Warco or Hobbymat MD65

As the title says should I hold out for a secondhand Warco super mini (the new one) or go for a Hobbymat MD65 ​with some tools I have also seen you can get a milling head for the hobbymat, so I ask advice from my peers as I know nothing about either.

Thanks in advance Martin

I started out with an Einhell Minilathe and then moved on to a Hobbymat with milling head.

The Hobbymat is more rigid and better finished but is slightly smaller. The headstock is MT2 and around 12mm bore. The Minilathe has MT3 and around 19mm bore. The low speed kit for the Hobbymat is still available but the tumbler reverse if you want it would have to be found secondhand. Other accessories may also be harder to find.

What are you intending to make, this my help guide your decision?$

Best regards

Roger

Morning Rodger,

It would be bits for my airguns but I think you have answered my question with the 12mm bore as most barrels are 12 -16 mm

Regards Martin.

I had a Hobbymat MD65 for a while and found the bed design somewhat lacking. The milling head can also suffer from stripped gears, so be careful if you're buying one. I'd go for the Warco, as parts and accessories will be much easier to find.

Edited By Gordon Tarling on 27/09/2017 09:48:03

Hi Martin,

Could be a long delay if you wait for an example of the new Warco to appear on the second-hand market. It will probably take a few years for them to start popping up and even then they might be few and far between. I hate generalising but it seems to me that most people don't change lathe very often.

Personally I'm nervous of buying second-hand. Condition is everything; some lathes are excellent, others complete wrecks. MD65s have a good reputation but they will be at least 25 years old and are on the delicate side. Hard to tell if a lathe is in good order unless you see it running. In comparison the advantage of buying new is that the supplier will back you up if you happen to hit a problem - there's consumer protection and a warranty.

My feeling is that your requirement isn't particularly challenging: any of the mini-lathe crew could do the job. As such I don't think you will go far wrong whatever you buy provided the machine is in reasonable condition. Might be worth a punt on ebay.

Dave

Is there a specific reason you want the new version of the mini-lathe Martin? As Dave says, it could be a while before any appear second-hand - although it is worth checking if Warco have any ex-demo at their open days (there is one in November), my son's mini lathe came that way with enough of a saving to pay for its tooling.

Apart from the brushless motor, the rest of the improvements can be easily retro-fitted to a second-hand lathe if you find you actually need them. (I fitted a speed readout like this **LINK** for less than a tenner including a case).

One problem with the old model's 80mm chuck is that it has a smaller bore than the headstock, so an 80mm or 100mm 4-jaw with a larger bore is a useful addition - at least with the mini-lathe, accessories like chucks, steadies, quick-change toolposts and milling slides are readily available, as well as the full range of spares.

Brian

Just got the chance to measure our 80mm mini-lathe chucks. The 3-jaw has a 16mm bore, whilst the 4-jaw has a 22 mm bore, allowing full use of the 20mm headstock bore. (Amadeal list a replacement 100mm spindle, but the bore is still 20mm).

Brian

Hi Brian,

Yes that was one of the other factors over the Warco 150 was metal gears, larger chuck and motor all for an extra £100 and I would assume you would get that back if you ever sold it.

Cheers

Martin

P.s. not knowing anything about lathes I thought a modern mini lathe would be easer to get parts etc. for