Thread: Lathes

Its a bit late in the game but dads got my lathe in a shed at his place till you get him setup on his lathe your welcome to use mine...

Andrew,

your boy sounds like one of our future engineers. The little lathe/mill/drill machines are OK. as someone has said, accuracy, deflection, etc. need to be monitored, but for the money (for a 14YO) they are great.

Be aware that he (and you) will want bigger/better/more toys in the future, but that one shown is a good start.

Paul

PS. I cant use my son as an excuse for play things anymore, but Nan is a pushover for the 4 grandsons

Paul

well based on the current price ($1025) this one is better value IMHO...

HERCUS 260 PECISION WORKSHOP LATHE - eBay Equipment, Machinery, Metalworking, Metalworking, Woodworking, Business, Industrial. (end time 11-May-09 20:00:00 AEST)

sorry stupid long ebay links...

bugger that - if you have access to someone who can fix electric motors (should be someone in/around the mines?) this looks even better for the $$ and at least it's in WA...

SHERATON HOBBY LATHE / 3 JAW CHUCK / 9 INCH SWING - eBay Equipment, Machinery, Metalworking, Metalworking, Woodworking, Business, Industrial. (end time 18-May-09 17:00:35 AEST)

Originally Posted by EchiDna

well based on the current price ($1025) this one is better value IMHO...

HERCUS 260 PECISION WORKSHOP LATHE - eBay Equipment, Machinery, Metalworking, Metalworking, Woodworking, Business, Industrial. (end time 11-May-09 20:00:00 AEST)

sorry stupid long ebay links...

These are good and very resilient.

There must be a million of these that are still operating in schools from a millennium ago. The will probably be parts everywhere aswell. Odds are that your kid will know how to work that machine already.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

https://ishop.gasweld.com.au/ishop/stock/item/580508

I've never seen those! Absolutely brilliant, especially for home/small workshop.

I have had one of these for about five years. While not perfect by any means, it has a lot of capability if used with intelligence, but you will need a lot of extra bits to do a lot. Apart from general maintenance I have made parts for conversion of agricultural machinery etc, Biggest shortcoming is the lack of reversing gear - I plan to make one but have not done it yet.

If you get one of these take care in setting it up - make sure it is mounted on a solid base and is secured to it without distorting the bed. (there are ways to check this). This applies whether you get one of these or any other type of lathe.

You can often do better getting a second hand, higher quality lathe, particularly if it is from a deceased estate, as it can come with a lot of tools and extras. But watch that it may have significant wear, and will probably have the disadvantage for today's kids that it will almost certainly use imperial units.

John

Depends on what you are going to do. What length, swing, will you need, range of threads needed, voltage, etc. You won't get much for one big one even second hand. Used three phase machines sell cheaper than 240 volt ones which are in greater demand from hobbyists and small workshops. The Chinese ones are pretty good today. A new one should be around $3500-$4000 in 14" swing x 40" between centres. Dont go smaller than this unless you are only model making. This is about the minimum size for automotive work. Buy length when buying a lathe. Sooner or later you will want to put a shaft or bar in it that is too long for your lathe and you have to take off the tailstock and hold it up in a steady rest with the shaft's end hanging out in space. Check the range of speeds. Amateurs need slow speeds for screw cutting, 30-40 rpm for preference, and to be able to use tungsten carbide tooling on small diameter work you need high speeds, 1800 rpm and more. Also machines with gearboxes that allow the full range of speeds and threads without having to change belts, or replace a gear are preferable. Changing belts and gears is now dinosaur stuff. If buying used, check for wear in the headstock bearings by grasping the chuck and feeling for play by trying to lift it vertically and side to side. Check the slop on the hand wheels. Any more than say 5 graduations needs to adjusted out if possible, or maybe the screw and/or half nuts need replacing. Check if there is adjustment, many don't have this facility. If buying an old machine, check that you are getting all the change gears as these are usually impossible to find afterwards. At liquidators auctions, often the change gears and tooling are not with the lathe as the auctioneer's staff don't recognise them and throw them out as rubbish or put them in separate lots. If the machine is still wired in, run it through all the speeds, both forward and reverse. Check if both the feeds and the half-nut on the lead screw engage without struggle and don't kick out. Is the thread chasing dial still on the machine? Is there a functioning coolant pump and plumbing? Check motor power. Most 240 volt lathes are only 1 to 1.5 hp. Two hp or more is good so you can drive tungsten carbide tools hard enough particularly into stainless, tool, and special steels. There should be three and four jaw chucks, drive plate, faceplate, headstock and tailstock centres and hopefully some tool holders. If not you are going to have to buy them. Just like buying a car, is it all there, and in good usable condition.

Originally Posted by EchiDna

bugger that - if you have access to someone who can fix electric motors (should be someone in/around the mines?) this looks even better for the $$ and at least it's in WA...

SHERATON HOBBY LATHE / 3 JAW CHUCK / 9 INCH SWING - eBay Equipment, Machinery, Metalworking, Metalworking, Woodworking, Business, Industrial. (end time 18-May-09 17:00:35 AEST)

That's not bad for the price. And you wouldn't bother fixing the electric motor. It's three phase. Just throw it out and replace it with a cheap single phase that you could pick up anywhere for next to nothing.