Lathe wanted

[powderblast]

Hi all, im wanting a lathe to use at home and i have been watching a lot of vids mainly doubleboost using a lathe and im interested to learn the skill but i have never used one in my life have you guys got any advice when it comes to buying one, what i will need and what to look out for. I would like and old 240v boxford as these look heavy duty compared to new style lathes.

Any input would be great.

 

[toddy]

I went out and got my self a new Axminster c8 lathe
I am very happy with it. And having it from new means I get a warranty etc and I know I can easily get spares.

I did look at a few second hand ones and for the extra went new

 

[addjunkie]

First off. Its not difficult to learn. Secondly machine tools can become quite an expensive addiction.
So answer this, what do you aspire to make? This will guide your machine choice, learning the basics the machine size makes very little difference. Do you want to screw cut?

What sort of budget do you have? Also space, lathes eat floor space

As a learner you need to buy a machine that isnt a project, and will work, or you will flounder and loose both money and interest.

There are many variants of the boxfords, some very basic school machines others very good. Dont restrict your search to one make, there are many others just as good, many better. Dont also restrict yourself to single phase, there are many ways round this.

 

[gaz1]

for a person thats never used one you are very specific for the type of machine you are wanting to use

i went the ml7 myford route after a bought the ml4 first

 

[Dieselman 63]

Don't buy a lathe based on a manufacturer's name as you could land yourself in all sorts of trouble - Boxford produced a range of training lathes which come up for sale from time to time - often cheaper, but they lack screw-cutting and other capabilities. Also I'm assuming by 240v you're referring to single phase power - this doesn't have to be an issue as you can convert 3ph motors to run on 1ph.

Bed wear is something to watch for - usually by the chuck. Ex-school ones often have a few nicks from careless students though tend to have less wear. Other obvious things like watching the machine run before you buy it - and trying all of the speeds. Excess noise from bearings may indicate impending failure. Headstock bearings can be very expensive, especially the taper-roller type made by Gamet, used in Boxfords.

I recommend buying a popular model - that was one of the reasons I bought my Colchester Bantam, over 10,000 produced and lots of people own them (John used to have one before his Boxford). There's a lot of info on the Bantam out there and although expensive, there are spares available if you do break something. With an obscure model from the 1920's dismantling tutorials might not exist and getting spares might not be so simple.

It's all about what you want to do basically, and what capabilities you want to have at your disposal. My 1600 Bantam has quite a good range as it's industry spec, it just lacks the speed needed to machine materials such as copper. When you do buy, try and get a lathe with as much included in the sale of the actual machine as possible - chucks, quick change tool posts, tools, carbide inserts, steadies, changewheels and anything else are very, very expensive, often over the cost of the machine when bought separately.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

What sort of budget do you have? Also space, lathes eat floor space

As a learner you need to buy a machine that isnt a project, and will work, or you will flounder and loose both money and interest.

Second this. I've got two in pieces ATM and desperate to use them. If you do buy second hand make sure it has chucks 3 and 4 and tooling. These can be as expensive to squire as your original purchase.
I am however enjoying rebuilding my lathes and will know then inside out when I'm done.

 

[addjunkie]

Also dont write of some of the imported stuff. I had a warco machine form the 80s, good machine, worked well, still in use, by a friend who builds bikes and as accurate as any of the old industrial machines Ive used, just not quite as heavey duty.

Another thing with the imported stuff from the likes of warco is you get all the bits with them with old machines you dont tend too. And as already said these can be bloody expensive

 

[Dieselman 63]

Another thing with the imported stuff from the likes of warco is you get all the bits with them with old machines you dont tend too. And as already said these can be bloody expensive

Take it from someone trying to find a travelling steady for a Bantam - they want 70 quid over on ebay for a used one!

Also this may seem obvious but there are imperial machines and metric machines. You can change a metric machine to imperial using changewheels but it can be difficult to make metric threads on an imperial machine. Of course, it all boils down to what you are doing - if you're rebuilding a 1940's motorbike then an imperial machine may come in very handy. On the other hand, if you're unfamiliar with imperial measurements as I am, and all the wheels and gauges are in inches, then using the lathe may be more of a hindrance than a pleasure.

A bigger machine also needs more power, which means more electricity, if this is a concern to you. A bigger machine will also have a bigger taper, and the larger than is the more expensive tools for the tailstock (drill chucks, taper-mount drills, live centres etc) will be.

Most importantly, don't rush into buying something. Before I bought my Bantam I had the chance to buy a clapped out ML7 for $1500, a Boxford for $1400, and this old Australian thing from the 1920s for $400 - all of these were unsuitable. There's a lot of junk on the market and people will be only too happy to offload it to an unsuspecting buyer. The right machine for you will come, patience is a virtue.

 

[gaz1]

heres my thread on the subject

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/considering-a-lathe-but-so-unsure.51978/#post-598540

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/bought-another-lathe-ml7-with-homemade-gearbox.55999/

@optima21 @Richard. who also bought a lathe recently both guys have done some great work on theres

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/feeling-a-little-restricted.63991/

and enjoy your read thread is massive

 

[powderblast]

Thanks for all you input so far i have much to think about and im gonna read the threads now gaz

 

[optima21]

another thing to take into accout, is what do you want to use the lathe for? that will also determine the size of machine you want. if you decide you want to skim car brake drums etc, a boxford sized lathe wont be big enough etc.

 

[rikrobson]

You budget will largely dictate what you will get. youll need between £500 and £1000 to get a decent one with accessories.
Don't but one without any accessories either. These will endup taking all your money.
things to watch out for are the ways. Ex school lates have a tendancy to be used near the chuch and can were there as opposed to allong the ways. you'll ideally want one with little wear otherwise your results will be variable. the headstock spindle also neets to have no wear in it and shoud only rotate smoothly with no wobble or endplay.
Don't worry too much about backlash there are ways to cope with it. all the threads will to some extent hace backlash and do need it or they will be to tight.
you'll also need to consider how you are going to transport it one you've bought it. They ain't light!
I have a Boxford BUD. This if fixed to its base (where the motor lives). its getting on for 300Kgs. I was going to traier it home, but it ended up getting split from the base and put in the back of the car. I've an Audi A6 estate and I wouldn't think it would go in anything much smaller. Event with it split the two parts are still heavy. an engine crane does the job but the legs do get in the way. if you have a couple or three strong mates you'll get it shifted.

 

[decca]

for a person thats never used one you are very specific for the type of machine you are wanting to use

i went the ml7 myford route after a bought the ml4 first

You cannot beat the ml7 to start imo. A basic lathe, good quality and an abundance of tooling all be it slightly expensive.

 

[indy4x]

Personally I would prefer an ex school machine rather than one that has had been used in industry with a million hours of use and completely tired out. Yes ex school kit can have some dings in the ways close to the chuck, usually as a result of leaving the chuck key in and other newbie mistakes but generally have loads less wear then ex industry jobbies but there are always exceptions.

Jus to put some perspective on it, I have now had 3 ex school Harrison M300's plus a Boxford and a Colchester Bantam, yes they were all mingling with years of dried oil and a grease, few dings on the bed close to the chuck, topslide in most cases could have done with a new lead screw nut (or live with the backlash) but a good strip and clean made them very presentable and useable accurate machines. I did drop the ball on my current M300, one of the shafts in the screw cutting gearbox had sheared but the problem wasn't apparent until you put it under load, luckily I managed to repair it and so far it's holding up OK. The other issue was the thrust bearings in the cross and top slides were dry and gritty, made the action feel really horrible (good bargaining point when discussing value) but all they needed was a good clean and fresh oil and they are now fine.

Conversely my BIL has an ex industry Colchester Student 1800, it has had years of use and he is having major grief trying to get rid of a significant amount of side play out of the cross slide. Was looking at it tonight with him and it looks like the ways are really badly worn and are bowed he has bought a new gib strip for it as the old one was definitely past it's usefulness and while it's helped it looks like the V's need some serious work. Whenever he visits he goes and double checks the play/backlash in my M300 and has a little moan about his cross slide

Bottom line is there is good and bad in both ex education and ex industrial equipment, if you are unsure take someone with you who can help you find what you need and point out any issues they can see

 

[rikrobson]

Second hand is always going to have some problems

 

[Gritineye]

A friend of mine has a Myford ML 10 for sale, it's virtually unworn, it was bought by a friend of his, now deceased, who never used it, then it laid in his shed unused for many years I believes since the late 70s.

Not sure what comes with it but if there's any interest I could have a closer look at it and take some photos.

It's located near Eastbourne E. Sx.

 

[powderblast]

i was in the process of buying a used warco 280v with stand for 700 but by the time i agreed he got a couple of bids on it and then he stopped messaging me he just message me this morning basically saying you had your chance now its at a good price im leaving it.

Its really annoying because i recently sold a van on ebay and someone offered me a price i accepted and by the time i sent my address to him the van was at more than i agreed with him but because the deal was somewhat done and because of the way i am i said to him you can still have it, shame others are not like this.

 

[Pete.]

Not really the same situation though, you agreed a price on your van then you got some bids in, whereas he got bids in before you agreed a price on the lathe. Bit of a bummer for you but you can't blame him.

 

[powderblast]

Not really the same situation though, you agreed a price on your van then you got some bids in, whereas he got bids in before you agreed a price on the lathe. Bit of a bummer for you but you can't blame him.

yeah i know what your saying but whilst i finished the phone call with the guy it was at the over the amount we agreed for the van i just took it on the chin and still sold it.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

i was in the process of buying a used warco 280v with stand for 700 but by the time i agreed he got a couple of bids on it and then he stopped messaging me he just message me this morning basically saying you had your chance now its at a good price im leaving it.

Its really annoying because i recently sold a van on ebay and someone offered me a price i accepted and by the time i sent my address to him the van was at more than i agreed with him but because the deal was somewhat done and because of the way i am i said to him you can still have it, shame others are not like this.

Re-enforces the saying "he who hesitates, is lost". Write it down to experience and move on - another lathe'll be along in time.