lathe upgrade/upsize recommendation

[whm_fab]

Afternoon folks,

I've done a fair bit of reading on lathes.co.uk and went down various other rabbit holes on the web, but rarely is there a better option than to start a thread here!

I currently have a myford super 7, a very nice Bridgeport, a surface grinder, a deckel tool grinder, among other bits.
I do mostly Motorsport related bespoke jobs that large "run of the mill" machine shops are not interested in, or don't have the time and/or finesse to do things to a required standard, Mostly on old cars, sometimes vintage bikes etc, anything interesting.
Could be anything from modifying pistons, making parts that are unobtainable, boring barrels, cylinder head modifcation and machine work etc.

I've had the super7 for maybe 15 years or so, i bought it when space was at a premium. To my surprise to be honest, theres not been many times it hasn't been big enough to tackle what i do. only thing that comes to mind is driveshaft mods and flywheels etc.
However as things progress, i've found the limitations of stiffness, speed / depth of cut and capacity is becoming frustrating, tiny through bore for stock, change gears for cutting threads etc, and while i love it, its just not designed for what im now doing.

So, im looking to upsize. space is not an issue anymore, but i don't really want something massive either, i still need to make small accurate parts.

I was hoping to get some recommendations on what would be an ideal upgrade?
i was looking at:
Colchester bantam (like the look of this machine, but the distance between cenres 'might' be a limitation
Colchester student 2500
harrison M300

something else????

thanks all

 

[MetalMonkey]

Chipmaster? Smart and Brown 1024? Bigger than a myford but might be a bit small for you.

If you have the space, possibly look at a DSG, you can often find big lathes at good prices because not many people have the space.
Or a Stanko or some other heavy eastern block iron, usually cheap and built like a tank.

 

[frank horton]

I do similar work plus a lot of tractor stuff....
have a Myfd S7 and for a bigger lathe got a Square top Colch Student....I wont sell either....

 

[Gavlar]

Boxford X10 range is similar in size to the M250 or M300, depending on spec and occasionaly come up silly cheap.

 

[Dapph2]

Check with Fizzy ( this site ) he may have something suitable

 

[fizzy]

Afternoon folks,

I've done a fair bit of reading on lathes.co.uk and went down various other rabbit holes on the web, but rarely is there a better option than to start a thread here!

I currently have a myford super 7, a very nice Bridgeport, a surface grinder, a deckel tool grinder, among other bits.
I do mostly Motorsport related bespoke jobs that large "run of the mill" machine shops are not interested in, or don't have the time and/or finesse to do things to a required standard, Mostly on old cars, sometimes vintage bikes etc, anything interesting.
Could be anything from modifying pistons, making parts that are unobtainable, boring barrels, cylinder head modifcation and machine work etc.

I've had the super7 for maybe 15 years or so, i bought it when space was at a premium. To my surprise to be honest, theres not been many times it hasn't been big enough to tackle what i do. only thing that comes to mind is driveshaft mods and flywheels etc.
However as things progress, i've found the limitations of stiffness, speed / depth of cut and capacity is becoming frustrating, tiny through bore for stock, change gears for cutting threads etc, and while i love it, its just not designed for what im now doing.

So, im looking to upsize. space is not an issue anymore, but i don't really want something massive either, i still need to make small accurate parts.

I was hoping to get some recommendations on what would be an ideal upgrade?
i was looking at:
Colchester bantam (like the look of this machine, but the distance between cenres 'might' be a limitation
Colchester student 2500
harrison M300

something else????

thanks all

CVA lathes are awesome - very accurate. Not a great deal of capacity and they weigh 1200kg - but what a machine!
Harrison M300 very nice but hold their money
Condition is more important than the choice of lathe - all the old British ones were brilliant.

 

[whm_fab]

thanks so far!
are there any pros and more importantly cons or things to avoid in any of the suggestions mentioned?

i forgot to say a metric gearbox is a must, and a power crossfeed would be a very nice option if possible

 

[roofman]

I have a metric Harrison 11" i dont need atm...very capable machines for most jobs.

 

[whm_fab]

CVA lathes are awesome - very accurate. Not a great deal of capacity and they weigh 1200kg - but what a machine!
Harrison M300 very nice but hold their money
Condition is more important than the choice of lathe - all the old British ones were brilliant.

thanks Fizzy, yes i fully agree, i spent over a year searching the country for my current bridgeport, and so happy I did. i would be much happier with any machine that is in good condition over anything else

i should mention just looking at my profile its no obvious, im in ireland!

 

[sako243]

I mostly tinker at home on automotive related stuff (mainly Land Rovers) but also do odd-jobs for people I know in the local area (plant, small parts etc) and recently upgraded from an ML7 to a long-bed M300 and it's been a game-changer. I haven't needed to remove the gap yet but Rob did when I was buying it off him and I think we confirmed that it would handle a Land Rover flywheel sort of diameter in the gap and I think it's 40" between centres.

It's got the gearbox to do both metric and imperial threading on it which is an absolute joy, I never actually tried cutting threads on the ML7 despite it having a full set of change gears because of the faff of changing them. Rob also added a DRO to X and Y which has also been fantastic to use.

First job I did was sorting out the quick hitch locking brackets for the JCB - something the ML7 / Super7 scale of things wouldn't have had a chance at and for this it didn't bat an eyelid.

So my vote would be for the same again if you can find one in good condition. Another alternative I was looking at for a similar capacity at the time was an Elliott Omnispeed which might also work for you.

 

[whm_fab]

I mostly tinker at home on automotive related stuff (mainly Land Rovers) but also do odd-jobs for people I know in the local area (plant, small parts etc) and recently upgraded from an ML7 to a long-bed M300 and it's been a game-changer. I haven't needed to remove the gap yet but Rob did when I was buying it off him and I think we confirmed that it would handle a Land Rover flywheel sort of diameter in the gap and I think it's 40" between centres.

It's got the gearbox to do both metric and imperial threading on it which is an absolute joy, I never actually tried cutting threads on the ML7 despite it having a full set of change gears because of the faff of changing them. Rob also added a DRO to X and Y which has also been fantastic to use.

First job I did was sorting out the quick hitch locking brackets for the JCB - something the ML7 / Super7 scale of things wouldn't have had a chance at and for this it didn't bat an eyelid.
View attachment 518685

So my vote would be for the same again if you can find one in good condition. Another alternative I was looking at for a similar capacity at the time was an Elliott Omnispeed which might also work for you.

thanks for the info!

im the very same, ive a full set of gears for the S7, and maybe did screwcutting twice on it when i was really in a bind!
again the same has brough me to this point, ive done some pretty big things on the trusty S7, but the light cuts is starting to get painful when alot of stock removal is needed.
thanks for confirming i should be going in this direction!

 

[Munkul]

I'd try to get a triumph 2500 or m350, the bigger the better

 

[sako243]

So far the only thing I'd wish for on the M300 is either to get a steady rest for it or if it had a bigger spindle bore. There was something I was contemplating doing a few weeks back where I would have potentially been doing something on a piece of scaffold tube, which annoyingly is a few mm too big for the spindle bore.

 

[addjunkie]

The colchester 2500 is a decent chunky machine, I regret not buying the one I looked at. But the headstocks can be a bit noisey, and the price of the Gamnet bearings is eye watering, so make sure you buy a good one.

My machine is a clone 14”x40…Ive had a complete stock trailer axle in it, but still dont think a scaff tube would go through the head stock, thats what a steady is for.