Is this metal lathe worth it for £145?

UPDATE.

Ive dismissed the £145 lathe and the choice is between a Sieg C0 mini lathe for £280 or an Axminster lathe for £333

any advice on what's the best I'm tempted to get the latter for the extra £53 is it worth paying the extra?

I think they are both the C0 essentially so it's up to you, i've bought stuff from both companies and were happy with it so, i can't call it. I would say since they are so similar it's probably just the lick of paint you're paying for. If you read closely about the Arc euro one they have an adjustable tailstock which is exclusive.

Michael W

The Axminster lathe is a Sieg C0 as far as I can see. The real advantage of going with Axminster and paying the extra is the 3 year guarantee, there's no other company that offers this. That being said, Arc Eurotrade's customer service is highly regarded, even if only a one year guarantee. Only you can decide if it's worth paying the extra for the Axminster one. If you're planning to build 3.5" or 5" gauge locos or similar, I think you're going to struggle with something as small as a C0. Although more money and more space taken up, you should really be looking at lathes with 3" centre height or more - these are more solidly built and much more likely to allow you to produce good quality work. If you can find someone local to you who knows his stuff, I'd suggest you look at the used market - you can pick up some excellent machines for good prices. A couple of years ago, I bought a used Emco Compact 8 for £450 - it's an older model, so made in Austria and solidly built with a little more capacity than the much worshipped Myfords which seem to command a premium price. The condition of my lathe is A1 and it seems to have had little use. The downside of this lathe is that accessories can be hard to come by, though can still be found.

I'd also suggest that you forget the milling machine for now and look at buying one when you really need one to make a part. A lot can be done with the right lathe that's fitted with a vertical slide attachment.

Take your time in deciding what to buy - I took over 6 months to find my lathe - and take good heed of the experienced advice that is being offered on this forum. Good luck in your quest!

C0 doesn't offer screwcutting. I would recommend a C3 if you can afford it.

Neil

Simon,

I am selling a virtually brand new Tormach lathe that is the same as the C-3 but has an extended spindle that a 4th Axis Attachment can be fitted to. It is a 110 volt machine but I will supply a Transformer that I bought at the same time as the Lathe. It comes with a 4 way tool post and a small chip tray and cover plus a full set of change wheels and spanners etc.. I just haven't got round to putting it up for sale because I am away for the weekend.

It has only been used 3 or four times, more or less to test it out to see if it functioned properly when used on the milling machine table (which is what it was intended for) and also for a few manual machining jobs. I have some photos of the machine but they are on my desktop computer at home I. If you are interested contact me via the message page.

I'm another newbie weighing up the pros and cons of small entry level lathes. No-one has mentioned the Chester Conquest http://www.chesterhobbystore.com/conquest-lathe-3965-p.asp. It seems very good value or am I missing something?

I would honestly agree with you that i cannot do without screwcutting either, so i'd have to go with the C3. But there is the world of (good) taps n dies to fulfil the threading duty. Which i can say does most of the grunt work for your standard metric sizes. You could manage if you weren't fussed about custom threads or the sheer ability to do single pointing where it's advantageous, and were prepared to substitute the uncommon ones where neccessary.

I know in an old book i've got Mr sparey in "the amateurs lathe" had his mind definitely made up about the sort of "plain diameter" turning lathes that were on the market in his day and thought that the leadscrew machines were the only ones worth going for. I don't know if the C0 has an "upgrade kit" for a gear train but it's a start having a leadscrew i guess.

If it's of any consolidation to the OP for my particular lathe, It's the Clarke/sealey/(briefly warco) "6 speed metal lathe" thats been knocking around for a good number of years now. That could certainly do some metal work for you, although i've made a small number of changes to mine with the motor and what not. I would take it this is a bit bulky for the OP tastes. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 18/06/2016 23:04:05

Look at the subjects you want to build and see if there is a need for screw cutting, I doubt there is much of a need on a 3.5g loco. I seldom have a need for it, as an example the 2" traction engine that I made I only screwcut one thread on which considering there is about 1200hrs work in it is little use of the facility. Most of the other models I make can quite easily be done without screwcutting too.

I would certainly look for something larger than the C0 though

Edited By JasonB on 19/06/2016 07:37:06

The Chester Conquest is another version of the C3 Mini-Lathe. There are lots of variations from different suppliers with different bed lengths/motors/specifications/colours...

Screwcutting? If like me you mostly make gadgets and workshop tooling it's probably essential, if you focus on model making, then I agree, less so but always nice to have.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 19/06/2016 09:36:10

You still haven't told us what you intend to make with your lathe. Something steam related but what and how big?

Russell.

I would second the calls to go for a C3-sized lathe over a C0.

The C0 I believe is what some refer to as a "micro lathe" and is similar in size and capability to the Optimum lathe I helped another forum member here get sorted out a while back. He has successfully made a couple of small Bengs Stirling engines with it. So it does work (after a lot of sorting out to get it up to snuff), but it really is too small for general work.

On the other hand, I have another mate locally who bought a C3 off the net and fired it up straight away turning grooves in the outer races of 50mm ball bearings for his motorbike engines. It is leagues ahead of the smaller lathe and well worth the modest extra price. ( I think he got it for about $600, or 300 pounds.) I have used it a couple of times and find it quite nice, a pleasure to use.

Hi Phil, I have a Conquest, I haven't used it yet in an real anger, but it seems to be value for the money. This is my lathe for my small indoor workshop and is only intended to be used for small items. It is as Neil says, just another version of the C3 but don't get it confused with the Super C3, another version is the Warco mini lathe.

Regards Nick.

Russel, from another thread it looks like a 3.5g loco or possibly a 5"g one.

In that case I would imagine he will need at least a 90 mm centre height lathe do do it comfortably.

Russell.