Toolco Lathe

Chris, sorry missed this post before is scrolled down. I don't think I've ever come accross them before so will have to examine their website. Lots on it but I wonder if it is stock they have or stock they will find in China after you've placed an order.

Must be someone on here who is local and can go along and check them out.

I did get in touch with them, and they had one 1322 model in stock, but I thought their delivery charge was excessive, and they were reluctant to do a dea, l so I went out and bought a Warco one today that came out of a Tech College and is in very good condition, almost new in fact.

Chris

Chris Hi, glad you are now sorted. I was in the middle of writing my very limited experience of them for you so might as well post it as others may be interested.

I can’t answer your actual question as I haven’t bought a machine from Toolco although I have bought smaller items in the past and all was fine. I have visited their showroom in Stroud particularly to view one of their larger mills and compare with two of the other importers who offer similar machines. I found them friendly and very helpful in answering my questions and making access for me to see what I wanted (they had just received a delivery). The machines I saw appeared well finished, well equipped, and were clean and well presented. To be honest they were typical of modern imports and not nearly as shoddy as some would have you believe. I wasn’t rushed or “guided” in any way, which I prefer and the coffee was fine. I thought they looked a professional outfit and given the right deal would have no issue with buying from them.

So, why didn’t I buy from them? Well, in my opinion, their delivery charge seemed expensive. Although it was in line with one of their competitors, another includes delivery charges in the published price. Toolco were firm on the price to me and didn’t appear interested in sweetening the deal with any “free” accessories or discounts. This might be their policy or may have been because they only had one of these machines in stock. Either way, two of their major competitors offered a better deal on a similar machine so I moved on.

In the end I bought a much better spec machine from Warco (from a cancelled order so was on a special deal) and enjoyed a few extra small items that were included as I asked nicely. The delivery service was excellent and the driver put the machine crate where I needed it. They had included the wrong DRO readout and they corrected that within a couple of days at no cost to me. The machine is working well and I can’t fault the service I have received, so much so, that I have bought quite a few extra accessories from them at the last couple of exhibitions. Obviously others experience may differ but I can only report on what I have found.

Hope you enjoy your new lathe

Regards

Keith