Chester minilathe

Having abandoned the idea of upgrading my ML7 motor system due to the ridiculously high cost of bronze bearings and hardened shaft I am now looking at mini lathes as an extra.

The one I have so far wittled down to is the Chester Conquest Super lathe advertised in Model Engineering Workshop.

Is this a good buy, another example of Chinese tat or somewhere in between? It would be interesting to know if anyone has one and what they think.

Are you replacing the ml7 with a mini lathe??

I had a conquest super for around 10 years , it was ok and was capable of ok work within its limits. The super part when i bought mine was that it had those awful digital readout things on the cross and top slide. They lasted about 3 week in an upheated workshop.

I guess they are just another variation of the common 7 x 14 mini lathe that arc, amadeal ,warco and chester sell amongst many others.

have a look here

Mark & Bazyle your posts were not showing up as the OP had posted his question in a pre-moderated section, I've moved it now so replies will show straight away.

J

There are probably more mini-lathes out there than any other design so you will get a very wide range of experiences.

They are surprisingly accurate and can take a fair bit of abuse but as with any lathe it pays to set it up properly.

My Clarke CL300M (mini lathe) is 18 years old and going strong, although I blew up a motor and a control board (both my fault).

Modern ones are more reliable electrically and better fettled.

Not sure if the Chester Super has a brushless motor, but I understand the brushless ones are very reliable as well as having a bit more grunt.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 07/11/2017 19:32:31

I'm thinking of getting a mini lathe in addition to my ML7. Upgrading the ML7 would till be my preferred option but not Paying over £300 for a pair of bearings and shaft.

I assume that the Chester super conquest must have a motor with brushes because the next one up makes a bold statement about being brushless. An extra £213 though.

Edited By Stephen Follows on 07/11/2017 22:43:16

My Clarke CL300M (mini lathe) is 18 years old and going strong, although I blew up a motor and a control board (both my fault).

i fitted a 1hp 3ph motor runing off a vfd and it spins up to 3000 rpm if i want to change thwe belts around , only problem i have now is shearing the chuck off of the spindle 😳.

Absolutely no need to. I just replaced the bearings and shaft in mine for pocket change. I bought four Oilite-type sintered bronze bushings from my local bearing shop. They cost about $5 each. 3/4" ID x 7/8" OD and about 3/4" long or so,  IIRC. Knocked the old ones out and pulled the new ones in using a long bolt and flat washers to pull them in nice and straight. Cleaned them up with a reamer to fit the new shaft, made from 3/4" steel bar. (Yes, you can ream sintered bronze bushings, Oilite's literature says so.)

The shaft does not need to be hardened to run in sintered bronze bushings. The original was not hardened and lasted more than 50 years in service. I simply used a piece of 3/4" diameter bright mild steel, didn't even machine down the OD, just polished it with emery cloth. Turned the two grooves then milled in the flat and the keyway in the lathe using a vertical slide, but it coiuld be done by holding the shaft in the toolpost with suitable packing.

It's a low-speed, low load application, does not need anything fancy.

Edited By Hopper on 08/11/2017 04:42:16

PS, I was assuming your were talking about the countershaft on the motor drive unit. If you were in fact talking about the bronze headstock bearings and main spindle that Myford offers for a small fortune, disregard the above.

Hello again Stephen,

Yes, it's me again, trying to persuade you to think again about your Myford ML7 lathe speeds. If you take another look at your original posting, new information has just appeared on there which might be of interest to you.

It is at least more definitive than some you have been offered and while a second lathe is a useful addition to the workshop, I would give it due thought and equip yourself with another lathe for more substantial reasons

Regards Brian