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Buy a Lathe

This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 5 March 2015 at 10:12 by Nigel McBurney 1.

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5 March 2015 at 07:52 #182187
Keith Calleja
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@keithcalleja19405
Hi, I am a Car and motorcycle hobbyist and would like to buy a lathe for my workshop. The maximum space I have to fit the lathe is for a Colchester Student Mk1. My biggest Issue is that I only have single phase supply and I don't know much about inverters (are they reliable?).. Is Switching to a single phase motor possible ?

I also found a nice Chester lathe but don't know much about the quality.

I was looking into myford super 7 and ML7, what are your opinions on these lathes ?

Thanks

Keith
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5 March 2015 at 07:52 #17638
Keith Calleja
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@keithcalleja19405
5 March 2015 at 09:03 #182199
Ady1
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@ady1
Good luck and have fun

**LINK**

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=55922

Edited By Ady1 on 05/03/2015 09:10:11
5 March 2015 at 09:15 #182201
Thor 🇳🇴
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@thor
Hi Keith,

This has been discussed several times on this forum, her are a few links:

Time for a New Lathe

New Lathe help

Which New Lathe

New Lathe Advice

If you can find a Colchester in good condition at a price you can afford, you will get a good lathe that will serve you well for many years. Replacing the motor with a single phase is of course an option and not that difficult. I would recommend using a 3-phase motor and inverter. I have used an inverter on my lathe for a couple of years now, no problems so far. Installing the inverter was not very difficult.

Thor
5 March 2015 at 09:54 #182204
Involute Curve
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@involutecurve
Ill get flamed…. lol

Forget Myford for motorcycle stuff, its just not big enough.

I do a ton of stuff with bikes, I've had an ML7 I inherited from my Granddad, nice machine well made but far too small for bikes, you cant get bar down the spindle big enough to make a spindle for instance.

I now have a Harrison L5 and a 140, and for bike stuff these are about the right size, one I converted to single phase years ago, it was easy to do and works ok the other I've fitted an inverter to, this is the better option, why two? I got one very cheap.

I have a couple of mates who have students these are of a similar size to the above Harrisons and well suited to bike stuff, all the above a really heavy machines and unless worn out are superb to use, and will hold there value, in fact if you look after them you will easily get your money back in years to come.
5 March 2015 at 10:12 #182207
Nigel McBurney 1
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@nigelmcburney1
I restore stationary engines,m/cycles and some car work and general engineering,regarding mk 1 colchesters I assume you mean the roundhead style, student or better still master are excellent lathes for this type of work,get one with a gap bed,this gives extra clearance for clutches,brake drums etc, the spindle bore takes 1 1/2 inch bar easily, one problem with the round head lathes is they are getting a bit old,some are good particularly if they were ex college training etc, hard used industrial ones do tend to have a lot of tailstock wear ,resulting in the centre being a bit low, Harrisons are also a good machine.Avoid smaller lathes they just lack capacity. The best of the lot if you are not strapped for cash is a Colchester master 2500 a far superior machine with plenty of power and forward and reverse clutches ,which makes imperial/metric screwcutting easy.
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