Does anybody know about VEVOR lathes ?

Does anybody recognise these VEVOR lathes ? They seem to be all over ebay in Australia but I am not sure if you have them in the UK. I know they are made in China but have the lathes been around long enough for people to form an opinion of their capabilities ?

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It looks like the Clarke CL300 and half the price and with a more powerful motor.

Well it's a variant mini-lathe. Vevor seem to be an import/export outfit, not a manufacturer.

You would have to see one in the flesh to really know but there are a few things in the photos that put me off. I'd expect some care to have been taken with a lathe's publicity photos and these have issues.

• There's a fixing bolt missing from the control box (lower left)
• The crank is missing from the traverse handle which also looks cheap
• The sticky labels all appear to have been slapped on in a tearing hurry
• None of the electrical details on the front panel have been filled out.
• There's a pitch table but I can't see a thread dial.
• The castings appear to be rougher than those on my mini-lathe

Might all be cosmetic, but the price suggests to me that they are low end. If so would be likely to require more than average fettling.

Dave

All points duly noted. Where is the carriage lock on these lathes ?

As far as I know, the carriage lock is wherever the owner puts it. There is one that fits on the carriage, at least on my Sieg C3 mini lathe, if mounted on the front (chuck side) it interferes with max carriage travel, or if mounted on the rear of the carriage it restricts tailstock access. Mine is a low profile one that clamps onto the flat part of the bed, behind the cross slide and doesn't restrict anything.

cheers

Bill

My Mini lathe (Chester Conquest) does not have a Saddle Lock. I made one, to fit on the front of the SaddleCross Slide, (Can also used to lock the Cross Slide).

It is just a piece of square bar drilled and counterbored to take a M6 capscrew.

The Cross Slide is locked by a knurled brass screw in a horizontal tapping.

It does reduce the travel towards the Headstock, slightly,even with a radius on the clamping foot. Doubt if it will cause me a problem (That's asking for trouble!)

Could not mount to the rear, because of the gib strip adjusters

Howard

Seeing as the OP has bought the cheapest of the cheap many times over with nothing but problems it's hardly surprising that he's latched onto an 'assembler' of machine parts from spurious Chinese trading companies in an effort to save a further 5 cents.

The annoying part is after buying all this crap he then traps others into helping him in his quest for a Monach 10EE for 29 AUD

Edited By John Stevenson on 11/07/2017 17:26:59

It is a generic mini lathe

Looks rough and poorly finished compared to those available in the UK from the established suppliers. Might be from one of the 'minor manufacturers'.

Given the problems you have had with other lathes, I'd hunt down a decent C3 with a brushless motor from an established specialist importer rather than a DIY shed chain.

Neil

Howard,...your saddle lock sounds interesting, have you got a pic please?

I buy what I can afford. Actually, there was nothing cheap about my lathe. It cost  as much, if not more, than a C3. The reason I bought it was because it was small and I only live in a small unit. It is mounted in my living room.

Criticism of the Vevor lathe duly noted and I will pass on it....thank you.  I had never seen it before so I thought it was worth asking about.

My current lathe has a carriage lock so I assumed that it was a standard fitting on all lathes. I find it essential for parting off.

Edited By Brian John on 12/07/2017 02:09:34

Hi Brian

A question worth asking and some useful information in response. Apart from the mainly superficial problems that have been noted the only way to determine the underlying quality of the lathe would be for someone with a good understanding of lathes to give one a thorough test drive. Possibly unlikely.

The main problem that I see will be for someone with no knowledge of lathes buying one and then having endless problems with the machine as they attempt to use it. Price being the ultimate tempter if you cannot afford to buy from the major sellers.

I have bought many tools both very cheap and very expensive over the years. While all of the very expensive ones are still up and running, so too are some of the cheapest although there have been notable failures. Like you, and I expect most people on the forum, I buy what I can afford at the time, sometime putting off buying until I can afford a better model.

The problem with machine tools is that even the lowest cost tools are expensive and if you have no reliable source of advice you can end up with a very expensive lemon. I wonder how many potential purchasers thinking of buying the Vevor or similar will read this or similar threads before committing to buy?

Pero

Pero : My current lathe was not cheap at all and I did buy from a respected seller of machine tools...and I still had problems ! It was not purchased from ebay. Many of the problems were exacerbated by that fact that I live in Cairns which is far from the supplier. Had I lived in a capital city like Brisbane than I could have just put it in the back seat of my car and taken it back. They probably would have given me a new one once they realised the extent of the problem.

Edited By Brian John on 12/07/2017 03:34:54

Hi Brian

My comments were intended to be general rather in relation to the specific issues you encountered with your lathe which I followed with interest in previous threads, developing enormous with your dogged determination and ability to learn in the process.

It does go to show though that occasional problems can be encountered whichever purchasing route you go down.

Living in Perth I am closer than you to the suppliers of most of my machinery, but a long distance from many of the suppliers of accessories and all of the suppliers of castings (3000 km plus). Like you I have to think a lot before contemplating sending a heavy item half way across the globe an would generally look to seeing if it is salvageable before doing so.

Pero

I think I've asked a dumb question about small end mills with around 10 posts, I hope I will improve when I get to 1345 posts.

Alfie,

The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask.

Russell