which lathe to go with new Bridgeport

[gasket999]

I was hoping for a couple of suggestions for which model lathes to look out for in the classifieds.

I've just finished building my new workshop, so have plenty of space and have just bought a nice old Bridgeport milling machine (belt drive, nothing fancy). But I need a lathe to complement the mill. The sort of work I do is generally automotive-related (larger vintage commercials) so plenty of shafts and pulleys and if at all practicable I'd be particularly interested in something that would occasionally cope with larger diameter parts (10-12" brake drums) so a gap bed might be a good idea.

Initially I went to look at a couple of Myfords but they just felt too lightweight and obviously had nowhere near the swing. I then looked at a Harrison (might have been an L5A it had about 11/12" swing) but it was poorly and I wasn't sure on parts support.

Budget starting point is £1000-1500 but with flexibility if needed. Looking for something commonly available with good parts/community support. And it will be running on single phase so am prepared for VFD tinkering. I'd also ideally like a gearbox rather than having to change gears for thread cutting.

 

[Smouser]

The only choice is an Elliott Omnispeed! But I am biased

The Harrison M300 seem to be a popular choice and capable machine. Much better and capable than a Myford.

@RobCox liked his Harrison M300 so much, he got another.

On his channel, you can see him using his lathe for various tasks.

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[RobCox]

I'll be selling my long bed Harrison M300 sometime in the new year. That would possibly suit your needs and fit the budget. It is mechanically sound as I stripped it down and fixed anything that needed doing after I acquired it 7 years ago. The bed has some wear but I've managed to make good parts with it nonetheless. I've replaced it with a short bed M300 which will give me extra room in a small workshop and the short bed has had very little use.

 

[gasket999]

M300s do seem to be readily available and lathes.co.uk says they've been produced from 1971 to date which is a big tick. It also says it has a spindle height of 167mm - am I right in thinking that that means that I could turn something with a diameter of 167mm x 2 = 334mm/>13"?

That sounds like an ideal choice - thank you.

Rob - thanks for the heads-up. I wasn't planning to buy for a couple of months yet but happy to keep in touch

 

[Agroshield]

As above, size-wise, M300 in the Harrison stable or Student in the Colchester stable.

Your budget is a little on the low side for something that is not worn out and comes with all accessories, so if RobCox's meets that budget, bite his arm off. If you can add another £250-500 to that, I think you would achieve a better long term result. A toolpost and cutting tools would add some more to that number.

Other than that, you then enter into more esoteric (less common) models, such as the Omnispeed above, DSG, some of the Eastern Europe ones (Stanko, TOS) and the Taiwanese ones (e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286096709183). Look on eBay between £2000-£1500 and tell us what you see as there may be models not mentioned here.

Things like an M250, L5A, Bantam, Chipmaster are the next size down and might be a little small for your requirements.

Myford are another step down in size (so two steps removed from the size that would be a good fit to your needs).

 

[RobCox]

am I right in thinking that that means that I could turn something with a diameter of 167mm x 2 = 334mm/>13"?

The swing is about that, yes. It might only be 12", but with the gap piece removed and the workpiece bolted to a faceplate you might manage closer to 18".
New spares are available, but there's a ready supply of used parts. Neither are cheap, but the used ones are at least affordable.

 

[RobCox]

I wasn't planning to buy for a couple of months

I won't be selling mine for a couple of months till the shortbed is cleaned, painted and reassembled.

 

[gasket999]

Thanks everyone. Colchester Student is another good shout - appreciate there was crossover in the M300 era but even the early ones had 12 and 13" swings which would be enough. Budget can stretch for the right one, so I'll have a good look at the market early in 2025.

 

[Brad93]

I was hoping for a couple of suggestions for which model lathes to look out for in the classifieds.

I've just finished building my new workshop, so have plenty of space and have just bought a nice old Bridgeport milling machine (belt drive, nothing fancy). But I need a lathe to complement the mill. The sort of work I do is generally automotive-related (larger vintage commercials) so plenty of shafts and pulleys and if at all practicable I'd be particularly interested in something that would occasionally cope with larger diameter parts (10-12" brake drums) so a gap bed might be a good idea.

Initially I went to look at a couple of Myfords but they just felt too lightweight and obviously had nowhere near the swing. I then looked at a Harrison (might have been an L5A it had about 11/12" swing) but it was poorly and I wasn't sure on parts support.

Budget starting point is £1000-1500 but with flexibility if needed. Looking for something commonly available with good parts/community support. And it will be running on single phase so am prepared for VFD tinkering. I'd also ideally like a gearbox rather than having to change gears for thread cutting.

No lathe you buy second hand in this country is going to have parts support.

Even colchester don't make parts for their old machines any more.
You'll have to go to dealers or breakers that specialise in your model. Or Ebay.


If you want part support, look at Chinese cheap lathes, they'll sell you the parts - for almost the equivalent of another machine.
You can look at Gate, Chester, Warco. All bring in chinese machines, rebadge and do have spares.

Other option is European manufacturers such as ZMM, Stanko, LDV, Weiler and Schaublin. Some spanish and italian mobs too but i forget their names.
You'll need the equivalent of a house deposit for any one of those machines though.

 

[Brad93]

Thanks everyone. Colchester Student is another good shout - appreciate there was crossover in the M300 era but even the early ones had 12 and 13" swings which would be enough. Budget can stretch for the right one, so I'll have a good look at the market early in 2025.

You won't buy an M300 or later student in that budget i'm afraid - unless you can buy at auction cheap.

That kind of money is older Colchester Bantam / Student money.

 

[dieselsamurai]

And the other thing you need to think about is accessories, you can easily spend 1k in bits and bobs if it comes with nothing especially only 1 chuck. You need a 3 jaw 4 jaw and faceplate eventually , but if it only comes with 1 a 4 jaw is the best. Quick change toolposts are a godsend but on those size machines they are not cheap. Faffing around with shims to set the height of tools gets boring very quickly. Fixed and traveling study useful but not essential but one day will be a job that you cant do without one trust me !
Then theres tooling you can start with cheep from the far east but you notice the difference in quality and thats not cheap either.

 

[Brad93]

And the other thing you need to think about is accessories, you can easily spend 1k in bits and bobs if it comes with nothing especially only 1 chuck. You need a 3 jaw 4 jaw and faceplate eventually , but if it only comes with 1 a 4 jaw is the best. Quick change toolposts are a godsend but on those size machines they are not cheap. Faffing around with shims to set the height of tools gets boring very quickly. Fixed and traveling study useful but not essential but one day will be a job that you cant do without one trust me !
Then theres tooling you can start with cheep from the far east but you notice the difference in quality and thats not cheap either.

I echo these comments.

Fixed steady and a 4 jaw are irreplaceable for repair work

 

[Shiny Steve]

As above, M300s are a really capable small foot print machine I think of them as an industrial version of a hobby machine, really nice small machines to use, but Harrison seem to go from small to large without a lot in between, m400s are huge in comparison. Colchester do a few small but stout machines like the triumph these are a bit more of an intermediate machine. Just be aware that later Colchester’s seem to suffer with really noisy headstocks.

 

[minimutly]

I'm a Colchester Triumph round top fan, the one I have has been used and used. But the gearbox and headstock are perfectly quiet. My only regret is not buying a short bed locally that went for £500 and swapping. The long bed I have is never used, in fact only once in memory - setting up an auto grass propshaft for welding.

 

[Mikes]

Lots of good advice given here already and as a M300 owner, I would give a vote for one of those. The only thing that I would add is to keep an open mind and not restrict your search to just the one chosen make / model. I waited ages for a decent M300 to come along but in the meantime looked at all sorts of other makes. I'm also an Elliot fan but there were many other candidates to look at. The excellent right-ups on the Lathes UK site soon give you the low-down on all of their quirks. Also, the hunt for missing accessories can be all consuming and costly so try to get the best equipped machine that you can.

 

[northwest]

I'm a Colchester Triumph round top fan, the one I have has been used and used. But the gearbox and headstock are perfectly quiet. My only regret is not buying a short bed locally that went for £500 and swapping. The long bed I have is never used, in fact only once in memory - setting up an auto grass propshaft for welding.

Well I might just nip round to yours with a job I have on, I need three foot between centres. But to really address the OP's question, buy the absolutely biggest machine you can fit into the space available, a myford is, frankly, a toy. Many, many people have turned out incredible work on Myfords and smaller machines but they are so very restrictive and the spindle bore is just crippling, I could do with bigger and I have 1 5/8".
I remember when John Stevenson had his machine built for him, he special ordered a big bore spindle, through head capacity can be a deal breaker on some jobs.

 

[minimutly]

Someone who I know and sometimes work with was on about buying a Warco. I persuaded him to wait for a Triumph round top. Eventually he found one from a pro machinist retiring - induction hardened bedways, demonstrated running, loads of bits including rubber collet chuck, all the steadies etc for £1400 - absolute peach. Sure you can't buy spares, but realistically, as a hobby user what are you going to wear out? Students seem overpriced to me, but the Bantam seems better value.

 

[indy4x]

If you have time on your side then regular searches on eBay, FB Marketplace etc will give you an idea what is out there and what they sell for

EBay auctions will give you a better idea of what selling prices are rather than the buy it now listing's that seem to hang around for ages

Also worth checking out auction houses, popped into Pughs Auctions in Ledbury last week. They predominantly do agricultural stuff but also have dedicated sales of other stuff. They have a machinery auction on the 4th Jan and some of the lots were in their barn, there were 2x Myfords and a Boxford model A. Appreciate they are smaller than you are looking for but you never know what turns up at these places

Appreciate I might be biased but I also have an M300 long bed, ex school so has the usual school related marks but they are a good machine. And yes you can still get some spares from the M300 group for them

 

[Cheesie]

The only choice is an Elliott Omnispeed! But I am biased

The Harrison M300 seem to be a popular choice and capable machine. Much better and capable than a Myford.

@RobCox liked his Harrison M300 so much, he got another.

On his channel, you can see him using his lathe for various tasks.

http://https:/

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The only choice is an Elliott Omnispeed! But I am biased

The Harrison M300 seem to be a popular choice and capable machine. Much better and capable than a Myford.

@RobCox liked his Harrison M300 so much, he got another.

On his channel, you can see him using his lathe for various tasks.

The Potting Shed Workshop

Share your videos with friends, family and the world

youtube.com

my lathe does everything i need, but reading the specs on an elliott omnispeed has give me the wants

 

[RobCox]

The Elliott is a brute compared to the M300. Similar swing and between centres, but everything else is massively beefed up. The M300 is at least vaguely mobile at 3/4 ton.