Clarke CL430 Lathe

I accept your apology Michael, thank you. I think most people here realise that you can't get a Harrison M250 for the price of a second hand Clarke or Chester machine. 

Cedric, I appreciate that your mods were not all that expensive. However I wanted to get on and use my machine for making things, so I decided on the route I took. That was after modifying my Chester Model B to some extent. I decided just to cut my losses.

Your comment "be it a Mini or a Rolls-Royce, it does the same job" is open for debate. This is not strictly true. If Marc Bolan had been driving a Rolls Royce instead of a mini he'd be alive today.

With two operators of equal skill and ability and tooling of equal quality, the more well built machine will produce better work.

Edited By Carl Wilson 4 on 03/10/2016 09:28:11

I agree with Carl. I enjoy making things, be it a model steam locomotive or mods to my lathe. There has to be a balance so that I can focus on what is important. Likewise, I have been priveledge as a machinist to have used machines across the spectrum, having trained at the locomotive works, but also worked at Rolls-Royce aero plant, so I accept that to get the best result, the best machine is required.

The point I am bringing across, is that I could afford a Clarke lathe and have found it great for my model making. I do not want to put down people who can afford better equipment (I would love to drive a Rolls), but I want to encourage others like me who can not afford expensive equipment. Theses lathes can do a really good job and enhancing them can be a way of getting better.

Carl, I look at the more expensive lathes at exhibitions with yearning, but I am pleased with what I have. When I look back and think of what I could not afford to buy 40 years ago; I am pleased to have my lathe.

One thing we should agree on is that the lathe is a tool to achieve a goal.

A final comment was that my dad always told me when buying tools to buy the best you can afford! I still use tools that I have inherited from him.

So it was all Hawkwind's fault?

N.