New member

Hello I've Vince from Chester.

I'm looking for a lathe for odd jobs and general tinkering in the garage.

I haven't used a lathe since my apprenticeship 20 years ago and really have the urge to chase them tolerances again.

If anybody has recommendations where to start and what to look for I'd be grateful.

I see Myfords seem to be the go-to for proven quality.

Chinese is what it is and mixed reviews.

Boxfords are Great British gems

Harrison is creme de la creme

Cheers

Vince.

Hi Vincent,

Welcome to the forum. If you can find a second hand lathe in good condition you will get a good lathe. You may find that a good Boxford is cheaper than a Myford. Don't be afraid to buy a new Chinese lathe from a reputable dealer, my Chinese lathe is ten years old and has not given me any problems. It is the ham-fisted operator that is the cause of bad work, not the lathe. Good luck.

Thor

Hello Vince and Welcome.

Lots of "tinkers" on here, myself included.

Restorers of classic cars, motor cycles and other machinery to name but a few

Your choice of lathe will be governed by a number of factors

Budget

Space

Specification

What you want to use it for. (Not a lot of point in trying make watch parts on a 21" swing lathe, nor a 6" Traction Engine on a lathe can only swing 4" daimeter, and has a 400 watt motor.

Having said that, it is incredible the work that has been produced on lathes that most people would say "Too small"

Don't rush. Consider your purchase carefully (Lots of afvice on here, if needed, but be specific, and describe accurately The answer to a wrong question may cause more puzzlement rather than less.

If you are not familiar with lathes, read some books. Plenty of books available, L H Sparey, Ian Bradley, Stan Bray, Harold Hall, David Clark, Dave Fenner, Neil Wyatt have al all written books o lathework; ranging from basics, to specific machines (Although the basic principles are same for all )

HTH

Howard

Thank you very much for the advice Howard and Thor, I definitely feel in good hands already.

I've quickly come to reaslise my initial desire of being able to face a flywheel for skim brake discs requires something with a large enough swing which leads a vast machine and more so 3 phase which I don't have. I'm certainly interested in something a gap-bed for the odd occasion of doing something large however there doesn't seem to be much option; Chester Crasftsman, Colchester Student 1800 are the two I've narrowed that down to so far.

Does anybody have an experience with the Chester Centurion? The internet has already told me to buy separate machines if a mill is required but this machine just seems to tick all boxes; large swing, compact, single phase.

Thanks,

Vince.

Posted by vincent bamber on 19/01/2023 12:47:26:

It's a mostly adequate lathe, an awkward to use undersized drill, and a downright inadequate mill.

If you buy second hand, you will be able to get three separate machines each with a larger capacity than the centurion for less money and better performance.

I wouldn't worry about not having 3-phase, there are a number of different solutions available using either VFD's/Inverters or Rotary Phase Convertors; aach approach has benefits and downsides which I won't get into here....

But the practical upshot is often as not you can buy a Three-Phase Machine and the kit to run it from single phase for less than you can buy a much smaller single phase machine (let lone considering prices to buy new).

The limit I would impose on yourself is "how heavy a machine am I prepared to move around and get into my workshop" either with friends or by hiring movers...

I would reckon anything under 2 tonnes is pretty reasonable if you have a flat(ish) concrete floor to use rollers (scaff pole or proper skates) on and are willing to hire an engine crane or gantry for a day; but opinions differ wildly on this and you will have to decided for yourself.

The student 1800 is a 6.5" center height, so will swing 13"/325mm over the bed (which, incidentally would be a biiiiiiiiiiig brake disk) before you even take the gap out; do you actually need the Student's 19"/480mm swing over gap, because that's pretty huge...

If not there's a huge variety of lathes of that size (12"/13" swing) out there from myriad different manufacturers, and I'd probably buy whatever model of lathe was reasonably priced, conveniently located and in decent condition to come up for sale next.

Edited By Jelly on 19/01/2023 14:30:08

Edited By Jelly on 19/01/2023 14:30:57

It does that at huge expense of rigidity. Look at the tallness of the toolpost and tailstock and compare that with a serious centre lathe.

I've been a turner since 1975, for several years for my daily bread. Some of the old British machines were excellent, others not so - I worked on many that had a prolific variety of design and maintenance faults. You have to be able to recognise what's a diamond and what's a lemon, and I'll leave you to guess which is the more common.

I've been running a Warco WM250V for 8 years and found it pretty satisfactory. My Myford swivel vertical slide fits it with minor mods to the Warco adaptor plate and I do quite a lot of milling and co-ordinate drilling on it. Such issues as there have been were generally inflicted - and successfully fixed - by me.

A Chester DB10 would offer very similar capabilities and their hobby shop is probably quite close to you.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Consider starting smaller as the outlay and running costs for extras will be easier until you get a bigger shed. You will want a bigger shed. After all when your kids get their provisional driving licence do you rush out and get them a Jaguar, or a Ranger, or a Porsche because one day they want to be an executive, lorry driver, or bank robber?

I wouldn't buy one, but they exist for a good reason. They suit those who don't have much space! Never used one, but the lathe should be OK. The milling attachment will be better than milling with a vertical slide; more workspace, better rigidity etc, but it's still very constrained compared with even a small milling machine. All smiles when a combination machine is big enough to do the job, but they're frustrating when they run out of puff, which is often! Better than not having a mill at all, but rarely recommended. It's very annoying to own a tool that nearly does the job, but is constantly found to be too small.

Don't get too hung up on single-phase. If a second-hand industrial machine is bought, it will probably be necessary to buy and install a converter. This is much cheaper and easier than it used to be, but fitting one to a second-hand machine can get complicated. Many of the larger Far-eastern hobby machines have 3-phase motors powered by a built-in converter, but they plug into an ordinary single phase socket. Newer far-eastern machines tend to come with "Brushless DC" motors, which also plug into an ordinary socket. They work out of the box too.

Though they work well enough, single-phase motors are a poor choice of motor for machine tools because other types provide more torque, vibrate less, and can be speed controlled. Wouldn't stop me buying a lathe, but I wouldn't go looking for single-phase.

Dave

Welcome to the forum

H

Over the last 30 years I had at one time 4 lathes,Smart and Brown plain lathe lathe,new Myford S7,and Colchester Master and Triumph,The S7 is single phase, I have no problems with single phase,never experienced any of the complaints about vibration or low torque,perhaps new s/p motors are foreign rubbish, the two Colchesters ran on phase converters,the B&S ran on rotary converter, I am now down to the Master 2500 long bed and S7, I consider the Master is better than the student1800 , the Master has forward/reverse clutches,pumped lubrication to the headstock,dual dials,5 hp motor. My work is models ,stationary engine restoration , some automobile and motor cycle work ,plus full size steam. what ever you buy ,for home workshop and car work get a lathe with a good size spindle bore Master and Student have 1 5/8 bore and both have a good swing of near 19 inches,essential for brakes discs and clutches, though I do miss the 2 inch bore of the now departed Colchester triumph, go for a long bed,the short bed Colchesters were ok for training but not much elbow room.I did have shortbed Student for a while which also had variable speed, a horrible lathe which quickly departed. Your post went overboard on a Harrison,some people like them,but I would not have one as the saddle handle is too close to the hot swarf end of the saddle.Why did the Triumph have to go,well old age and the weight of the chucks and other loose bits was causing some health problems. Though if you wanted to do serious car and motor work and your younger and fitter,the Larger long bed Triumph is the tool for the job.Avoid the older round bedColchesters they are now around 55 years old and many are well worn .by the way my liking for forward and reverse cluthes is that motor runs continuosly and imperial /metric screwcutting is easier.

Vince

Welcome.

By all means buy a new lathe but it may be worth finding out what is available locally. My local model engineering society frequently advertises deceased members' workshops. Contact a few local clubs and you may become of owner of a good fully tooled workshop. Think about the questions you should ask and seek advise.

Just to pollute your mind, have you looked at www.lathes.co.uk? Tony Griffiths's archive pages are wonderous and he does buy and sell machine tools.

JA

Nobody can really tell you what lathe to buy. It depends on many factors, eg your budget, what is available for sale and for viewing in your local area, what you can transport home, what you want to make on it, whether you like old machinery or new shiny things and so on.. It is like asking "What kind of car should I buy?"

At the risk of bringing down wrath on my head, (Not having used any of the 3 in 1 machines ) i tend to agree with those saying "Don't buy one"

Purely mu opinion!

WHY?

They look to be a bit high for what they are (i e Less rigid than ideal.

I have heard tales of the Mill head moving under heavy loads.

Having said that it all depends on how you use or abuse the machine. Some folk manage quite well, but maybe they do not push the machine to any of it's limits.

In any machine tools, or measuring system, rigidity is important. If the machine,or measuring instruments are flexing, how can you be sure of the accuracy, or repeatability of the result?

The machine that you buy must be YOUR choice, to make the things that you want / need to make, and that you feel able to afford.

If possible,buy new from a reputable supplier. If there are problems, you can call for support (If you can't, the supplier is unlikely to be reputable, or one that many on here would ,deal with.

A good supplier will work with you to solve a problem, even replacing a faulty machine.

A good secondhand machine will save money, but take with you someone who will know what to look for. Shiny paint may make it look refurbished, when it Ain't!

A machine ex college or school will nit have done a lot of hard work but will bear the scars of careless use.

An ex industry machine will been driven hard every day the week

A few points to consider.

Howard

Once again thanks everyone for solid advice and sharing their valued experience.

I'm certainly going full circle in terms of what I'm been looking for, such as already having discarded the 3 phase option but now see this with vfd there's no reason to. Also the small Chinese machines seem to be well regarding in the Warco/Chester livery.

It's going to be a huge learning curve regardless and I think priority lies with getting something solid and reliable which I can't blame when I'm not getting desired results.

Thanks again all.

Vince.

Whether you buy from Warco, Axminster, Arc Euro, Chester, SPG , Amadeal, or Machine Mart will, probably depend of the specification of the potential machine, and the price of the "package" on offer.

It could be that a package including accessories that will never use is a needless on cost, so it might be financially better to go for a more basic package, or even a "bare" lathe and just buy the extras that you are sure that will need.

Similarly, how confidence are you of the quality and reliability of the machine (Many are to same basic design, some out of the same factory, but jut in a different paint scheme ). If you are confident of the product, and your ability to fix a fault, you might decide to buy a machine with a 12 moth warranty rather than paying extra for a 5 year one that will never be used.

And SHOULD you need spares back up, what is the supplier's record in this?

Having dealt with .four of the above, two I rate highly,and woulds always recommend, others, i would avoid doing business with them, if possible because of poor service back up / advice.

Purely my experience, others might differ.

Howard

Vincent,

I will be putting my superb Boxford ME 10 for sale in the very near future. The actual lathe can be seen on Tony's lathes.co.uk It is the one with the very rare clutch and makers stand. It will come with a host of extras. A good quality British lathe that will not last a life time.

Thank you very much Peter. This sounds a cracking machine however I can announce I've just been fortunate enough to pick up a very nice little WM180 which was local to me to get me going. Having gone full circle looking at a variety of machines I decided it's a proven machine and a good introduction into the field. I'll just have to ask upon friend when I need to turn something larger for now.

Thanks again all for great input and Happy turning

Did you mean that? I suppose it depends on the length of a life!

Should put my specs on, before hitting the send key.