Lathe choice help plz

[Piero]

Hi Guys

I am looking to add a larger lathe to my small workshop, current lathe is a Super 7.

I am only a classic car hobby guy, BUT my choice of cars are all imperial.

I know to add a DRO will help, but I want the new lathe to be able to screw cut in imperial sizes.

I very much like to look of the Harrison 140. can a set of change wheels be had to make this a imperial cutting lathe????

If its more trouble than its worth, How about a Colchester, and with that said, which one

I would idealy like a lathe with a large spindle bore, as I find the Myford limited in this department

 

[Northumbrian]

What sort of capacity do you want?
Lathes in the size range of the Harrison 140, have a swing of 9 to 11 inch, with 20 to 40 inch between the centres.
So you've got a quite a range, if you want screwcutting, there's quite a few other makes available which are better than Harrison or Colchester.
Smart & Brown, Hardinge, Holbrook, CVA etc, all of which can be acquired for not much money, but it'll take some searching to find the right machine for the right price.

 

[Piero]

TBH I dont rightly know what it is I want,

I have a large area reserved for the lathe so space is no issue,

access for bringing in the lathe could not be better so I have no worries there with size and un loading.

The only thing holding me back so to speak, is the motor size.

Id like the lathe to have a 3phase motor, But one that will work from a phase inverter, so the motor would ideally be delta and star compatible

 

[Northumbrian]

This is better than anything Harrison or Colchester could ever make.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smart-Bro...375378?hash=item3f76c22812:g:ZEkAAOSw2gxYuJ1O

 

[Northumbrian]

Sounds like you have the same issue as I...
Motor size, this kind of means you're upper limit is realistically 3HP.
That rules out the CVA & Holbrook lathes, but the Hardinge HLV, or Smart & Brown 1024 are both well within your spec.

 

[Piero]

I recon your right with the 3HP being the upper limit

Of course you can get inverters to handle bigger, but the costs of the things diminishes the value of going that rout.

I have a tom senior major with a 2HP motor running through a inverter, it works very well, and the inverter only cost me around £170 new

 

[Shox Dr]

Why is 3hp your upper limit? Surely that is determined by your incoming supply, and the draw of other items in use.
...and size of wallet

 

[Northumbrian]

Have a think about the Smart & Brown 1024 I posted a link to.
It's by far one of the best British lathes ever produced

 

[MattH]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cardiff-I...117553?hash=item25cf43cef1:g:OHoAAOSwA3dYTve-

I have one of these running on an inverter with a 3HP motor.
L0 Taper so loads of room through the spindle.
Imperial machine but the gearbox can cut metric if you want.

 

[Northumbrian]

Why is 3hp your upper limit? Surely that is determined by your incoming supply, and the draw of other items in use.
...and size of wallet

Something I've found with experience, trying to run inverters on a domestic supply, working within the limitations of budget & how much juice the fuse box can handle
Some cases you can, if you've got a good supply, install higher rated fuses, but that's not always possible.
Which is why I say 3HP, it's a good rule of thumb

 

[piman]

Hello Piero,

without disagreeing about better lathes (Dean Smith and Grace is another) but Colchesters are by far more common and often can be found in Imperial so would suit your needs. There's always a large selection on E-Bay but location can be a problem from a transport point of view.
I've used a Student, for a long time on an inverter, and despite being well used is adequate for my needs.

Alec

 

[Northumbrian]

Hello Piero,

without disagreeing about better lathes (Dean Smith and Grace is another) but Colchesters are by far more common and often can be found in Imperial so would suit your needs. There's always a large selection on E-Bay but location can be a problem from a transport point of view.
I've used a Student, for a long time on an inverter, and despite being well used is adequate for my needs.

Alec

Oh, I agree.
Tto be honest I forgot about DSG

 

[Piero]

The 3hp motor thing as I see it.

Phase inverters for up to 3hp are fairly cheap.

Once you start to need larger for a bigger motor. The costs can be to high and a motor swap is probably the better option.

If I am to shell out around £1,500 for the lathe. A £175 inverter is not dispositional to its cost.

Once you start spending more money on an inverter than the cost of a motor swap. One starts to ask why

 

[Northumbrian]

The other option is a VFD, more expensive than a static phase converter, but less than a rotary phase converter for bigger HP motors

 

[Piero]

I did mean a vfd.
Was not very clear in my description

 

[Northumbrian]

I did mean a vfd.
Was not very clear in my description

Ah, I see, thought you meant one of the Transwave thingymajigs

 

[rory1]

If it's solely imperial your after you may be better off looking for an older Harrison. Like an l5, or an 11" swing or a 13" swing

 

[Northumbrian]

Yeah Harrison L6 is the better choice, larger spindle bore than the L5, although I can't remember what the bore is on the 140.
Another choice could be the Colchester Chipmaster, but beware of the variator, can be sometimes be a little foooked.

 

[500e]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COLCHESTER-CHIPMASTER-5-x-20-CENTRE-LATHE-EQUIPED-/282388408337

 

[indy4x]

I would suggest you need to firm up what you require in terms of spindle bore, swing and distance between centres, this will them allow you to discount unsuitable machines.

While there may well be 'better quality' lathes from the likes of Hardinge, S&B etc don't discount Harrison or Colchester either as they are good machines but do focus on how much wear is present and what additional tooling and other accessories they come with

3HP machines would probably be big enough for everything you would chuck on it if you are working on classic cars, even if the motor requires replacing for a dual voltage 3ph jobbie it's not the end of the world