- Thread starter squazy84
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Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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have you looked on www.lathes.co.uk
Good condition old 3 phase lathes can sometimes be found for very little money, so unless this one is in particularly good condition or very cheap, then best to forget it and look for something you might have a chance of getting parts for if they are ever required.
jugs
Dont wish to offend & annoy, but...
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Good solid heavy reliable machies, mine is 1.5 ton 
cuts nice.
also look for wear on lead-screw if you intend to screwcut.
Old geared headstock's can be a bit noisy thats OK ..but switch off, put out of gear & spin chuck - if it rumbles - walk away, the head bearings are kaput, (expensive to replace).
cuts nice.thats the basics
also look for wear on lead-screw if you intend to screwcut.
Old geared headstock's can be a bit noisy thats OK ..but switch off, put out of gear & spin chuck - if it rumbles - walk away, the head bearings are kaput, (expensive to replace).
The link that Shox posted... several pages on Willson lathes http://www.lathes.co.uk/willson/index.html that should point out their weak points. Don't know much about 'em but as said availability of spares is something to consider. Along with condition etc also think about what it comes with tooling wise...
Spare parts will be next to impossible, and E900 sounds very expensive for a the type of machine which if you are in the right place at the right time, its possible to get for nothing. If it comes with a lot of tooling in the price though, and its good condition, then not quite so bad pricewise.
I would suggest hanging on and looking for something newer, which is probably going to be better condition and easier to get parts for. If you have 3phase power, its well worth visiting any local engineering places and asking, as they may have or know of something for sale.
I would suggest hanging on and looking for something newer, which is probably going to be better condition and easier to get parts for. If you have 3phase power, its well worth visiting any local engineering places and asking, as they may have or know of something for sale.
jugs
Dont wish to offend & annoy, but...
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Wrong reson for buying a lathe 
If you want a nice colchester like you had in school you could pay £2500 -£4500
(with no tooling)So..... start again-
What do you want to make ?
What's the biggest item you'll turn ?
What's the smallest item you'll turn ?
Jobbing or production ?
How many / batch ?
What materials will you use ?
What accuracy do you need 0.1000 / 0.0100 / 0.0010 /0.0001" ?
What weight will the floor take ?
What size can you get through the door ?
What power do you have - kVA, & is it 1 or 3ph?
Work out what you need, that will tell you what you want.
If you want to make clocks think £1000
If you want to make rough bits for agticultral trailers think £250
BUT - If you want to make both on the same machine think £40,000
If you want a nice colchester like you had in school you could pay £2500 -£4500
So..... start again-
What do you want to make ?
What's the biggest item you'll turn ?
What's the smallest item you'll turn ?
Jobbing or production ?
How many / batch ?
What materials will you use ?
What accuracy do you need 0.1000 / 0.0100 / 0.0010 /0.0001" ?
What weight will the floor take ?
What size can you get through the door ?
What power do you have - kVA, & is it 1 or 3ph?
Work out what you need, that will tell you what you want.
If you want to make clocks think £1000
If you want to make rough bits for agticultral trailers think £250
BUT - If you want to make both on the same machine think £40,000
Good advice..............lots of people dont seem to ask those fundamental questions, with some ending up with Chinese made rubbish, thats totally unsuitable for their purposes!
I have a very nice Mk2 Colchester Bantam, which came for very little money, but almost immediately it was clear that something bigger would be a lot better.
ha yea, well its just a hobby,we have a small garage and i like to do custom work on my skyline, there will be no watch making! we have heavy duty 3 phase power, and space is no problem, my budget for these kind of items is always around a grand sterling, the lathe would have to have a chuck able to hold 50 mm bar min, and i want roughly 30'' between centers,I want no modern clarke or similar lathe as im prety sure it would be good enough for the average hobbyist but wreck my head, and JUGS what are you talking about the wrong reason for buying a lathe? the lathe we had in school was no 4.5 k lathe, i can afford which ever one i please but i would prefer to keep roughly to my 1k budget,perhaps you think im just out of school or something?
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
- Messages
- 17,986
- Location
- East Yorkshire
There you go again. If you really want to contribute and learn from the guys on this forum. I respectfully suggest you remove the large chip from your shoulder
jugs
Dont wish to offend & annoy, but...
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Sorry I spoke,
Yes mabe in mind if not in body
Im sure you dont need me to give you advice .... BUT..
Originally Posted by squazy84
been doing the rounds for over a year now, i wanted a nice colchester or similar like we had in school!
+
im out of my depth really,
so go & try google
good luck
Quite simple really..............you either pay £2-4K from a dealer for something along the lines you are looking for, or look into getting something from a private seller outside of Ireland for a lot less money, but obviously have shipping costs to bear in mind.
Thing that most people forget though is the cost of tooling, and this can mean that a machine with little tooling, which seems a bargain, can end up costing almost double after tooling has been bought for it.
Thing that most people forget though is the cost of tooling, and this can mean that a machine with little tooling, which seems a bargain, can end up costing almost double after tooling has been bought for it.
