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Lathe Advice Needed

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Neil Bradshaw22/09/2009 15:45:09
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22 forum posts
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Hi
I am wanting to return to model engineering after quite a few years out.
I always used to do machining at work, I had a lovely range of very good machine facilities in my last job.
 
i would like to buy a lathr but which one and at what cost, I know I cant afford the likes of a myford ML7 even a second hand one as Im now retired on iull health.
What I need to know is, what are the good and bad lathes I know people used to talk about a 3 1/2 inch lathe or at least that what I can remeber. I know my uncle used a round bed lathe I cant even remeber I think it might have been a drummond
 
I just want to do some turning and possibly milling.
 
Can anybody point me in the right direction
 
cheers
 
Neil
JasonB22/09/2009 16:17:40
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What sort of size work are you thinking of doing as this will have an effect on what you will need.
 
There is a Bantum 1600 in the for sale section, these are good solid machines with a far greater capacity than a myford.
 
Jason
mgj22/09/2009 18:12:17
1017 forum posts
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Can you mill on a Bantam? I'm not familiar with them, but if costs/space mean you need to have one machine tool then you will need a lathe with a tee slotted cross slide - or be prepared to modify a cross slide.
JasonB22/09/2009 18:47:15
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I have seen them with bolted on tee sloted tables and they all seem to have tapped holes in the cross slide so it should be easy enough. You can also buy a large milling table but they cost as much as a small X1 type mill.
 
Jason
Paul Boscott22/09/2009 19:51:42
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I have been using an Atlas D10 for the past 30 years and it was old when I got it. Is a bit like a Morris Minor you can easily keep it in good repair the parts are readily available on ebay.  It has a 5 inch swing and a power cross slide. I have fitted the Quick change box, Milling attachment and can do metric with the change gears. A recent addition has been some cut up digital callipers on the cross slide and the tail stock that has worked very well. Check Ebay they go for about £200-£300

 >>

Yours Paul>>

Barry Q23/09/2009 16:34:30
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41 forum posts
I've recently bought a Boxford with a 5" swing - many are normally 4.5". Bought it on ebay. I saw it before bidding so knew what I was going to get - something that sounded like a bag of nails. However have since successfully rebuilt the head with new bearings, given it a GOOD clean and hey presto I have a good lathe that has amounted to about £650. The reason for telling you all this is that, subject to what you want to do, a reasonable 2nd hand lathe is good fun getting it right before you even start making your models. Of course you have to make sure that the worn parts are replacable.
My advice for what's it worth is to have a good look on the web (including ebay) and have a good look at many machines before parting with your money. A source of information about a whole range of lathes from Myfords upwards in size is:   http://www.lathes.co.uk/ 
This web site is a wealth of knowledge.
Best of luck in your search.
 
Barry Q
John Rogers23/09/2009 17:38:23
1 forum posts
It may be worth looking for a second hand Myford. If you can find one at a reasonable price in the adverts and can get the seriel number a phone call to Myfords will tell you how old it is and if they still stock the parts for it.
The beauty of Myfords is that as the manufacturer is UK based spares are easily available. Also there is a large range of tooling available for them and as the lathe is not as large as many of the industrial machines the tooling and chucks are often cheaper to buy. It is possible that if you buy a second hand industrial machine cheaper than the Myford you will end up spending more than the difference on the tooling to equip the lathe so overall you will not end up saving anything.
The other thing to consider is the space you have available as many of the old industrial machines are quite large and when put in a garage or small workshop leave little space to work.
Turning to milling, this is easily carried out on the Myford. You have two options,
a) you buy the bolt on milling attachemnt for the lathe made by Myford or I believe one or two other manufacturers have made some in the past.
b) you buy the verticle slide that bolts onto the cross slide
 
I've owned a Myford for nearly 20 years now and in that time have used a Harrisom and a Colchester. Of the three I prefer the Myford for Model Engineering.
 
Hope this gives you a useful pointer.

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