Hello all / advice needed

[YorkieT]

Hello,

I just wondered if anyone had any views good or bad on the Fox range of lathes?

The model that caught my is F46-719

I need something quite heavy as I cannot bolt the lathe down, I am open to other suggestions but I would prefer to buy new unless you know of a as new bargain?

YorkieT

 

[Gordon T]

Hello YorkieT,
I have one for sale and have sent you a pm....if it gets to you
GT

 

[Russell]

I think they are a very good lathe you get a lot for your money, very solid with a powerful motor. Certainly is a heavy beast

 

[PowerTool]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Let us know what you go for (with pictures,of course.. :wink: )

Andrew

 

[YorkieT]

Thanks for the replies and pm's

I currently own a Tyme Avon which has the 36" and 48" bed bars and a whole host of extras such as various chucks, face plates and turning attachments.

I have thought long and hard about keeping it and mounting it on a solid bench weighted with sand to cut out the vibration ( it's currently on a flimsy stand and is unusable due to the vibration! ) but for what it's going to cost me in materials, petrol and time I am thinking that a new cast iron lathe would suit my needs better although I would need to buy a new chuck and attachments etc :roll:

I can get the Fox lathe delivered to my door for £275 which seems incredibly cheap for what it offers :shock: which is why I posted here as it seems too good to be true :!:

Has anyone had the pleasure of using the 1hp model? if so what did you think to it?

YorkieT

 

[Paul.J]

Hello YorkieT and welcome
Here is a review another member made some time back.
HTH.
Paul.

 

[YorkieT]

Hello YorkieT and welcome
Here is a review another member made some time back.
HTH.
Paul.

Hi Paul,

I had just found and read the review but thankyou for taking the time to post a link :wink:

Having read the review I am now not so sure that it would actually be better than my Avon mounted on a solid bench! having used the Avon without problems at my old house I am now inclined to stick with it :roll:

I will do a little more research over the next few days and design a few benches in the mean time :wink:

YorkieT

 

[Mark Hancock]

I originally bought the Avon because it was light weight, being of an alloy casting, to take out for demonstrations (not a good recommendation for the lathe ). I made up for this shortfall by having a heavy weight bench made that would breaks down so that I could also transport that.

If you like I can post a picture of the bench. It's made up of heavy duty box section in 4 parts which when bolted together and to the floor makes a heavy vibration free arrangement. In a club demo situation it was great because I always knew I would be working on a lathe that wasn't going to shake all over the place even though it wasn't bolted to the floor.

 

[YorkieT]

I originally bought the Avon because it was light weight, being of an alloy casting, to take out for demonstrations (not a good recommendation for the lathe ). I made up for this shortfall by having a heavy weight bench made that would breaks down so that I could also transport that.

If you like I can post a picture of the bench. It's made up of heavy duty box section in 4 parts which when bolted together and to the floor makes a heavy vibration free arrangement. In a club demo situation it was great because I always knew I would be working on a lathe that wasn't going to shake all over the place even though it wasn't bolted to the floor.

Hi Mark,

I would love to see some pictures of the bench, it would be a great help

Regards,

YorkieT

 

[dickm]

I'd also say good things about the Avon. Mine is mounted on a benchtop of 2 inch thick MDF, which goes a long way to compensating for the relative light weight of the head. It also has a total bed length of about 6 feet, which would be hard to replace for sensible money.

.... but I'd still love a Mystro

 

[YorkieT]

I managed to beg 6 lengths of 6' x 4" x 3" Ash this afternoon so I have got almost all the materials that I need for making a substansial bench for mounting my Avon

I have also managed to download some plans for a lathe stand but I will wait a few days for Mark's pictures before I start the bench.

I am getting quite excited at the prospect of being able to turn wood again after so long and vibration free! :roll:

I have even found a local woodturning club that has a meeting this coming Thursday

YorkieT

 

[Mark Hancock]

Trying to post images of lathe stand using Flickr but not having any luck

Done it :lol:

The first 3 images are of the stand I had made for the Avon. Made of 4inch square box section with wall thickness of 1/4 inch plus some 1/4 inch flat steel. In 4 parts: 2 A frame legs, cross beam & angled leg. Cross beam is located in A frames with pins and then held together with coach bolts. Angled leg coach bolted to cross beam. All legs can be bolted to the floor. For added weight which I never needed all the box section can be filled with sand. The angled leg reduces lateral vibration/movement when the headstock is swivelled 90 degrees and large pieces are turned.
This design is based on the one offered by Tyme for the Avon but is substantially heavier. Most manufactured stands offered for lathes tend to be light weight fabrications though these can be improved by weighting them down and bolting them to the floor.

I've included the following 2 imaes to show the construction of the bench I made for the Coronet No 3. It's made of 4 1/2 inch thick laminated building beam for the A frame legs and top. Then boxed in so weight can be added (there is a cover to the front of this). Again angle iron on the legs allows it to be bolted to the floor.

 

[dickm]

Is that an engine crane that is lurking in the pic on the right of your massive lathe stand?? 'cos it looks as if you'd need it, or a good osteopath, if you ever tried to move the frame

 

[Mark Hancock]

Is that an engine crane that is lurking in the pic on the right of your massive lathe stand?? 'cos it looks as if you'd need it, or a good osteopath, if you ever tried to move the frame

:lol: :lol: :lol: Yes it is but for loading timber onto the lathe :!:
That's why I had the sense to have it made in 4 parts -- still heavy though

 

[YorkieT]

Thanks for the pictures Mark, the benches certainly look substantial :shock:

I have got a bench underway which is on similar lines, made out of 4"x3" ash, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will sturdy enough :wink:

YorkieT

 

[Mark Hancock]

Thanks for the pictures Mark, the benches certainly look substantial :shock:

I have got a bench underway which is on similar lines, made out of 4"x3" ash, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will sturdy enough :wink:

YorkieT

That should be fine but do box it in and add more weight and bolt it to the floor. It'll will make an enormous difference. To illustrate when I moved workshops I took a while to bolt my main lathe down. It weighs over half a ton. I put an 8" dia x 10" cherry log on it and as I turned the speed up this small log was rocking the whole lathe backwards and forwards. I soon bolted it down after that

 

[YorkieT]

Thanks for the pictures Mark, the benches certainly look substantial :shock:

I have got a bench underway which is on similar lines, made out of 4"x3" ash, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will sturdy enough :wink:

YorkieT

That should be fine but do box it in and add more weight and bolt it to the floor. It'll will make an enormous difference. To illustrate when I moved workshops I took a while to bolt my main lathe down. It weighs over half a ton. I put an 8" dia x 10" cherry log on it and as I turned the speed up this small log was rocking the whole lathe backwards and forwards. I soon bolted it down after that

I do intend building a box in to the bench so that I can fill it with sand but I can't think of a way of bolting the machine down as my current worshop is a inherited ex BT site cabin which has a steel floor with a 8" airspace beneath it and then soil.

If anyone has any ideas on how I could fasten a lathe down :?: please let me know 8)

YorkieT