Seen many things 2nd hand on ebay go for more than the new delivered price, need to do your homework.

Put a 16mm masonary drill through the headstock on ML7, couldnt do anything. Will work with 1 1/4" dia but it takes an eternity to get down to 14mm where they start to perform, so be warned.

Now the point being new ****** like for like are less than £1k but wont last and parts non existent. Advice is 2nd hand Boxford or Myford thats good.

Next may be a good 2nd hand Colchester but finding one is near non existent, the asians and Indians bought them all to set up manufacturing.
Wouldnt rule out a ****** poss one of these in 1m length http://www.chesteruk.net/store/coventry_lathe.htm But at thos prices aftyer haggling, certainly could find a good Colchester, DSG, Harrison, etc.

 

[hareng]

Just came across this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dewhurst-Reve...14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:4|65:12|39:1|240:1318
Used to buy them from local engineering suppliers at £6 to £8 each new, guess where mines going

 

[jugs]

Myfords are nice little (overpriced ) machines for playing about with little model steam engines in a shed at the bottom of the garden, taking 10 thou cuts. They are far too lightly built for proper work .

I have an old Smart & Brown (as well as a Myford Super 7), similar capacity to a Myford, but the front bearing on the S&B headstock is almost as big as a complete Myford headstock, so I take 100 thou cuts and get a mirror finish .

As previous posts say, you want a good solid heavy machine, but you can't safely buy a second hand one unseen.

"Anyone know if the lathes sold by axminster are any good?
keep looking at them in the catalogue, price is good but wonder about the quality."

Probably better value for money than Myfords

 

[hareng]

Just having a browse came across this, approx 16" longer than an ML7 and you can put 1/2" cuts on.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Harrison-140-...14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:4|65:12|39:1|240:1318
Suspect a rat on this one reckon £5 to £600 it will go for and it aint got a working pump, splash back or Norton gearbox circa 1965.
Worth a look over if in the area otherwise too risky.
Just an idea its more versatile than a small Myford and get a job done 30 times quicker.

 

[hareng]

Same machines from same factory in China, may be the switch gear and colour changes to who sell these machines, Sealey, Axminster, Chester, Warco, Machine Mart, etc
Same machines
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-...EG-CQ6230B-910-Metal-Turning-Lathe-570771.htm
http://www.chesteruk.net/store/crusader_lathe.htm
Put an order in, state colour and have your name on a machine is how it works.

Smaller ****** less than chester 920 i would rather go without or have a s/h English or US machine, too many annoying things. One model can take you well over 2hrs to change a change wheel. Variable speeds seem to have no torque and purely rely on the speed regardless of motor size.
Got a cheap http://www.chesteruk.net/store/conquest_lathe.htm Purely for one job and that is spin polishing 1/8" dia round 1/2" long. Finger and thumb you can easily stop the chuck and it cost £210 new same as other places inc Machine Mart, Axminster etc.

 

[chriskelland]

Hi,

I was looking for a Myford, but as said before very bad lathes go for silly money. Saw a ML7 at the midlands show for a grand, supposed to have been re-built, still looked a dog. I got a Warco 918, nice little lathe, 4 inch. All come from the same factory but the finish on the Warco is a lot better than the others. Also have a Warco milling machine, nice has a dovetail column.

Chris.

 

[HasBean]

Variable speeds seem to have no torque and purely rely on the speed regardless of motor size

I've found that. Three phase motor and inverter seems to be the way to go.

I think there are three main manufacturers of lathes/mills in China, all building the same models (so I've heard). I understand Warco re-engineer at their premises ie a couple of shims and a wipe with an oily rag. Chester state they have modifications made at build time to their own spec. Can't vouch for Axminster but I used to use (and still have) their equivalent of a 920 which had upgraded headstock bearings and a myford threaded spindle which was usefull.

Paul

 

[HasBean]

Boxfords are supposed to be very good, never used one though, but did evening classes years ago and had a go on an old round head Colchester Student and a Harrison M250. I wanted to buy a Harrison but just didn't have the space for it
My instuctor used to work for RCA and when they closed down he managed to walk off with a Hardinge toolroom job for nothing

 

[chriskelland]

Warco don't do anything to their machines, they are delivered as crated. Built to a better spec though. Hobby machines are delivered by carrier, but the larger machines are delivered by Warc's own trucks and are craned into position. Mate of mine has just got a 1330, very nice lathe well made. Has a gap bed and will turn 19" & 8" over the cross slide.

Myford havent had a stand at any of the ME exibitions this year, I'd be interested to see if their at Ally Pally in January.

Chris.

 

[BIGROG]

Morning Folks.

Wow! opened up the site today and we have our own Lathe thread (thank you Mr Mod), keep it comming this is all great info. Just to put things into perspective, the reasons I went for the ML7 are, I am a hobby engineer so most projects will be small and with no time limits, I may be moving house soon so it had to be easy to move, I have used a super 7 before but the main thing is, I have a thing about old machines (sad I know), I have just (sadly) given my old Denbiegh pillar drill to a family friend as I have got the Startrite now, I just think the Myford looks classic. Boxfords and Harrisons are great lathes but at my age just too heavy to transport. Please forgive my spelling, never been my best skill. Anyway, looks like I will be picking up the Myford on Tues or Wed, I have got a hire van booked provisionaly to collect it so today I will be making space in the garage for her and running a new direct spur from the fusebox, all very exciting, can't wait
Rog

 

[hareng]

Rog probably made the best choice providing its ok.
Collected a Myford ML7, stand, tray, 3 chucks, steadies and extra extra tooling in a MK1 XR2. Was on its last legs though.

Some machines are uncrated at Chester, checked over before delivery but usually the larger ones. Local distribution depot just opened up in Cannock a mate haggled for one of these 1m centres £3k http://www.chesteruk.net/store/coventry_lathe.htm
Says its accurate 4 thou over 12".
He did order from Warco but they messed him about. Long story promised two weeks, escalated to 4 months then cancelled, they were not happy. I have been ripped off by them as well paid up front, tolerated the shirty responses and still waited shy of four months, to top that delivered and invoiced to one of their other customers across the road who could have said nowt.

Nearly bought one of these 8 years ago, glad i didnt D1-5 mounting! Who else uses that either D1-4 or D1-6. http://www.chesteruk.net/store/cub_lathe.htm

 

[HasBean]

Yup, my Warco mill/drill was 'in the post', just a couple of weeks Sir
Christ knows how long it took, I've wiped the experience from my mind but I did find them very helpfull, if only I'd been told the expected delivery time in the first place....
Having said that my experiences with Chester are no better (if not worse! Actually pretty diabolical ), but having said that I have had nothing but excellent service from both Axminster & Myford so

 

[BIGROG]

Thanks Hareng.

I am very happy with the price and the location, most on Fleabay seem to be miles away from me so to find one that close (20miles) was a bonus. Another plus is, there seems to be plenty of spares and accesories available for ML7s, anyway it looks like it's all systems go for Wednesday, got the van booked the hard bit is clearing enough space in the garage for it, spent all day moving stuff about yesterday I think the van will be doing a trip to the dump too still it will be all worth it I am sure

Rog

 

[BIGROG]

GEEZ... has this week gone slow, just waiting for tomorrow to pick up the Myford, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve

Rog.

 

[JW240]

Myfords are nice, a friend of mine has 2 of them. great machines! They are pretty expensive over here too.

I got an old lathe last year, here are some pics.

(bad pic)

It is a bit big for hobby use. Still busy with cleaning it up, the bed was rusty and everything was covered/plugged with wood dust since they used it for working with wood at some point. The bearings look a bit rough, i hope i can straighten them out.

 

[shenion]

Well, should pick up a Craftsman 12x36 tonight. Supposedly an Atlas:

Have read the user groups on them. This one looks to be one of the better ones. The known problems seem manageable (worn half nuts seem to be the biggest issue.) It is an older model with no quick change gearbox (swap gears for threading.) Looks like he has all the gears, 3 and 4-jaw chucks and all kinds of accessories. Even has a milling attachment.

Wish me luck

 

[HasBean]

Scott, To be honest I never found swapping change wheels a problem on my first lathe, just had it set up so I could easily swap between 2/4/6 thou feed per rev Never did a lot of thread cutting.
Is Atlas a 'type' of Craftsman lathe? I've used an Atlas (as in the manufacturer), the biggest lathe I've ever used (which doesn't say much ) 12-14" centre height, 8' between centres (from what I remember) All the controls were on the saddle. That 4 jaw chuck must've weighed a ton!

Lathes are great, wouldn't be without mine regardless of it's capacity. (Something to do with my tool fetish maybe? )

Paul

 

[shenion]

I don't have a problem changing gears other than it is messy. I don't do much threading anyway. The gear change is nice as all the gears are there in a closed box, kept clean and oiled.

Sears/Craftsman lathes were made by Atlas and AA/Dunlap. There was a rebadged Sherline also.

I already have one of the Craftsman 6x24" AA lathes. It is a piece of junk. 6" turn but has a head spindle that is only 0.550" in diameter (hollow too.) So, most used ones have bent spindles. Mine seems ok, but have been fighting chattering. The cross slide does not want to track well if there is any wear. Feed and cross feed threads are 24 TPI so 1 turn=0.041666" Hard to do any accuracy.

I did add a beefy 4-jaw chuck (takes up about 5"), quick-change tool post. I also fitted a Sherline cross-slide; that gave me a graduated dial and got rid of some play.

This will be my 3rd lathe. First was a Sherline. Real accurate but tiny and too weak to turn steel over 1/2".

Funny, the biggest gripes I read about the Atlas is it is too weak: "Can only turn about 0.035 at a time". I guess for production that would be an issue. The AA and Sherline struggle to turn 0.007 at a pass. So, I will be real happy to do .025

Been looking for a better lathe for months. Called guy who had a South Bend. Said he was going out of town, call back Sun morning. Called and he said "just sold it". 2 more lates on Craig's list, Craftsman Commercial (Atlas) and Rockwell don't even answer their emails.

Hope this one works out. Looks like a good deal at $500.

I'm amazed how much having a lathe has changed things. That with a welder has made me less dependent on having to buy custom-made parts or tools. Lots of fun too.