Lathe recomendations

Hi all, Im sure this question has been done to death but I feel I'm in a different position to many hobbyists. Due to the fact I own my own joinery workshop complete with many bonuses like forklifts, heating and 3ph electrics.

I have maintance staff (my dad) and were used to installing and maintaining heavy joinery machinery. We have contacts that have hiabs so moving larger machines is a doddle.

Im relatively new to engineering as a hobby, as my interests have changed throughout the years and the allure of new challenges and tighter tolerances have drawn me to the finer things.

Now Im equipping my works so I can indulge my hobby in my spare time.

Not coming from a solid engineering background Im not versed in what brands of machines to look for or there strengths and shortcomings. I have been researching on lathe.co.uk and other internet sites but as we all know nothing beats experience from hands on people.

Im not perticularly limited by size of machine as we have adequate heavy duty feed and ample floor space. with joinery machines Iv always aimed for the heavier side as you can work small on a big machine but you cant work big on a small one.

My main interest in the beginning would be using it for basic turning projects like thread cutting and producing bushes and shims for my machinery and jigs untill I gain proficientcy then I would like to move onto making more advanced projects as skill time and funds afford. I would like the ability to cut both metric and imperial threads as my machinery varys in age and some of it is as old as the hills. Taper turning would be advantageous but a luxury really.

Im unsure wether to buy a cheaper smaller lathe for now to gain experience and then improve my machinery as time progresses or wether to spend more in the beggining and have a machine I can live and grow in experience with.

Alan

There seems to be a number of technical colleges at present selling off the contents of their machine shop. I would suggest you find one of the Colchester range that such places used; they had quite an easy life compared to puduction machines. I think buying a cheaper new unit is bad practice - go for the real thing. Lots of good machines for sale - just Google 'Colchester'

Good luck

Tony

Not forgetting the dearer Harrisons, later models all from the same 600Group as Colchester using same cross slide on the Triumpth to Student, M300, M400 etc.

There can be bargains but bide your time for the right one. Also last longer than a new inferior chinese.

Imperial amd metric thread cutting without need to faff around with change wheels, say no more.

It all depends upon the sizes you intend messing with but as a guide the M300/Student size and above should fit well.

The only reservation is these above machines will drag you in and dont stop for nothing. On the other hand a toy lathe may be more than enough to turn you off, but could also be a good trainer over a few years. Hence the ole saying he who never made mistakes, never learnt anything.

Just my opinion but I would go for a Colchester too. Plenty of range variety of "big" sizes from Chipmasters, through master/student up to magnums and mastiffs, excellent built in threadcutting capabilities metric and imperial on the same machine, enough mass for real work, spares and accessories readily available,new and s/h fairly cheaply . Harrisons also good but tend to have lower spindle speeds and the range is more difficult to understand. Both are excellent quality.

Largish toolroom lathes such as Holbrooks (bit old and slow spindle speeds), CVAs (excellent),DSGs (v.heavy and more expensive, bit slow on spindle speeds), and Smart and Browns all come up second hand, ridiculously cheaply for the quality, (usually cheaper than Colchesters) and are a class above Colchesters but unless you got a comprehensively equipped one chasing the accessories can be almost impossible and expensive.A very comprehensively tooled CVA toolroom lathe attracted no bids on ebay this week at a start price of £750. It was stated to be in goodish nick and probably cost, with the tooling £35,000 back in the 1950s !!! And IMO would have been worth every penny.  Hardings also in this class but for some strange reason are very much more expensive s/h.None of these except DSGs go as big as Colchesters. I would n't bother with a smaller lathe. Myfords for instance are nice for smaller model making but ridiculously expensive for the quality and capabilities compared with all the above and it sounds as if you want to do real work with the lathe. Boxfords are better value and have more capability than Myfords ,but why not go straight for an easy -to- use Colchester, which won't be much if any dearer. Another possibility is a 13 inch swing Emco but these are rarer s/h, a bit dearer and no gap bed.

I realise the above contains a lot of generalisations and you have to do the standard caveat emptor checks on a second hand lathe but I would say for your requirements as posted, a Colchester is almost the only choice. Just my two pennorth.

Edited By alan frost on 20/02/2012 01:15:36

Having gone through a number of smaller lathes mainly aimed at the hobby market I have now got 2 manual lathes, a Dean Smith & Grace 13 30 and a Smart and Brown 1024. Both are fantastic machines and were ex university. They are certainly a step up from the lighter hobby machines. The only pitfall in my opinion about owning a large lathe like the DSG is that changing chucks tends to be an operation involving much grunting and groaning and can leave you cursing when you're working on a tiny piece of square bar. I like the 1024 because it is small enough to manage without too much trouble but I often find myself wishing I still had my ML10.

David

Thanks for your replys, I was wondering if the likes of smart and brown and some of the other makes of fine toolroom lathe were a tricky disposition with reguards to parts and spares. I will keep my eyes open and if an older machine comes out with all the kit I'll have a look if not I will keep my eyes open for a larger colchester or harrison.

Thanks for your help

Alan

No doubt about it Dean Smith and Grace, Smart and Browns are the Rolls Royce of lathes in the true sense. They are big muthers robust is an understatement but probably wont be ideal as an all rounder.

Harrisons were dearer than Colchesters but newer flat top had impressive spindle speeds from around 65 on ie M300 = 2500RPM and still produced today.

A good learning lathe in abundance but not ideal are the L5, 11" and 140 with a clutch! Just make sure its got the Norton gearbox and full set of hard to get change wheels.

As above if threadings a priority you will do no worse than a newer M series Harrison or most Colchester flat tops. Just bide your time.

Some Colchesters from 55 on had decent speeds like the Triumpth, nice machines. For some reason the Colchester seem to maintain there price, maybe its due to them being more widely known exactly the way the cheap chinese stuff commands second hand prices more than when bought brand new.

http://www.lathes.co.uk

If something takes your fancy, feel free to drop a query.

Hi Alan,

I have a metric Colchester Chipmaster 5x20 in very nice condition with thread cutting, 3 & 4 jaw chucks, face plate, fixed steady, 4 post quick change tool head, tool holders, chuck, rotating and fixed centres etc. It is 3 phase and I have a Transwave single phase converter available.

Also available is a Downham Mini Borer, verticle power feed mill.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris that sounds interesting can you pm me some details.

Regards

Alan