Harrison L5 or colchester

[AHTI123]

Im looking for a Lathe, narrowed it down to possibly a harrison or colchester. The ones on ebay seem to range from £500 upto £2kish and to be honest im tying myself in knots!

Ive set a budget of about £1k to get something with everything i need, but i need a bit of help to find the best of the bunch.

I havnt owned a lathe before and i appreciate the ones ive chosen are possibly quite large to start on, but i dont want to buy twice and want something i can grow into - plus il be very careful!

Most of the ones for sale are typically around a 6 hour round trip away, which is fine if i know what i am buying is a goodun, but dont want to be doing that trip multiple times to find the best of the bunch.

Any help or advise. Cheers.

 

[Newlands]

Depends on condition and what comes with it in the way of chucks, steadies, toolpost, tools etc, whether it’s single or 3 phase (and whether you’ll need a vfd to run it), whether you can get it delivered, nd whether it’s metric or imperial (and whether it has a conversion gear for threading). And probably a few other things as well.
There’s not much difference between Harrison and Colchester lathes to be honest - both were good quality machines. Harrison m250 and m300’s are generally expensive but hold their value, but I think the same applies to Colchester Students and the like.
Don’t discount other Harrison models like the 140 and the later 155/12“ and 165/13”, and the 190/15” - check their specs on lathes.co.uk.

You probably need to have a think about what you will use it for - for me I would want a metric lathe, 3 and four jaw chucks, a decent quick-change toolpost and a decent size spindle bore. What I haven’t got and would like is a fixed steady and a metric/imperial change gear to cut the occasional BSP thread.

 

[AHTI123]

Thanks, yep lots of points to consider..

Dont mind if its metric or imperial
Only have single phase but if i have to buy a vfd as an extra not the end of the world
Definately want 3 and 4 jaw chuck, and fixed and travelling steadies, tools and chucks
And must have a spindle bore of greater than 1"
And something that isnt generally worn out!

But im going round in circles trying to find the "right" one

 

[minimutly]

Thanks, yep lots of points to consider..

Dont mind if its metric or imperial
Only have single phase but if i have to buy a vfd as an extra not the end of the world
Definately want 3 and 4 jaw chuck, and fixed and travelling steadies, tools and chucks
And must have a spindle bore of greater than 1"
And something that isnt generally worn out!

But im going round in circles trying to find the "right" one

You have everything you need covered there I think. Something bigger can work out a lot cheaper too.
Everyone wants the small Colchester/Harrisons, but for some reason the Chipmaster doesn’t sell as well - maybe because it’s ugly?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Keep in mind to factor in the weight of any prospective purchase and where it's going to be sited. Some of these things are hefty and don't do well without a good, very solid base.