Possible first purchase lathe. Thoughts?

[lee85]

A possible first purchase just wondered what you guys thought. Local area and asking 300
Chester machine tools variable speed (1-10) woodturning lathe quite powerful I do have a stand with it aswell all handles tighten and lock.

in good working order

Rrp £700 without accessories

Bed to centre measures 160mm
800mm in between centres

The lathe can also turn big bowls by turning the spindle to the front and fitting the bed extension see picture (on the right sitting on the lathe bed)


Comes with see pictures

Faceplate

Self centreing chuck

Revolving centre

Fixed centres

Metal centre finder

Plastic centre finder

Pen turning mandrel

Pen turning drill bit

3 x calipers (bit of rust) still work

X3 calipers never used

 

[lee85]

Chester tools

 

[andy43]

No pics Lee

 

[nev]

You need more info than is in the eBay advert, to see whether this would be any good for anything more than basic turning.
Does it have a Morse Taper fitting, if so what size? and what size thread is on the headstock to affix a chuck to?
If it has an odd size thread you will be limited to choice of chucks and jaws etc.
I've not heard of that make before and the only reference I can see online is for metal turning lathes, but it certainly looks like a wood lathe.
Personally I'd keep an eye out for a more popular brand, with easily obtained accessories and spares, like Record Power, Axminster, Jet, or possibly older Union, myford etc.

 

[lee85]

Thanks for the reply. I am ideally looking for record power so think I may hold out a bit longer

 

[pollys13]

Axminster Hobby lathe 1hp rotating head stock long bed. 3 year warranty.

 

[deema]

I've bought Chester tools machines for a tool room, they've been very good and the chaps have been very impressed with the quality and accuracy. Personally, I would look for a Union Graduate, simply bullet proof and hold their value when it's time to change / retire!!

 

[graduate_owner]

I bought a Viceroy lathe for £300, probably 30 years or so old but good and solid. The bed is cast iron and looks more like a metal lathe bed. The only awkward thing is the outboard thread which is 1 1/4 x 9 tpi left hand. The lathe compares favourably with a graduate in my opinion, but I only have a bowl graduate to compare with. The thing is, graduates go for at least twice the price. The plus point on the graduate is both threads are 1 1/2 x 6, so you can get a chuck with left and right thread fitting. I bought the Axminster evolution chuck for my graduate - cost me more than the lathe did ( the graduate, not the viceroy) but nice to have. I had a serious catch last week, trashed my Crown ring tool, but the work didn't budge in that chuck.

K