Tyme Cub vs Draper WTL90

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HJC1972

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One for the turners. I have the choice to buy either of these. Both around the same money. But which....?
 
Thanks for the answer Phil.

When you say the Tyme is probably a better lathe, would you mind expanding on this?

I don’t know much about lathes and the reason that I am questioning this decision myself is that I know Draper to be something of just an average brand in terms of build quality etc. However, in this instance the WTL90 does have a few extra boxes ticked, such as inbuilt variable speed, against the Tyme’s Four pre-set belt positions; a cast iron bed (which I’m assuming to be more rigid than the Tyme’s steel square sections; and generally more modern construction, such as the aforementioned thread issue. So I’m just wondering how the Tyme Cub would likely exceed the Draper in terms of performance etc?
 
Oh, and I also meant to add that the cub also comes with a chuck: a “Burnerd” three jaw scroll chuck but it does look like more of an engineering lathe chuck to me ( and does say: “specially made for the Myford ML 7” on the front of the chuck) so not sure how useful this would be in wood turning terms?


Worth mentioning also is that I do not anticipate doing an awful lot of bowl work but instead working mainly between centres: chair legs, knobs, finials, spindles etc.
 
HJC1972":dkmkbd70 said:
Oh, and I also meant to add that the cub also comes with a chuck: a “Burnerd” three jaw scroll chuck but it does look like more of an engineering lathe chuck to me ( and does say: “specially made for the Myford ML 7” on the front of the chuck) so not sure how useful this would be in wood turning terms?
…..
For someone not conversant with wood turning practise then consider that 3 jaw chuck as a non starter.

Due to the very small contact area which compresses the wood unduly rather than gripping with no natural retention characteristics of the jaw configuration, 3 jaw engineering chucks only have very limited use and need to be used with extreme caution and in most instances addition support methods if the risk of piece flying off during gouge work is to be avoided.

It would have limited practical use for your 'spindle turning' but once again in a 'it's possible' mode rather than the preferred methods.
 
The draper is the same as many others, I have the sip paint on mine. I think I counted at least seven or eight different brands who make it. The Americans have the harbour freight paint job, but this has different chuck thread than uk machines. Many videos done on these hf lathes. I feel the 3 jaw chuck could be useful, possibly if you got various plastic pipes to fit the desired size it might work
 
Here is the recent thread about doing so...
using-a-metalworking-chuck-on-a-wood-lathe-t117966.html

I went with my lathe, having never really used a wood lathe before, nor being learned on the subject, because of a few things...

It is a frequently seen machine that could be got for a bargain.
I liked the flat bed on the thing, as it looked stouter than the alternatives at my very low budget price range.
I also like the flat bed as I may plan on trying to turn some metal on it someday, it should be easy to make up a hefty jig to sit on the bed.

Downsides
The motor is underpowered, but I can deal with that, as I only turn wee handles and the likes.
The reeves drive (clutch) can play up a bit, I believe Chas (CHJ) dwells at the turning section, and has done some posting regarding this on his Axminster coloured one.

I temporarily took off the tailstock the other day, for space reasons.
It looks simple enough for a home metal bodger to make it lock squarely to the bed.
I was under the impression prior, that if you had a chuck in the tailstock it would drill parallel with the bed.
Not without some work.
The headstock can move about aswell, and I don't know if there would be a good fix for that, haven't looked at it properly yet.nothings impossible though.
I will leave tinkering about with the lathe for some winter project, as I don't have chucks for either end yet.
Chucks are expensive kit.
Hope that helps some

Tom
 
Thanks for that Tom. It does help.

Nevertheless, I’m still torn between the two and can’t decide :roll:
 
My personal choice would be the Tyme as despite the steel / alloy construction it was well made with decent bearings and not "built to a price" as the clones such as the Draper are. Not that I'm criticising the others which are perfectly capable of doing a job and I'm biased because many years ago I owned a Cub although just the short 20" bed model.
The standard motor was a 1/2 hp induction and reasonable quality though some came with an uprated 3/4 hp motor. Spindle is 20 x 2mm and I think you can still get inserts for some chucks to fit that but you can also buy a cheap tap of that size and make faceplates and wood chucks. I think I still have my tap which cost me an arm and a leg in those days as no cheapos available.

I have an original Cub leaflet on pdf if you're interested send me a pm with your email address but in the meantime check these links which might be useful.

Bob

http://www.lathes.co.uk/tyme/
tyme-cub-chuck-t106808.html
tyme-cub-lathe-beginner-t92793.html
 
As an ex owner of a Draper WTL90, that would be my choice. It's a clone out of the Chinese factories. Axminster did similar ones & know the differences if spares are needed.
The 10 speed Reeves drive can be noisy so find the grease points & keep them topped up. However you will bless the quick speed change over swapping belts.
Standard 1 morse taper on head & tailstock, with 3/4"x16 tpi threads , drives & chucks are universally available.
The only reason I upgraded is because the wood I was being given was too large for the lathe.
Also, heed the warnings about using an engineering chuck. Requires light cuts & anything that protrudes more than about 75mm from the jaws will need support from the tailstock.
 

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