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CT 918 - any comments

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Stub Mandrel20/11/2010 20:40:23
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My Dad has been asked to sell an  Intercity CT-918 lathe on behalf of my Uncle, and I'm interested, but its 150 miles away so a quick look-over is out of the question. It appears to be basically same spec as the Warco CT-918.
 
The search function isn't turning up anything in these forums on the lathe. Are there any issues or experiences I ought to know about before making an offer?
 
Neil
 
Lathejack21/11/2010 00:19:35
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Hello Stub.
 
 The 918 lathes, first made in Taiwan and later China, have been around for many years and are a copy of the origional made in Austria Emco Compact 8, not to be confused with the current Compact 8E which is itself made in China.
 
 As usual the Far East gives you a bit extra for your money and include a nine position quick change screwcutting gearbox and a longitudinal powerfeed built into the apron indipendant of the leedscrew thread. So you can change from a fine feed to a thread pitch and back again without having to constantly alter the change wheels, which are usualy made of plastic. There is no power crossfeed.
 
 There is no method of reversing the leedscrew, and one of the main problems seems to be the rather weak two bolt fixing of the topslide to the crosslide. A very popular mod is to convert the topslide base to a four bolt fixing which can improve the ridgidity and turning finish a lot. They all seem to use a threaded spindle nose instead of the often fiddly plain flange of a lot of todays bench top lathes.
 
 There must have been quite a lot of producers of the 918 in the Far East as quality and small details vary a lot. Some i have examined have been quite tidy machines and others very rough and ready.
 
 If you do an internet search for '9x20 lathe' this should provide a lot of infomation on problems and mods. The machines seem to be very popular in the United States and are usualy referred to as the 9x20.
 
 Hope this helps.

Edited By Lathejack on 21/11/2010 00:21:30

Terryd21/11/2010 07:08:23
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Hi Stub,
 
Try the Yahoo 9x20 lathe forum at Yahoo, here
 
Terry
David Clark 121/11/2010 09:19:29
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Hi There
I think Intercity may be or have been based at High Wyvcombe.
regards David
Richard Parsons21/11/2010 12:07:50
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They were but they then moved to Aylesbury.  They may still be there
Stub Mandrel21/11/2010 21:20:09
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Many thanks folks
 
Any search on 'intercity' gets swamped by railway timetables!
 
But now I know 9x18=9x20
 
That lack of reverse is intriguing; no way to add a tumbler reverse?
 
Neil
 
Stub Mandrel21/11/2010 21:39:22
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There's an interesting range of views. It seems to be less versatile than my ol' friend mini lathe. If I want the extra capacity I would probably want to do all my  mods all over again plus tumbler reverse and possibly cosider adding 3-phase inverter drive for speed control. I suspect it would complement the mini lathe not replace it!
 
The machine has a good solid bed and is heavy. As far as productive work goes unless you need 8 more inches between centers the 7x10 can do more and better work easier than the 9x20 machines can. The 9x20 is a oversized hobby lathe like the EMCO Compact 8 that it was copied from. It is missing many features that are standard features on the 7x10 such as: Reversible lead screw feed by tumbler lever Slow speed back gear system for threading and heavy turning Reversible variable speed motor The ability to pick it up and move it to where you want to work. The 7x10 is a small sized real lathe like the Myford, South Bend and Logan lathes just more compact. The 9x20 is a large size hobby lathe like the Compact 8 and the larger Prazi with all of the same performance limitations of the type.
 
I'll try and get to see it before I decide.
 
Neil
Mark Dickinson21/11/2010 21:39:29
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Neil  have a look at Steve Bedair's website he has a lot of improvements for the 9x20, including a tumbler reverse.
Mark
john swift 121/11/2010 21:43:12
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Hi Neil ,
 
 
for ideas
 
search for  " Steve Bedair tumbler reverse "
 
 
 
John

Edited By john swift 1 on 21/11/2010 21:45:00

Edited By john swift 1 on 21/11/2010 21:45:52

Edited By john swift 1 on 21/11/2010 21:47:55

Dusty21/11/2010 23:54:30
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Some of the earlier '918s' had a huge 4 jaw. This was basically a heavy faceplate with four radial groves in the face these had a slot in them which accepted the jaws which were loose. The jaws were secured by a stud which passed through the slot and were secured by a nut at the back. If the lathe has one it would be worth buying just for that. I missed mine when I changed lathes a while back. I could hold things in it that I am unable to in my current 4 jaw although it is a larger lathe I have now.
Stub Mandrel22/11/2010 19:53:10
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Thanks for the links to Steve Bedair's site. It's given me a lot more confidence in the machine.
 
I wish I could get hold of cheap large section steel and ally stock - he uses it like there's no tomorrow!
 
Neil

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