need advice on buying a metal lathe

[feathermypen]

Hi all I will make this as short as pos, I'm looking to buy a metal turning lathe the one I did buy is not doing the job as it was more intended for turning 10mm brass and ali and maybe some mild steal what I looling to buy is a Myford ML
for about £700.00 referbished any advise or tips problems to look out for and will it do my as most of the turning will be in 12mm 303 grade stainless steal.

I have seen a Myford on Ebay for £700.00 and looks to be in quite a good condition

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... TQ:GB:1123

Please help if you can so I don't make the same mistake.

Regards to all

Merv

Here's a clip of some handles I had to make for a customer

http://youtu.be/NpH4s6Bv6ys

 

[woodfarmer]

If you have the room I would be more inclined to buy an ex industrial centre lathe. Although the Myfords can do a lot of things they take more time and if you should ever want to do something bigger probably wont handle it. My own nearly 100 year old Holbrook when last used would still repeat to 4/10 of a thou. I hope this spring/summer to re commission it.

Of course if you have very specific needs like turning many of the same small thing then maybe a small capstain late would suit you better.

 

[wizard]

The myford was built on the cheap where as the boxford cost three times the cost to make and is a much better lathe, i have had lots of them. The model a is a good one to get.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

You will pay a premium price because of the Myford name - nothing wrong with that but you may find you can get more of a machine for a similar price if you look at Colchester, Boxford, Harrison etc. lathes.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Chinese machinery but there are definitely two schools of thought there :wink:

Regards Mick

 

[wizard]

Hi

You will pay a premium price because of the Myford name - nothing wrong with that but you may find you can get more of a machine for a similar price if you look at Colchester, Boxford, Harrison etc. lathes.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Chinese machinery but there are definitely two schools of thought there :wink:

Regards Mick

yes i bought a Chinese warco from new it was so bad i scraped it

 

[feathermypen]

Thanks guys what I'm looking for is an industrial bench type metal turning lathe that is capable of turning small diameter stainless steel bars 12-13mm max all day but without a struggle, I do have quite a bit of space ...that's not the problem but what I’m concerned about is being able to lift it with two strong lads form the road down to my workshop which is probably about 80 meters away (down the garden sort of thing) I run a small turning business from home making men’s razors for a supplier in Scotland so I'm not liable to turn anything of great size, as I say my budget is about £700.00 for a re-conditioned lathe...I am familiar with the Colchester lathes back in the mid-80s I worked for a company that shipped them out to Iraq and Iran to fight each other, I also live 10mile away from Colchester... so where would I find one of these 2nd hand Colchester lathes or the Boxford??
So would you not recommend the Byford then for what I need??
Thanks again guys

Merv

 

[wizard]

get all my boxfords off ebay all for under £500.00

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Myfords were designed as a small, versatile lathe for modelmaking, mostly by serious amateurs. That said, they are very well designed within the limits of their size and weight - industrial lathes are MUCH more heavy and rigid, but much less versatile as a rule.

Given that you've got to carry it a fair distance, industrial lathes are probably out of the question, but as the work you intend to do is very limited in variety and quite small, something like a Myford ML10 or an old Schaublin capstan bench lathe may suit. Try G and M Tools in Ashington, or Home and Workshop Machinery in Kent - they both specialise in smaller machinery, and may have something suitable within your price range.

 

[Keith 66]

A Boxford is not much bigger than a myford but has a far greater capacity often for less money. Myfords are a good model making machine but always fall down if you want to turn anything bigger, plus they simply are not rigid enough. As for versatility that all depends on the tooling that comes with a machine. Most dealers will buy a school or college machine then strip it of accessories that they sell seperately thereby doubling their money.
shop around & you will find gems out there with tooling. Regardless of make dont be tempted to think its a bargain and you can re tool it cos you will have a hard job doing so.
Last year i sold an ex college Bantam 1600, nice lathe with a full set of tooling right down to the original manual & factory test chart, guy who bought it had looked at 6 of them all stripped & overpriced. Result a quick sale & very happy buyer.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

A Boxford is not much bigger than a myford but has a far greater capacity often for less money. Myfords are a good model making machine but always fall down if you want to turn anything bigger, plus they simply are not rigid enough. As for versatility that all depends on the tooling that comes with a machine. Most dealers will buy a school or college machine then strip it of accessories that they sell seperately thereby doubling their money.
shop around & you will find gems out there with tooling. Regardless of make dont be tempted to think its a bargain and you can re tool it cos you will have a hard job doing so.
Last year i sold an ex college Bantam 1600, nice lathe with a full set of tooling right down to the original manual & factory test chart, guy who bought it had looked at 6 of them all stripped & overpriced. Result a quick sale & very happy buyer.

All you say is perfectly true, but ignores the problem the OP stated in that he has to carry it about 80 metres across the garden from road to workshop. To carry a Colchester Bantam, with or without tooling, 80 metres across a garden would need two VERY big blokes. If he could move it over a flat concrete floor on machine skates or a pallet truck, then it would be ideal (ignoring any possible single phase/three phase electrical problems - industrial machines are very rarely single phase).

For turning 1/2" 303 stainless, a modelmaker's bench lathe of 3" to 3 1/2" centre height will be fine, and not much tooling will be needed either. A decent 3-jaw chuck, toolholders of some sort (quick-change tooling or a 4-tool turret) a pinch-type knurling tool and maybe a tailstock drill chuck and running back-centre will be all he needs.

A Myford ML7, Super 7 or (cheaper) an ML10 will do the job just fine, can be carried in, and need not exceed the budget. If you come across an old instrument-maker's bench lathe of Schaublin type at the right price, that will do just as well, provided it isn't completely worn out, but avoid the really small watchmaker's and model-maker's table-top lathes.

 

[shipbadger]

Hi feathermypen,

You asked where to look for a lathe; apart from the obvious auction site the following two sites have probably the bulk of adverts by model engineers for model engineers. Reading the descriptions of various lathes on the 'lathes' website should help you decide on whether or not to 'chase' after any particular lathe. http://www.lathes.co.uk/ and http://www.homeworkshop.org.uk/

Other options include asking friends to find out of anything going locally or enquiring at a model engineering club if you have one locally. My hardly used Perfecto cost £100 from a print works that was closing down. Only ever been used to make the odd part to repair the machinery. OK, not the latest word in lathes (= Myford ML4) but for the price suites me fine.
Tony Comber

 

[feathermypen]

Hi everyone thanks for the great tips, I'm still a little in the dark where my options only seem to be Myford ML7 and ML super, the ML7 is the way I'm thinking because of getting the it down to my workshop with ease anything bigger is just not going to happen, now I sort of blown my budget out of the window as I have seen a few go on Ebay for around £800 - £1000.00 I have seen one that quite takes my fancy please be kind enough to take a look
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261408713494? ... 1423.l2649
this one’s up for £1200 please advise - I'm not looking to turn and machine large turnings, all my machining will be items 85mm long 120 grams in weight with some knurling I may at some point want to make stainless steel shaving brushes but these are only 40mm diameter x 65mm long that’s about as large as I will go...so my question is will this lathe be ok and what should I look for when buying I would love to buy the Myford super but there a little out of my budget.

My best regards Meryn

 

[Spindle]

Quote from the sellers? website - 'Lee Valley Customs is a small part time run family business providing anglers with products at very affordable prices. Having experienced precision engineers within our team the products are manufactured by ourselves in the UK using quality materials such as stainless steel, aluminium, acrylic and various plastics. With modern machinery and tooling the quality of our items we sell is of the highest standard you can possibly get.'

Hi

I would be asking myself, and possibly the seller, why a company that specialises in the above is selling this lathe - did it not meet their requirements I wonder?

Regards Mick

 

[feathermypen]

Now that’s a very good point Mick...something I was not aware of that they are a company, food for thought! I think I will certainly ask some detailed questions.

Thanks Mick

Merv

 

[wizard]

Get a boxford it will come apart and fit in a wheel barrow, half the price and three times as good. I deal in tools and i know what i am talking about.

 

[woodfarmer]

Remember you only have to install it once, you will have to live with it for many years...

 

[feathermypen]

right so where can I pickup a good boxford lathe from gooing to have to a single phase though

 

[wizard]

most of them are good they were built to last. get mine off ebay.

 

[graduate_owner]

I was told that Myfords tend to be overpriced and that there's a serious band of dedicated Myford followers who are partially responsible for the prices in that they pay over the odds. However my 'source' is very impressed with colchester lathes (he has 3) and he does some pretty heavy work on them. They come in different sizes (bantam, triumph etc) so one might suit you?

K

 

[dickm]

right so where can I pickup a good boxford lathe from gooing to have to a single phase though

All depends how quickly you want to get it. If you can wait a bit, then the free-ad papers and even the ordinary local papers are worth a look (up here, ScotAds used to be very useful before it succumbed to GumTree, and before that, FridayAd, MK Citizen etc in Milton Keynes supplied me with several bargains). Otherwise, homeworkshop website can have good stuff, but the vendors know what it's worth, so unlikely to get a bargain there. Then there are the specialist auctions - selling up bankrupt or other closing businesses; you feel a bit like a vulture picking on the carcass, but that's life.
Of course, if you are in a rush, then you'll have to bite the bullet and your wallet by going to machinery dealers.
Could try a wanted ad in any of the suggestions above - you never know, someone may just be going to sell and you could be there first.