Metal Working Lathe

[DanBlack]

Hello everybody, I live in the UK and I am looking to buy my first Lathe. I have a budget of about £2000 I would need the lathe to be able to produce fairly big work pieces (at least 50cm in length) and work with most metal materials. I am torn between buying an older second hand one which seem to be more rugged, or a newer Chinese based lathe. I'm interested to hear peoples experiences and what they would recommend as a good quality machine.

 

[chevydyl]

Not sure what your exchange rate is, but I pick a used lathe that's built more solid than a new chinese. It's not just that, but a brand name quality lathe will also have been made straighter and possibly hand fitted. Lathes made in Taiwan are of OK quality. If I had the money, I'd buy a nardini 1532, 15in swing, 32in between centers, gap bed. About 5-6 grand us money. Monarch is a good lathe, logan, clausing. Good luck.

 

[Silverbullet]

Try to find an older lathe , the old saying they don't make them like they used to, really is true . If all else fails then ck the china ones. Some are made pretty good others are junk.

 

[DanBlack]

That's what I thought, I will see what's knocking about in the UK market.

 

[george wilson]

Go to Tony Lathes. He has the World's largest machine tool resource site. I have visited him. Very helpful.

But,there is also a long list of machinery for sale in the UK. You certainly can find something there. A while back there was a Holbrook Minor I'd loved to have had,but shipping is the problem. Were I there,I'd certainly have snapped it up.

 

[Franko]

My first lathe was a Chinese 9 x 19 purchased from Grizzly Tools in the US. It was a solid machine for its size and performed well for me for my first 8 years of machining. It had some limitations, but the biggest limitation was my lack of experience and the learning curve.

The thing a new lathe has going for it is that it is new and doesn't suffer from wear. It could take you years before you are able to discern that wear is causing difficulties. Purchasing an old lathe, and they were made better, is that it doubles what you have to learn at first if it needs tuning, repair and replacement of components.

And, there is a lot more to purchase after you have the lathe. To me it makes sense to start with a solid new Chinese lathe so you can use some of your funds for tooling, a quick change tool post, guages, layout tools and the various gizmos that you will discover are necessary.

The thing about lathes; they are easy to trade up. Used lathes are easy to sell. I sold my Grizzly for about 75% of the new purchase price in less than a day. My machine cost for a tool that served me very well for 8 years was $300.

 

[DanBlack]

I have looked into some of the Chinese made ones and the all seem fairly similar, it would be nice for peace of mind buying a new one I will just have to see what is out in the market.

 

[jeff_g1137]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351423865694?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231594295221?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Hi
on ebay now, have a look may be ok for you.
I have a old lathe still not working, not a lot of time to get it right, it is on the list for this year.
if you need one working out of the box, a new one is the way to go.
good luck, it you need to chat let me know, i am in manchester.
jeff

ps
i have a Denford Viceroy lathe, like the Boxford, it is a 10"x 20" lathe (250mm x 510mm)

pps
i would like one of them, but my money is for a mill, lol

 

[joshua43214]

I have looked into some of the Chinese made ones and the all seem fairly similar, it would be nice for peace of mind buying a new one I will just have to see what is out in the market.

They are all indeed very similar at first glance, and often come out of the same factory.
There are difference though, they all seem to have some very odd design choices that need to be corrected by the retailer or you get a lathe with a weird limitation (like not accommodating a QCTP with out milling the compound slide). Often the lathe that seems to be cheaper is just a vanilla version schlepped off by the dealer, try to find a dealer the has ordered some changes.
I suggest making a list of features you must have, then a list of features you would like to have. Makes sure you consider size and weight. For example, my must have list was: 110v, under 600lbs, less than 100RPM, more than 1800RPM, min. 9" swing (>10 preferred), min 28" between centers (>32 preferred), reversible lead screw, left hand threading, Imperial lead screw, partial or full gear box (for easy feed speed changes), compound travel >= half the swing (many do not do this).
Once you have your list, make an Excel spreadsheet and start adding candidates. I put off making a spreadsheet and agonized for weeks making a decision, once I had a spreadsheet, it turned out there was really only three options and the decision of what to buy easily followed.

I looked long and hard to find a Weiss lathe, but they do not have a USA importer. You might want to consider one if you go with a new Chinese lathe, they are supposed to be a step up from Sieg, and are available in Europe.

 

[DanBlack]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help I am going to have a look around, I am tempted to take on a semi broken one to get me started and rebuild it like I did with my mill.