Charter Oaks 1224GH lathe

[Maplehead]

Hi All
I'm just curious what you all think of this lathe.
$2595 is a pretty good price but it's most likely chinese made instead of Taiwanese.
Your thoughts?

12" × 24" Gap-Bed Metal Lathe | Charter Oak Automation

Versatility and Precision in a Space-Saving Package Our 12" × 24" gap-bed lathe packs a lot of features into an ideal form factor for space-constrained

charteroakautomation.com

 

[mikey]

A 12" lathe for that price is almost definitely Chinese. They do not mention the chuck mount nor anything about the accuracy of the spindle. Whatever the chuck mount is, it is NOT a camlock and that right there is a deal breaker for me. I would query the spindle run out specs if you are serious about this lathe. Also check if a full change gear set is available; it should come with the lathe but it may be an add on accessory you have to buy. If so, buy it.

They do not mention power cross feed; you should check.

No thread dial indicator, carriage stop - both important.

Fit and finish is always hard to tell from a dark pic but it looks a bit on the shoddy side to me. Might just be the pics, though.

This is a gap bed lathe. For this price, I have to wonder how good the machining is. If you took the gap out, could you get it to seat again?

Sorry, I know I'm pointing out the negatives but they are sort of jumping off the page ...

 

[middle.road]

A 12" lathe for that price is almost definitely Chinese. They do not mention the chuck mount nor anything about the accuracy of the spindle. Whatever the chuck mount is, it is NOT a camlock and that right there is a deal breaker for me. I would query the spindle run out specs if you are serious about this lathe. Also check if a full change gear set is available; it should come with the lathe but it may be an add on accessory you have to buy. If so, buy it.

They do not mention power cross feed; you should check.

No thread dial indicator, carriage stop - both important.

Fit and finish is always hard to tell from a dark pic but it looks a bit on the shoddy side to me. Might just be the pics, though.

This is a gap bed lathe. For this price, I have to wonder how good the machining is. If you took the gap out, could you get it to seat again?

Sorry, I know I'm pointing out the negatives but they are sort of jumping off the page ...

They were - weren't they? I looked also and thought the same.
I, however, missed the lack of a thread dial...

 

[DavidR8]

I think I’ve read some reviews of Charter Oaks machines, mills specifically that said they were not what they were made out to be.


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[Maplehead]

Thanks, I was just wondering about it. I wasn't being serious about buying. I was just wondering how they get to that price compared to the known prices of the Taiwan lathes in that model. It's hard to imagine going about making something of that size and having it be an unworthy machine.