Like Thor I have a similar lathe just a little smaller being the 280model, does all the hobby work I have asked of it and half your budget. If it was available at the time of purchase then I would have gone for the 290 as the larger bore spindle is useful and I would have tracked one down with D1-3 chuck mount.

If you had a bigger budget of £15k then maybe a Newmetric Myford would suit. Though actually likely to be nearer £17K by the time you have added a stand, 4-jaw, faceplate, steadies etc to the basic machine as unlike the 280/290 Myford don't include these in the basic price. Though it uses the metric Myford spindle nose so old Myford backplates & chucks won't fit.

Edited By JasonB on 06/08/2021 07:15:05

With a 10k budget I'd probbly look at CNC instead of manual

Buy a 1k clunker for manual stuff for him to get the feel for it etc

Look at 9k for the CNC route

Myford will give you a refurbished metric for 4k btw

While manual machining is nice the future for youngsters is computers/CNC/printed parts/CAD

With 10k you can also kit out a workshop with a good manual lathe + mill + bits

….decisions decisions…

On ebay today if you put in "metal lathe" and "UK only" there is only one machine in the entire country costing more than 10k

Edited By Ady1 on 06/08/2021 08:00:45

Good question Brian!

The professional approach is to pay much more attention to the requirement, ignoring budget at first. What's it for? Whether or not a lathe will enthusing a grandson will depend on what the grandson (or more likely Brian) expects of it. A youngster's likely to find the type of work I enjoy dead boring; I'm happy to spend hours exploring HSS and Carbide, threading, the properties of different metals, and have experimental interests well served by a lathe and milling machine. I do laboratory gadgets, others make fine models, bling motorbikes, make tools, clocks, musical instruments, or restore old vehicles. A grandson might be better served by a 3D-printer, fast workstation computer, Arduino's, oscilloscope and a small library! Grandad might be happy making a wobbler, grandson might prefer a quadcopter.

Professionally set requirements are categorised as Mandatory and Desirable. The Mandatory list contains absolute essentials only and is ruthlessly pruned because Mandatory requirements eliminate purchase options, which must never be done carelessly. For example, Brian says 'not so heavy it needs special lifting gear', which is both vague and – worse – eliminates a long list of extremely capable ex-industrial machines. With a budget of £10,000 it might be appropriate to hire or buy an engine crane(or whatever), or have the machine installed commercially. (People speak highly of Landylift.) Desirables are weighted, i.e 'how desirable', which allows machines to be compared. 'It should be compatible with the Myford hobby market', is desirable (should rather than must), but how important and why? Over emphasised, this requirement eliminates pretty much everything other than Myford lathes! Could be a good reason for that, or maybe a beginner read some older literature and misunderstands today's market?

The professional approach isn't good for newcomers feeling their way into a new hobby. My ideas starting out were pretty blurred and I now regret the time I wasted pratting around trying to decide what to buy. In the end I realised it was better to get on with it and bought a mini-lathe. What I learned from that machine was worth every penny! Expecting it to need a lot of fettling, I was pleased to find it worked out of the box. I also learned what lathes are capable of in a general sense. For me, the main problem was it's a bit too small. I upgraded to a WM280, which is pretty much all I have room for; it's a much easier machine to use than a mini-lathe because there's more room around the work, more power, a convenient gearbox, and power traverse. But about 70% of what I do can be done on a mini-lathe. If my interests had been serious clock making, I would have gone the other way towards Sherline, Taig or Cowells. What I miss most about the mini-lathe is how quiet it was compared to a big machine full of steel gears and whining fans!

If in a blur of confusion, my advice is stop fussing and get on with it. For many purposes there is no difference between a Mini-lathe, ML4, ML7, Super7, WM280, Connoisseur, Boxford or Dean Smith and Grace, so you might as well start with what's affordable. A WM280 is usefully bigger than a Super 7, and that might matter in your workshop, or not. I wouldn't dither about motor types or exact power either; VFD, DC, Brushless, Single-phase(yuk), will all do well enough. Mini-lathe to small Boxford, anything in the range 500W to 1500W will do. In the good old days lathes were so expensive it paid to get it right because they were a once in a lifetime purchase: not so today – it's always possible to change later. After learning the ropes on a mini-lathe, buying another lathe, including second-hand, is less dangerous because an ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory.

Missing from Brian's list is the space available. I'm limited to a single-garage, which contains a bench, mill, lathe, bandsaw, storage, and a good deal more. One of the reasons I went Far Eastern was being able to choose the biggest machines that will fit into it I have space for a WM18 and a WM280, but not for a WM290 and a Bridgeport. Starting out, a mini-lathe is an easy two person lift and it fits on an ordinary bench. Built in motor, reasonable turning diameter and inexpensive, it's almost the ideal starter machine. Change later if it doesn't do what you need.

Enjoy!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 06/08/2021 09:55:38

Not sure which Myford you have , but the 254 looks a good machine.

From your post it sounds like you are loking for a new machine but if you are willing to consider a used lathe, as has been said above, a Myford 254 fits your requirements very well. They did produce a variable speed model which is rare, but it is easy to fit a variable speed system to the standard lathe, as I have done.

For your budget you should be able to source a good used 254, fit the variable speed and a DRO and get all the accessories you mention.

If you do go for a 254 I would recommend one with the D1-3 Camlock spindle as this makes changing chucks so much easier.

Also , Lathes UK have a Myford 254S for £3500.

My second choice for portability would have been an ENCO Maximat 11". Stephan likes his: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Sf7Nvkwzg

Third choice for rigidity would be a Hardinge, or maybe a Southbend heavy 10. Not sure if these are as readily available in the UK.