Lathes...

[SuperTwo]

Been thinking about getting a lathe for a while now. I'd be looking at spending max €1000. Would I get a good second hand one at that price or should I be looking at new bench lathes? Ive only got Single phase power unfortunately but I won't be doing massive jobs just pins, bushes etc.

 

[Nearly]

@Dave W

 

[Dave W]

Firstly do no buy new. You're at least a 0 off buying something new that's worth having.

Just some examples. £1k is plenty of budget for a decent old lathe.
Harrison would be as good a make as any at that price
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311790424986

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182440939435

 

[TheTallGuy]

I would avoid new - unless you are spending considerably more than your current budget. As per above, a Harrison or Colchester would be your best option - if it's three phase then you can either get a phase convertor or change the motor - easy job on most Harrisons.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

I'd love a lathe. BUT I only made lovely spiral shavings & brass cannons when I was at school and I have really no idea how to work one properly. I have however, had many hundreds of 'things' made for me over the years ranging from new hydraulic ram parts, timber harvester head parts, pins, old engine items, British motorbike pins & bushes & etc. Any and every one of the aforementioned parts being done in a lathe........but none were by me as I'd just f**k them up! So I strongly suggest you reconsider, unless you are an expert, building a strong relationship with your Local engineer and paying him/her for their hard earned skills. I believe you'd not spend £1000 in ten years in this way. The only way you'd be one step ahead is if you were a time saved & proper turner with a fully equipped lathe.
Every other pin can be made from off-the-shelf round bar & a little welding.
SS

 

[Timo@hattonfarms]

We bought a old Colchester of my uncle for £200 think he bought it of Noah........ good fun messing about save some of your budget for tooling. I'm saving up for a milling post for ours it's addictive machining

 

[the-mad-welder]

I've got an old Edgwick one, similar size to a Colchester Triumph. Cost me £400 IIRC. I have had no formal training in using one, just a few basic lessons from someone in my first job and then pretty much self taught by trial and error, plenty of error and blunt tools!! Mainly pins and bushes, and have bored and skimmed a few bits when feeling brave. All in all a very useful purchase. I do still get certain things made by the pros, but there is a sense of achievement in doing it yourself and its there at weekends etc when your in a muddle.

 

[case study]

Been thinking about getting a lathe for a while now. I'd be looking at spending max €1000. Would I get a good second hand one at that price or should I be looking at new bench lathes? Ive only got Single phase power unfortunately but I won't be doing massive jobs just pins, bushes etc.

you could try this crowd http://www.kenequip.com/ looking into buying a lathe myself.

 

[TheTallGuy]

I never had formal training in machining, but manage most things. If you are reasonably handy then it's easy to pick up. There are some good books and YouTube videos to guide you these days.

 

[Dave W]

I'd love a lathe. BUT I only made lovely spiral shavings & brass cannons when I was at school and I have really no idea how to work one properly. I have however, had many hundreds of 'things' made for me over the years ranging from new hydraulic ram parts, timber harvester head parts, pins, old engine items, British motorbike pins & bushes & etc. Any and every one of the aforementioned parts being done in a lathe........but none were by me as I'd just fudge them up! So I strongly suggest you reconsider, unless you are an expert, building a strong relationship with your Local engineer and paying him/her for their hard earned skills. I believe you'd not spend £1000 in ten years in this way. The only way you'd be one step ahead is if you were a time saved & proper turner with a fully equipped lathe.
Every other pin can be made from off-the-shelf round bar & a little welding.
SS

Sorry don't agree. If you have the aptitude to operate machinery of any kind (some do, some don't) then you will get plenty of use out of a lathe.
I've learnt mostly off YouTube and my lathe does something every other day. I still use a local precision engineer for the more technical stuff.
It's the sort of tool you'll use for jobs you wouldn't image.
Also they don't lose money so if you don't get on with it you'll get your money back.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Sorry don't agree. If you have the aptitude to operate machinery of any kind (some do, some don't) then you will get plenty of use out of a lathe.
I've learnt mostly off YouTube and my lathe does something every other day. I still use a local precision engineer for the more technical stuff.
It's the sort of tool you'll use for jobs you wouldn't image.
Also they don't lose money so if you don't get on with it you'll get your money back.

Also, you can't beat being able to sort a quick fix when you need it... a couple of weeks back I had a pin that had bulged and wouldn't fit in it's hole - 1 minute on the lathe got me going again. Biggest problem with getting a lathe is that you'll soon be wanting a mill, then a bigger workshop, then more kit....

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

dont buy a new lathe,

look for the biggest ugly old thing you can fit in your workshop, gap bed is better,
i know you will say i only want it for little jobs, well guess what a big lathe will do i little job,
but a small lathe wont do a big job,
oh and yes i know you will only use it the odd time, as you have not much use for it,
well let me tell you once you have a lathe, you will use it 5 times more than you thought,

i could have one for sale later this year, but not that sure yet

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Well I'll disagree then if I may . Pin with a bulge.....30 secs with angle grinder & sanding disk......
SS

 

[tinman]

id agree with nearly all the posts here, the ones for leave it to the pros and the ones that say to buy one.
a lathe isnt such a bad purchase and it will let you out of a lot of holes quickly and as said, leave the more technical stuff to the pros.

that aside, the lathe isnt too bad for tooling, for general mucking about a dozen tools or so will let you away, if you ever bought a mill your doomed regarding tooling.

i have a 12" harrison here, a newer version (all be it still old) of the one in daves post with the links,http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182440939435
i had a harrison M250 here for a time as well, mostly in storage but i took it out one day to see what i was missing out on and after trying to turn a bit of 30mm ms i knew it wasnt much, my 12" harrison would wipe the floor with it.
i was so disappointed i went n took some pics, advertised it and sold it, to a lad in Latvia actually.
it was far too light for anything of a normal size so no good to me.

this is the same as the lathe i have here, this one a little minter by the looks of it, a degree of tooling with it as well, i see a traveling steady there amongst some other stuff.
for now its not dear.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harrison-lathe-/282348585712?hash=item41bd4982f0:g:lQkAAOSwImRYlFdZ
that machine there would do all you would ever wanted bar metric threading mind but thats not the end of the world.

bear in mind when your buying a lathe make sure to try and buy one with a few extras, 4 jaw chucks, fixed steady's and face plates are expensive enough to buy secondhand so beware.
some of the tooling above you wont need but if you get good on one you will need them.

as for a 3ph one, the harrison i have here is converted to single phase, basically changed the motor and wired it direct.
a phase inverter would be a better plan and you get to keep the 3ph switch gear, not that there is much on the lathe in the link mind.

if you want to read up on a particular lathe, tony here ill keep you right,
the link is to the lathe i speak of, search for any others on his site if you like.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrison/page5.html


sorry for the long post, im not short of words.....

 

[tinman]

you could try this crowd http://www.kenequip.com/ looking into buying a lathe myself.

one thing is for sure, them lads wont sell their hen of a wet day..
dont be fooled by the ads on DD that they have, you will find the price of the lathe advertised isnt actually the price, thats a picture normally of one thats three times the price.
no harm to them but ive never seen any value off them unless it was clapped out and even then it was no bargain.
there are others that have better value imo anyways.
i stand to be corrected tho.

 

[SuperTwo]

I'd love a lathe. BUT I only made lovely spiral shavings & brass cannons when I was at school and I have really no idea how to work one properly. I have however, had many hundreds of 'things' made for me over the years ranging from new hydraulic ram parts, timber harvester head parts, pins, old engine items, British motorbike pins & bushes & etc. Any and every one of the aforementioned parts being done in a lathe........but none were by me as I'd just fudge them up! So I strongly suggest you reconsider, unless you are an expert, building a strong relationship with your Local engineer and paying him/her for their hard earned skills. I believe you'd not spend £1000 in ten years in this way. The only way you'd be one step ahead is if you were a time saved & proper turner with a fully equipped lathe.
Every other pin can be made from off-the-shelf round bar & a little welding.
SS

Recently had a few pieces made up by an engineering workshop and they charged extortionate prices for what they were and they had to be reworked also as they mis read the technical drawings i gave them. If you want something done right do it yourself as they say....
I've done some basic turning in college and i really enjoyed it so i imagine making up pieces yourself must be extremely rewarding

 

[Barleymow]

There is an old Holbrook sat in a shed here needing a new home

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Recently had a few pieces made up by an engineering workshop and they charged extortionate prices for what they were and they had to be reworked also as they mis read the technical drawings i gave them. If you want something done right do it yourself as they say....
I've done some basic turning in college and i really enjoyed it so i imagine making up pieces yourself must be extremely rewarding

I'm sorry to hear this. I have a couple of engineering co's who've been great for those little turning jobs. I top up the tea kitty and on bigger jobs pay on invoice. Some years I spend around £1k but more recently this has dropped as I'm not restoring any machinery just building masonry!
SS

 

[colhonk]

Once you have recovered from the hernia caused while moving the big old lathe, they are very useful. 3 jaw chuck for beginners though.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Once you have recovered from the hernia caused while moving the big old lathe, they are very useful. 3 jaw chuck for beginners though.

TBH I do most jobs in the 3 jaw - mine is accurate enough for most things plus my 4 jaw is too fudging heavy to keep swapping! I mainly use the 4 jaw for irregular shaped objects.