My First Lathe

[Ghost]

Evening all,

I'm a long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm thinking about buying a lathe and I'm looking for some advice. Basically I don't know a lot about them thought I've been learning though the internet.

I don't have a specific project or use for it at the minute other then learning how to use it, I have a space about 3.5m x 1m in my shed where it can go and I have a domestic power supply.

I'm torn between buying a new "mini" lathe but opinions seem to vary on them or buying an old one though not knowing much about them I'm wary of buying a knackered pile of crap.

 

[Mark Davison]

Colchester Bantam. Quite compact. I paid £1200. I found the ad on Lathes.co.uk. it was in very good condition.

The smaller Harrison's are pretty popular.

The "1m" dimension does sound like it is going to rule out anything other than a mini lathe though.

 

[RichardM]

What do you want to make, how is the shed floor constructed?

 

[addjunkie]

What do you want to make, how is the shed floor constructed?

Two very valid points. Whats your budget and how good is access to get it in? You have a good space so can fit in a very good selection of machines…..Always remember you can make small things on a big lathe, but cant make big things on a small lathe. Once you have your lathe you will obviously then need a milling machine.

A very good starter lathe would be a Boxford AUD.

 

[Ghost]

the 1m was an arbitrary value I decided on, the shed is 3.6m x 4.2m over all with double doors in the middle of the 4.2m wall, leaving 1.2m(ish) either side before the doors. Ideally I want it to fit on one side. I could allow more then 1m if I put it in the back corner away from the door.

But I don't want anything so big it's going to take up all the space and be tripping up over it every time I go in there.

The floor is T & G on 45x45mm runners, this is on a 4x2 base I did consider whether this would be strong enough for a bigger machine or whether I might need to reinforce it somehow.

In terms of what I want to make with it, I don't really have any projects in mind just stuff to learn how to use it. start with some small tools like punches, captive nut thing. Small stuff

 

[mtt.tr]

harrison 140 or later 11" are a great lathe

 

[chrismac]

Depending on the size, if going for a floor standing machine, you will need to pour some concrete I would have thought, a bench top machine or the like it wont be so critical on the floor structure.

 

[BrokenBiker]

dont buy a mini lathe...i have one...well had, it still works but is fire damaged and ive scalped it for bits now

i was of the ppinion that any lathe is better than no lathe, but the headache from trying to use a mini lathe on steel parts wasnt worht it...for the cost of a new mini lathe you can get a decent 'proper' lathe, especially if you look around or get lucky...my 990kg smart and brown, with more tooling than i could ever use cost me less than half what the mini lathe did and the quality is so far apart its not even funny...my model A is ww2 era and happily churn out parts to 0.02mm wiht little effort...the mini lathe would be lucky if it i could mae some parts to 0.5mm.

there are videos on youtube about them that show just how much you need to do to make the into 'good machines' but even then you are limited by the size and strecgth of the motor.

This old tony has a good video as an introduction to them.

 

[indykid]

I'd go colchester too, bantam or chipmaster. For their size, they're a very capable machine (I have a long bed mk2 bantam - I lust after a gap bed version of the same). As lathes get bigger, they get heavier. When you move up to a master or student sized machine, everything gets a bit heavy for doing detail work unless it's a nice well kept machine so while you can make small things on a big lathe, there's a definite sweet spot so think about what you want to machine and if you have any special requirements for doing big disc work, skimming flywheels etc.

It's probably not something you've ever considered, but colchesters have the saddle feed with your right hand and cross slide feed with the left (unless it's a 'continental' apron, but we'll ignore that bit for now). Boxfords and a lot of other lathes have the saddle feed handwheel on the left which firstly puts your hand closer to all the swarf when hand feeding, but also reduces a lot of the dexterity a right handed person would have for feeding up to shoulders or feel when hand feeding. I've used both and can;t get on with the continental pattern. Just my 2p

 

[BrokenBiker]

oh and my model A is approx 1.5m long, in a 3mx2.5m shed, sat on an osb floor that is on those plastic mesh garden flooring panels

 

[northwest]

My First Lathe

I can tell you from experience it won't stop there!

 

[Smallfry]

Colchester Bantam if you can afford it. A lot of them have been beaten to death though, but also, a lot have had minimal use for such a professional machine.

Failing that, A Boxford or Viceroy. Many different models, but they were intended for schools and colleges, so quite robust. Not too heavy either. Anything smaller is a waste of time IMO unless you have a specific use for it, but having said that, no matter how big you go, you will always want something bigger.

And a milling machine.

 

[BrokenBiker]

I can tell you from experience it won't stop there!

And its not even a lathe problem.

When I built the shed it was as a place to tig weld in the warm and dry, with no wind...planned on having the welding bench, a bench grinder and a pillar drill...so far, I have the welding bench, plus another thats half built and bigger to replace it, both welders, the lathe, pillar drill, 1 bench grinder with a fine stone and a wire wheel, one with a coarse stone and a belt grinder, a propane forge, anvil, a folding 2.4x1.2 table frame, 3 tool boxes, looking at buying a plasma cutter. Making a hydraulic press and a power hammer...oh and a coke forge as well...ill be back to working outside again soon

 

[Mark Davison]

Agree with the 'pour concrete' comment.
If you stick with something 450kg or under a Luton van with a good tail lift will move it. Above that and you are probably paying to have it transported.
Don't rule out 3 phase machines, just add the cost of a VFD (cheap Chinese one will get you started)

 

[Ghost]

Colchester Bantam if you can afford it. A lot of them have been beaten to death though, but also, a lot have had minimal use for such a professional machine.

Failing that, A Boxford or Viceroy. Many different models, but they were intended for schools and colleges, so quite robust. Not too heavy either. Anything smaller is a waste of time IMO unless you have a specific use for it, but having said that, no matter how big you go, you will always want something bigger.

And a milling machine.

yeah looking at them a bantam does seem about right, any advice on spotting a good one, which I assume would apply to any lathe not just a bantam

The last thing I want to do is end up with 1/2 ton paperweight, as I'm not sure I have the knowledge or time to repair it

 

[BrokenBiker]

Agree with the 'pour concrete' comment.
If you stick with something 450kg or under a Luton van with a good tail lift will move it. Above that and you are probably paying to have it transported.
Don't rule out 3 phase machines, just add the cost of a VFD (cheap Chinese one will get you started)

Brought mine home on a flat bed

 

[indy4x]

If you go the Boxford route, they can easily be stripped into manageable chunks for transporting

 

[Porkypine]

I had a Boxford, and cabinet, in an upstairs flat in London in the 80s, as above it's strippable into bits you can carry
( hopefully with a mate to help if you get a cabinet stand)

 

[Seadog]

My Boxford has been dismantled and rebuilt four times in the last 34 years.

 

[winchman]

We have a 100 year old small Drummond lathe and whilst it was very cheap and has saved us a few times I feel it’s just too old and too small so once we move I will keep an eye out for something newer and slightly bigger