Requesting advice on replacing lathes.
Tristan Luscombe | 03/05/2023 09:27:10 |
30 forum posts 7 photos | Hi folks,
I work in the DT department of a secondary school. We're very lucky to have a load of proper workshop machines, but they are getting on a bit. Our main workshop has four 70 year old Boxford lathes, they've done sterling service but they are so old now they've gone beyond my ability to 'tighten stuff up' and there is simply no chance in Hell that I will ever have the time or opportunity to strip them down and restore them, even if I could find replacement parts for these. It seems 'possible' that there 'might' be some funds available for rare expenditures (nothing concerning money is ever certain at school) and so we thought about replacing these four center lathes with two small modern lathes. I had seen only good comments about Axminster lathes, but when our service engineer came round last week he almost choked at the suggestion and said Axminster machines were "cheap Chinese crap, dreadful quality and a lack of support and parts are common." (I'm just telling you what he said!). So with that in mind, I would like to ask you lovely people for alternative suggestions as to what makes I might want to look at. I have no figures for the amount of money that might be availble, but the last time (years ago) we had this opportunity the amount was around £17k to replace our laser cutter, so I'm somewhat optimistically hoping it would be a similar amount. I had never heard of Ajax but they seem to be quite well regarded and their entry level machine is around £8k - does anyone have any experience of them? All suggestions are welcome. We need something with variable speed and metric from the ground up so we can teach feeds and speeds, different materials, threading and so-on. I have no idea if we might be able to get some money for our old Boxfords, they do work so I would have thought they would have value to someone who maybe has the time to strip them down and replace the worn parts - they've done 70 years, I'd be surprised if they couldn't do another 70 with a bit of TLC. Sorry, I know this is a bit wordy, but if anyone has any advice I would be very grateful. Thank you!
|
Nicholas Farr | 03/05/2023 09:57:29 |
![]() 3988 forum posts 1799 photos | Tristan, you could look at Warco or Chester or even Chester Hobby Store which may have something suitable. Regards Nick. |
Bizibilder | 03/05/2023 10:07:02 |
![]() 173 forum posts 8 photos | Warco have a section for sales to educational establishments. I would give them a ring and see what they have to offer. Their machines are imports but are of good quality and they do have a good after sales service. (usual disclaimer). All machines have metric models available and inverter drives to give variable speeds. Don't take much notice of "out of stock" on their website. They will be able to advise you on stock and delivery over the phone. It maybe that a delivery is due immanently - they only put stock on the website when it is actually in their warehouse and unsold by pre-order (unlike some others who shall remain nameless!!). Axminster are often a favoured supplier to schools and I'm not sure why - they are expensive and do not have good after sales service - the experience of 25 years in education and the thoughts of a D+T technician and teachers that I know well. |
Tristan Luscombe | 03/05/2023 10:07:21 |
30 forum posts 7 photos | Thank you, Nick, I'll take a look! |
Hollowpoint | 03/05/2023 10:15:39 |
550 forum posts 77 photos | Anything from Aximinster, Warco, Chester etc is a backwards step IMO. A couple of Myford Super 7 Connoisseurs would probably be your best option. |
mgnbuk | 03/05/2023 10:18:51 |
1394 forum posts 103 photos | Ajax are long established importer, though the current company are different management to the original company. Their "Trainer" lathe looks like a generic Asian lathe, most likely Taiwanese. I would expect good backup from them. The "Trainer" lathe looks a lot bigger / more powerful / more capable machine than a Boxford - more Harrison M250 / 300 -ish. Another industrially biased company are Excel Machine Tools - another long established importer. Their manual machines are Optimum brand - made in China for a German company who apparently oversee quality. Similar machines to Warco / Chester / Amadeal etc. Another company who advertise in ME is Aries Duct Fix who sell Cormak branded machines. As far as I know, Cormak are a Polish company, though the machines are most likely Chinese in origin. You will struggle to find a manual machine not made in China or Taiwan these days. Nigel B. |
Tristan Luscombe | 03/05/2023 10:24:31 |
30 forum posts 7 photos | Thank you everyone, this is incredibly helpful! |
John Haine | 03/05/2023 10:34:11 |
5563 forum posts 322 photos | In my experience, Arc Eurotrade stock good versions of the ubiquitous Sieg machine tools and provide excellent customer service. How relevant their "only sold for hobby use" statement is in this context I don't know. The biggest machine is the SC4, you could buy several of these for the price of one new Myford, if you bought 2 Myford Connoisseurs you could have bought a roomful! You might consider getting the Boxfords you have professionally overhauled instead. |
SillyOldDuffer | 03/05/2023 10:41:31 |
10668 forum posts 2415 photos | Posted by Hollowpoint on 03/05/2023 10:15:39:
Anything from Aximinster, Warco, Chester etc is a backwards step IMO. A couple of Myford Super 7 Connoisseurs would probably be your best option. Dunno about Axminster but Warco and Chester both sell Industrial machines. I hope no-one thinks hobby machines made down to a price are the best that can be done, they're not. I'm not aware of any hobbyist spending £17k on a Chinese industrial lathe, or similar made around the world. Be interesting to have a play with one - I'd expect a £17k machine to be rather better than my £3000 economy model. I assume the Myford Super 7 Connoisseur suggestion is a joke? Good lathes in the hands of a considerate machinist, but surely too delicate for trainees. Myfords were never popular in schools, who generally bought more robust kit. Dave
|
Andy Boothman | 03/05/2023 10:43:48 |
10 forum posts | Have you looked at getting someone else to recondition them? Ostia tools (https://ostiatools.co.uk/about-us/) recondition stuff (normally, it appears, what they have removed from school workshops). Maybe worth asking them? |
Robert Atkinson 2 | 03/05/2023 10:51:05 |
![]() 1891 forum posts 37 photos | Another industrial supplier that also supports education is XYZ. Not sure about cost but their manual trainer lathes may be appropiate https://xyzmachinetools.com/manual-lathes/ These wolud be more represenative than a mini-lathe if students are actually going into industry. Robert. |
JasonB | 03/05/2023 10:53:01 |
![]() 25215 forum posts 3105 photos 1 articles | Emcomat 14S would be a better quality than most of what has been mentioned above, you might just get a bit of change out of that budget Or Boxford will supply you a CNC lathe which is more what any student is likely to find in industry, plus thay have all teh educational approvals etc Edited By JasonB on 03/05/2023 10:55:49 |
Trevor Drabble | 03/05/2023 11:50:06 |
![]() 339 forum posts 7 photos | Tristan , The 600 Group web page is showing they still supply lathes to suit your purposes , though they not quoting any prices . |
Tristan Luscombe | 03/05/2023 12:16:45 |
30 forum posts 7 photos | Fantastic, thank you everyone, I will follow all these suggestions up. I really appreciate your help |
Tristan Luscombe | 03/05/2023 12:32:10 |
30 forum posts 7 photos | I've seen SIEG lathes mentioned in quite a few places, does anyone have any experience with them? |
bernard towers | 03/05/2023 12:44:42 |
1221 forum posts 161 photos | Used to be in D&T, never seen a school lathe or mill that’s worn out yet! |
Dave Wootton | 03/05/2023 12:48:58 |
505 forum posts 99 photos | I've used a Warco geared head lathe in industry and despite my initial horror when told we were getting a Chinese machine I found it to be a good lathe. Certainly overcame my prejudices and I grew to regard it quite highly, used fairly heavily over a fairly long period it proved robust and accurate, certaily wouldn't mind one at home. We also had a Warco Bridgeport clone that was another robust reliable machine. I would imagine that the similar machines offered by other reputable and established importers would also be entirely satisfactory. Given the purchase price of these machines they seem remarkable value for money and ideally suited to school use. |
Oldiron | 03/05/2023 12:58:44 |
1193 forum posts 59 photos | Good luck in your search for new lathes. It makes a refreshing change to hear that a school will put money into machines. Your Boxfords depending on condition and attachments will be worth a good bit. An average price would be between £350 & £1200 depending on model. "T" being the cheapest & "AUD" being the higher price for standard lathes. VSL & 500 varispeeds also fetch a bit more.
regards |
JasonB | 03/05/2023 13:11:05 |
![]() 25215 forum posts 3105 photos 1 articles | The smaller lathes that Axminster sell are Sieg though not all of theirs. There are other suppliers of Sieg lathes who are regarded as giving very good service on here but may not want to supply their lathes into an educational enviroment. I've a couple of their mills and am more than happy with what I can do on them, See the ARC advert top right of page Edited By JasonB on 03/05/2023 13:13:09 |
mgnbuk | 03/05/2023 13:30:58 |
1394 forum posts 103 photos | I assume the Myford Super 7 Connoisseur suggestion is a joke? Good lathes in the hands of a considerate machinist, but surely too delicate for trainees. Myfords were never popular in schools, who generally bought more robust kit. I guess the school that bought my Super 7 initially (and the other two that the dealer I bought it from had from the same source) didn't know what they were doing then, Dave. Myford brochures also suggest that they saw education as part of their target audience - but what did they know ?. I assume that you have not used one from your comments. Tristran has not said which specific model of Boxford he is looking to replace, the target audience (age or capability) or what he wants the machines to do. More detailed info would help narrow down the choices offered. 600 Group is mentioned above. Their manual machines are made in the Far East (Taiwan at the time of the last discussion I had with one of their reps) & the last quote I saw (from a YouTube video from a chap who was suffering various woes with an ex-industrial M300 & got a quote from 600 to replace it with a new one late last year) was around £15K + Vat. Nigel B. |
Please login to post a reply.
Want the latest issue of Model Engineer or Model Engineers' Workshop? Use our magazine locator links to find your nearest stockist!
Sign up to our newsletter and get a free digital issue.
You can unsubscribe at anytime. View our privacy policy at www.mortons.co.uk/privacy
You can contact us by phone, mail or email about the magazines including becoming a contributor, submitting reader's letters or making queries about articles. You can also get in touch about this website, advertising or other general issues.
Click THIS LINK for full contact details.
For subscription issues please see THIS LINK.