Review of Fox F46-719 Lathe

[billiards]

Item. F46-719 Fox 14" Professional Woodturning Lathe

Got mine from. Poolewood Machinery

Cost. £260 (Delivery included) Though cheaper now I believe.

Value for money. 8

Build quality. 7

Instruction manual. 4

Standard accessories 6

Overall score. 8

Score values:

10 - GET ONE NOW!
9 - Excellent. You will not be ddisappointed
8 - Very good. Start saving your money
7 - Good stuff. Worth getting, but a few problems
6 - Pretty good. With quite a few reservations
5 - Average. Could be better/could be worse
4 - Some redeeming features, but needs some work
3 - You might get something from this, but 'not a lot'
2 - Very poor. A huge ddisappointment
1 - Awful! Avoid this total disaster

The 'Blurb':
Aimed at the professional or serious semi-professional woodturner who is controlled by a budget, the F46-719 is an exceptional lathe at an affordable price. Manufactured throughout with gigantic proportions of cast iron, down to even a cast iron legstand, this machine weighs a substantial 134Kg - Giving YOU that so necessary stability required for professional turning, with the assurance that it won't dance its way around your workshop. A gutsy 1Hp quiet running induction motor continues the theme, providing powerful performance through a range of 12 turning speeds of 450RPM through to 2250RPM, which are steplessly adjustable via a well positioned control lever. This, coupled with a 14" (355mm) outboard bowl turning capacity, opens up an immensely satisfying vista of woodturning opportunity. Precision milling and finishing allow for a smooth and accurate operation. Industry standard components have been incorporated into the F46-719, to ensure compatibility with lathe accessories widely available, featuring a standard 1"x8tpi main drive spindle with integral morse No.2 taper and a morse No.2 tapered tailstock. The robust cast iron tail stock also benefits from a 3/8"(9.5mm) through hole for long hole boring in lamp production. Supplied as standard with cast iron legstand, four spur centre, revolving centre and a multi-positional tool rest. The headstock both rotates and slides along the bed, also includes a faceplate. Swivel headstock that can also slide along the bed.

My take:
Well, let me start at the beginning. Poolewood was by far the cheapest via Ebay. I did a fair bit of research, and decided to go with the Fox in the end, because of the cast iron stand.
The delivery of the lathe took longer than expected, because the first one sent got 'Lost in the post'. Hard to believe I know! :lol: The lathe was fairly easy to assemble. I actually did it on my own, but the manual (And I ) recommend you have assistance.
List of niggles:
The drive centre needed grinding as the "Bits what grip" did not engage very well.
The live centre came apart, exposing the bearing. I superglued it in place, and it is now OK.
One of the Cam locks was worn out. I am in correspondence with Hamiltons to resolve this.
The bottom of the tailstock had paint on it, making it difficult to slide on the bed.
Although the headstock revolves and has various locking points (well it did when I first tried it), they no longer work. Again, I am working with Hamiltons to resolve the problem.
The tailstock wheel isnt very smooth when you turn it.
The toolrest has an uneven surface, small nicks and bumps.

However, dont let that put you off. I have bolted (As advised) the lathe to a concrete floor, and I have had no vibrations whatsoever. The lathe is well made, it is a shame about the accessories.
The 'Blurb' claims a quiet running motor, well although I have nothing to compare it with, it sounds like a washing machine full of bricks at low speeds, but as the speed increases, it IS quiet running.
Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase, mainly because I feel for the price paid, I have a decent lathe, that should give me many hours of pleasure.
I would almost be tempted to recommend it, but I think I will play it safe, and not do so. :wink:

I will add to this review as time goes on. And also update my dealings with Hamiltons.

 

[santiniuk]

Hi,

Many thanks for the write up. I'm not sure If I'm more uncertain now or before the review

From the web pictures I have seen the Fox looks very good.

What has now confused me even more is the opportunity for an Axminster M950 lathe for approx the same price I would pay for the FOX.

The Axminster is a lot more new but has a lower Power motor.

I'm so confused !

Your overall score of 8 is very good.

Fox or Axminster M950 :? :? :?

 

[Jenx]

Hi All .... I've just bought one, so I thought it may be useful to get another 'take' on the experience.

Bear with me - I don't have much experience of other machines as points of reference, I've upgraded from a little CCSL which has been great, but I don't have vast experience of many other machines. -

As Mentioned in the Review above, the lathe is very heavy.
It comes in two boxes, the 'bed' in one, which is just about 'handleable' on your own, and the second box contains the legs, headstock & motor, tailstock & the tools and ancilliaries.
This second box weighs an absolute ton. To carry & lift safely, it would take 4 people.

Once opened - the actual assembly is very straightforward.
All that is required, is to firstly bolt the bed to the two legs, and thats a matter of 4 Allen Bolts per end. Slightly tricky to get everything lined up, purely down to the physical bulk, but straightforward enough.

Once the Bed & legs are standing 'as one' - the headstock & motor assembly go on next, and its very easy - again its a heavy piece of ironmongry, so physically manoevureing it into position warrants a bit of care, but its not a difficult procedure - and it drops into place with a large threaded bar going between two bed runners, and this is then secured underneath through the locking block, with a big nylock nut.

Tailstock goes in in the same manner, followed then by the Banjo & Toolrest assembly

Once fully assembled, it weighs in at in excess of 135 Kgs Its a substantial weight and bulk ... you wouldn't want to have to be moving it around too often.... but my view is that this bulk will be advantageous once its in use, from a stability perspective.

It can be bolted into the concrete - I've not done so yet, as its likely that I will be building a 'Turning shed / Workshop ' within the next twelve months sometime, and it'll need moving again.

So - on to some 'checks' at this point.....
I know my garage floor is level, so I checked the bed, both along its length, and 'across the way', and the machine is sitting 'bob-on' level, at least in respect of the bed. ( irrelevant, I know, if the drive centres both are angled up towards the ceiling ), but I wanted to check the thing was level, and it was.

Next - I brought the tailstock and headstock together, with the drives in position in the MT2 Tapers, and they come together absolutely spot-on, point to point perfectly.
I marked the bed/headstock with witness marks from a permanent marker at this point, as the machine has a swivelling headstock facility - I wanted to ensure I knew 'exactly' where she's supposed to sit, to ensure correct alignment between head & tailstock drives.

The machine comes fittied with a two-pin europlug. I didn't have an adaptor, so it got hacked off and replaced with a standard 13 Amp Uk item.

The moment of truth then,.... the first start .! The speed control lever is in the slowest position ( The instructions actually telll you to stop/start the machine with it running at its slowest speed... I wasn't sure - perhaps this is 'general practice', i just don't know ) --- So with the press of the button, she's off and running. Each of the 12 positions was checked to ensure the lever 'locates' - and it does, perfectly. So a few runs up and down the range of speeds confirms smooth and easy operation of the speed changing function.

The tailstock quill is traveresed 'in and out' several times, and all is well, the movement is smooth as butter and trouble free.

It comes with a knockout-bar as well as the usual spanners / allen keys, so I knock the drive centre out, and fit on the new Sorby Patriot chuck that I bought at the same time.
Again, having played with the chuck for a few minutes... the machine is run up and down the speeds, with no problem.

I agree with the above notes insofar as the 'motor noise' sounds loud.. especially at slowest speed - it sounds like a 'dry clutch' on a ducati... the proverbial 'bucket of bolts' rattle... but increase the speed a little, say to position 3 or 4,... and right through to position 12, and this seems to all but disappear. I'm thinking thats probably fair enough... like any machine in a 'variable capacity' it can't really ever run at its complete optimum at both ends of its scale, and at all points in between.

The machine is shown as being French.
I suppose its conceivable that it may be 'French in name ' having been assembled there from components originating from the far east.. but there's nothing on the machine to confirm that this is the case... it claims to be French.

I'm impressed that the motor itself is outwith the line of fire of both dust and shavings, and indeed of any workpiece. This seems to be a good idea in terms of design.
The banjo and tailstock both slide effortlessly and smoothly up and down the bed.
My toolrest is smooth, with no 'nicks or bumps' .
All the bristol levers seem to lift & function perfectly, and are reasonably robust and up to the job.

Its physically bigger than I expected ( I ordered it 'unseen' ) - but this is a plus...
The build quality - for me anyway, and in my humble opinion, is probably better than I expected it to be, by quite a considerable margin. -- The machine, in 'relative terms' is at the more 'budgetty end' of whats available ... I paid £260 + vat ( £305 ) for it... and I was expecting some shortcomings, but balanced against what I had to spend.. I had settled for a decent compromise.
To my delight and surprise.. the quality of what I have got for my money has far exceeded what I had anticipated getting. Maybe I'm lucky and it could be a bit 'hit or miss', but certainly, this one is well made, constructed from decent materials, and exceeds my expectations.

Its fair to say that the machine probably exceeds my skill levels in turning - I've only been at it for a year, when the opportunity arises of an evening or at a weekend, -- so I think I have ended up with a machine that should stand me in good stead for some considerable time to come.

As a 'progressional upgrade' from a much smaller machine like the CCSL I was previously using - I'd say I'd recommend it.
It represents good Value for your money, its well made, & does exactly 'what it says on the tin'.

 

[loz]

Certainly looks a beast !!!

 

[Paul.J]

Glad you are pleased with the lathe Jenx
It certainly does look a good bit of kit for the money :shock:
Will you be continuing the review after some use :?:

Just to point out that people uploading piccys using Photobucket are also uploading all PBs ads now and the rest of your album piccys are also showing.
Take a look in CHJs help for newbies,and TEPs piccy guide it shows you how to just upload the piccy/piccys you want.

 

[Jenx]

Hi Paul ... yes, by all means .... ! As long as people don't mind too much about reading the opinion of a novice. !

I managed a wee bit of time on it last night and did a little bowl in what was marked as 'Spalted Alder' ... although it looks more 'beechy' to my novice-eye ! Its currently standing after its second coating of finishing oil.

Whats most noticeable is the vast 'upscaling' in the amount of Torque developed ... where the little CCSL was quite 'forgiving' of my errant ways with the gouges, this thing takes 'fewer prisoners'. I'm sure 99% of you will be very aware of what I mean... it feels like it could pull you in and wrap you around the headstock spindle, at a second's notice.
-- Scarily so, in fact !

As I mentioned - I don't really have much in the way of experience of other machines to be able to make comparisons in the way that some of the guys with infinately more time at the variety of lathes may have...

What I did find, when trying to arrive at the decision about which way to 'go', certainly in an 'online' capacity, was that there were quite a few questions relating to this specific machine all over the internet, but precious little in the way of answers available to read, other than the Original posting in this here thread.
For me - that was an area of slight concern, as I wondered if 'no news was bad news'.

For the stage I'm at, ability wise... it'll be a long while before I am pushing at the extremities of the capability of this machine, I should think.
Its nice to have the facility to regulate the speed, without having to change the belt over manually, and nice to have the (yet unexplored ) facility to do someting a bit bigger than the 9 3/4" Maximum diameter that the little machine could handle.

The 'blurb' states 14" Diameter capacity, but in fact, the headstock rotates 180 Degrees, so with a free-standing toolrest brought into play, I should imagine that bigger than that is entirely feasible.

In a 'slightly twisted' bit of logic - I had wondered if the thing was 'too cheap' .. do you know what I mean ?
Having been, as many of us would do I guess, shopping 'blind' - I was nervous that for the money, it may have certain aspects where quality was compromised - in the true 'get what you pay for' train of thought.
Certainly its very much 'early days' at the moment, but the 'substance' and construction of the thing doesn't lead me to believe that the quality is compromised to any significant degree.

I will, if its ok.. add to this as time rolls on

 

[Paul.J]

Are there any accessories for this lathe Jenx,such as the bowl extension cross slide for use when turning larger bowls with the head on the side :?:

 

[Jenx]

I'm not fully certain what Fox have available as accesories.. I only picked up a 'short-form' catalogue ( the little A5 Sized one ) which only shows a few of their products.

The standard tool rest is a 'two piece' affair, which does afford quite an extensive reach, again, I'm not certain, but I suspect that is this perhaps where the "14 inch capacity " comes from, given that the headstock completely swivels, rather than from a 'swing over bed' dimension.
The toolrest post is 25mm - so I suppose a 'custom-made' bespoke item could be obtained for fitting into the socket.
The limit coming from the reach and capability of the toolrest, rather than anything else.

Again to reference the rotating head - I would envisage ( when the time and confidence and experience comes ), turning larger items perhaps with the use of a stand-alone toolrest.

I guess Fox will produce some accessories ... The lathe itself is marketted in certain quarters with a Fox chuck included as a package deal.
but what these items or range of items fully constitutes - I couldn't honestly say at this moment. I'll have a 'scour around' and see ... I'll be in at Grampian Power Tools , where I got it from, later this week cause I have a DVD to take back to the Proprietor - so I will ask him when I'm in.

With the machine came a 4-spur drive, a 'live centre' for the other end, a Faceplate ( 6" I think, if i remember correctly ).. a knockout bar, two spanners for the flats on the headstock spindle, & allen keys for assembly and subsequent maintenance.

If i understand correctly, places such as Poolewood carry the range... as far as I know, it seems to 'get everywhere' via Hamilton Group..
and I have noticed locally that two or three of the 'serious independent DIY / Ironmonger's ' places have started carrying Fox Bandsaws, table saws, Dust extraction etc etc... so its perhaps becoming more and more widespread, unless thats maybe geographically specific to my little corner up here... but I would think that unlikely.
I will see if I can find out, Paul !