Buying my first new lathe. Chinese or Chinese?

[Dabbler]

HEHEHE I have my wife out hunting a 3rd job so give a few

always happy to oblige, sorta...

Make sure you have enough tooling for your toolpost - as delivered - you can turn a chip in steel. Then before you spend a lot of money, make a bunch of shavings. Usually the first purchase is a decent tailstock drill chuck.

Really the only way to know what you need is to start a project, expecting to have delays for tooling. It is a bit if an extravagance to buy tooling in anticipation that you might just use it. But we all fall for that temptation, sooner or later!

However a safe bet is tooling to bore a hole, so a boring bar in say 1/2" to start, using insert tooling. After nearly 40 years, this last year I finally bought a 3/4" WNMG boring bar! All these years I've been using 1/2" shank boring bars, home made for a variety of holesizes from 1/4" up.

-- Don't be bullied into spending hundreds of dollars on QCTP and accessories. If it comes with one and a couple, of holders, fine, If you have a 4-way, you can use that until you need one. Make chips first. Develop lathes skills first. Understand the mechanics of tool height first. Then a QCTP will make a big difference, and you will already have tooling that will need one.

 

[Rufustoad]

Thank you. Super excited. I cant afford to run it but it sure will look purdy in my shop
The way I understand (could be wrong) this is a new model and is replacing one of their other machines but a little confused on that. Here is the quote they sent to me.

PM-1440-2V Lathe, Large Bore, Variable Speed, with accessory
package, and Cast Iron Base included, with 2 axis DRO Installed
With:
1. 8" 3 Jaw Chuck
2. 8" 4 Jaw Chuck
3. Face Plate
4. 251-222 Quick Change Tool Post
5. Tool Box with Accessories
6. Steady Rest
7. Follow Rest
8. Fixed Center - Tailstock
9. Fixed Center - Headstock
10. Reducing Sleeve
11. 2 axis DRO Installed

 

[7milesup]

That will get you started.

 

[7milesup]

I also recommend this book by one of our members. It is quite informative and I found it to be very useful.

 

[Rufustoad]

Hi Dabbler, I totally understand what you are saying. My grandfather was a gunsmith and I was lucky enough to inherit all his stuff including a 9"x4.5ft bed SouthBend lathe that I am looking at selling but I got a ton of really nice tooling that I believe I can make work. Most of the stuff is a #2 morse that I can hopefully adapt somehow just not sure what this new lathe will come with. I did make an extra purchase from PM with the master boring kit, the 1/2" internal and external threading kit, and the E40 collet chucks. I hope I didn't make a mistake by this but they looked like a fairly decent set of tools and John at PM said they were pretty nice, not the best but pretty nice. The specs that PM adheres to is pretty high and I also discovered that the gears and ways are hardened on there Chinese lathes. I was not aware of this. He put both the Chinese and Taiwanese lathes side by side and honestly the main thing I noticed was the backlash in them and not a ton else. There is no doubt that they had a backlash difference between them but other than that I could not visually tell a huge difference.
BTW just for you PM fans John told me (a ton of construction going on when I was there) that they are now expanding and gearing up to actually manufacture there own PM lathes. I thought that was extremely interesting however I am thinking these machines will be replacing the Taiwanese lathes and probably way out of my pocketbook range.

Thanks 7mile. David is one of the guys here on this forum that has been invaluable to me on making a formed decision. I will definitely be getting that book.

 

[Dabbler]

You are well on your way to making chips! Congratulations!

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Hi Dabbler, I totally understand what you are saying. My grandfather was a gunsmith and I was lucky enough to inherit all his stuff including a 9"x4.5ft bed SouthBend lathe that I am looking at selling but I got a ton of really nice tooling that I believe I can make work. Most of the stuff is a #2 morse that I can hopefully adapt somehow just not sure what this new lathe will come with. I did make an extra purchase from PM with the master boring kit, the 1/2" internal and external threading kit, and the E40 collet chucks. I hope I didn't make a mistake by this but they looked like a fairly decent set of tools and John at PM said they were pretty nice, not the best but pretty nice. The specs that PM adheres to is pretty high and I also discovered that the gears and ways are hardened on there Chinese lathes. I was not aware of this. He put both the Chinese and Taiwanese lathes side by side and honestly the main thing I noticed was the backlash in them and not a ton else. There is no doubt that they had a backlash difference between them but other than that I could not visually tell a huge difference.
BTW just for you PM fans John told me (a ton of construction going on when I was there) that they are now expanding and gearing up to actually manufacture there own PM lathes. I thought that was extremely interesting however I am thinking these machines will be replacing the Taiwanese lathes and probably way out of my pocketbook range.

Thanks 7mile. David is one of the guys here on this forum that has been invaluable to me on making a formed decision. I will definitely be getting that book.

Hey, just as a note, the tools PM sells use standard inserts, nothing strange. I updated the inserts to a better insert with a tad more radius and was very impressed with the difference in performance. Will your QCTP be a BXA of the next larger?

 

[7milesup]

Will your QCTP be a BXA of the next larger?

A 251-222 tool post is a BXA, which is what I have on my 1440.

 

[Rufustoad]

Hate to sound like a complete fool but what is the dif between the BXA and the QCTP?

Thanks verbotenwhisky, once I get set up and determine what I have and dont have I will probably look into getting a handful but I will also need to understand the differences in the radius's. Did you by chance use any of their threading inserts? I am hoping those inserts are a bit better than a Harbor Freight style bit.

 

[jwmelvin]

Hate to sound like a complete fool but what is the dif between the BXA and the QCTP?

The general item is a Quick Change Tool Post, which comes in a handful of flavors. Among the most common are the dovetail systems, which come in sizes 0XA, AXA, BXA, etc. The post for dovetail holders can be a wedge type or piston type, which changes how the holders reference during clamping.