(again) buying new European made lathe

Hi,

not actually buying a lathe "again", it's more about the name of the thread that's been popular here. Read the majority. And still I find the information and the market is changing quite rapidly.

I'm in the market for a new lathe. Considering finding European made, not an import one. Also want a new one, don't have skills to refurbish nor to tell how good or bad the used classic example would be. Love Myfords, though. 100-150 kg, metric 3-5 k EUR. Don't want to add more features as options are limited anyways. And I reserve some budget for the tools too.

What would my options be, please?

Wabeco is in under my radar, love their 5 years warranty and they're made in Germany.

Warco is concerning for me after reading threads in this forum, plus it's Asia made and only 12 months warranty.

Emco, Cazeneuve are far off with what they refer to their basic model and respectively the budget. Similarly the lightest one from ZMM is over 700kg.

Any advices please?

It looks as if you've rather decided!

Wabeco has been advertising in ME for some years now, and though I have not seen the name mentioned by users, would think that longevity must be in their favour.

Warco usually has a good name, but I have not seen the threads you mean. Possibly some people have had unhappy experiences with their own examples but generally they are popular machine-tools, suggesting the Warco company itself is normally on top of the quality-control.

I would suggest that using the mass as a factor should be in conjunction with the volume. You do not want a lathe that is fairly light-weight because it is not very robust for its capacity.

Given your location I would have thought one of the mainland European countries selling the similar lathes to Warco under their own brand name would be a better option, have you looked at Optimum in Germany?

Your budget only just stretches to the D2000 Wabeco with it's round rod bed, if you can afford it the extra rigidity and distance between centres of the 4000 or 6000 lathes would be better. Also consider that but the time you have included the cost of a faceplate, 4-jaw chuck and fixed steady all of which will be priced pro rata to the lathes you will be spending maybe another 1000Euro compared to the Warco types which include these items.

Take a look at RCM Machines website - based in Junglinster, Luxembourg. They have a large shop and warehouse, and I think they also do reconditioned second-hand machines.

LINK

No connection, except that I have bought machines from them, and had excellent service. (Don't take the wife/girlfriend - it cost me a new sewing machine, which they also sell)

Edited By An Other on 13/12/2021 20:33:55

Thank you for your views so far.

I've got my drill press from Optimum, does the job well, three phase motor. Hey source manufacturing in China and are quite transparent about it. One of the options. From Wabeco, I was considering D4000 model, lead screw is a must I think. I appreciate extras will come on top, I've considered this.

:D same story down here re girlfriend at home:D They seem to be selling Profi and this is something I haven't considered yet, thank you.

I have a Wabeco D6000E and before that I had a Warco WM-250. The fit and finish of the Wabeco is significantly better than the Warco and if you can afford a Wabeco you should be happy with it, notwithstanding some of the strangely negative posts that have appeared on this forum. It's a great machine.

The Warco machine was good value for money and performed well. I replaced it because the used Wabeco was available with many accessories for a reasonable price. If you can't afford a Wabeco then buy a Warco or similar clone. Both suppliers offer good backup and spares, but Wabeco spares cost more.

Clive

I've used a Warco lathe a considerable amount in industry, and despite my initial horror at my company buying a Chinese machine ( I wanted a used Colchester) found it to be a very capable machine with no issues after considerable hard use. I visited a section of the company I was working for in Coburg ,Germany and they were using Optimum machines in the small batch production shops. Also Weiler lathes which are absolutely lovely!!, but obviously very expensive.

The Chinese machines come very well equipped which is a definite plus point, I used to be very anti imported machines, but after my experiences I would definitely consider one if my current lathe ( 254+) gets abducted by aliens.

Dave

Another posibility is Teco who still produce the Hobbymat:

**LINK**

This is also available from Pro Machine Tools who advertise on here:

Nah, use the insurance money to buy another 254+.🙂. Are there a lot of ‘aliens’ in your neck of the woods? Not the ET sort, BTW.

I have a Wabeco milling machine. I bought it in favour of a far eastern equivalent because of where I live and I liked the idea of a 5 year warranty and 'German' quality. It was nearly 3 times the cost of the equivalent far eastern machine.

My machine was made in the far east and finished / checked in Germany. It was about 2 weeks over the 5 year warranty period when the European built-in inverter blew up. The UK supplier of Wabeco tools wanted £1000 for a new motor/inverter combo. What I did was buy a separate inverter for 25% of the price and wired it into the original motor. Still going strong.

Moral of the story: Just because it is labelled as 'Made in Germany', or wherever and there is a long warranty period doesn't make the tool any better than a far eastern machine.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Dave

Alien abduction by extra terrestrials is the only way I could think of at the time that would find me not having the 254+ any more. I've been very happy with the machine since I bought it last spring. Have no thoughts of selling or changing which is most unusual for me!

Not noticed any extra terrestrial activity around here, although there are a few people around that seem to live on another planet. We have an anti vax protester regularly demonstrating in town who according to her placard believes we are under control by the lizard people. I'm afraid I'm under the control of my wife who apart from liking the heating at a level that would not shame a vivarium, shows no lizard tendencies yet!

Dave

Lots of German stuff is no longer made there. Some Mercedes are made in China.