hello from nippy berkshire,

 

I have owned an EW lathe for the past 60 years and enjoyed its possession. It was a

toolmakers design with many interesting features.

 

In 1957 and 58 a number of mods and articles appeared in ME by the hand of Martin cleeve, it would be worth your while getting hold of these.

 

One item not covered ( in my recollection) is a clutch in the drive chain. I made such a

fitting for my machine, it is without a doubt an absolute must , making for a much greater

enjoyment  when using the machine . I must admit to an obsession with regard to the

fitment of a clutch on ALL lathes (is that a shout?).

I’ve recently acquired an EW in pretty good shape – with all of the “extras” as far as I can tell (from Lathes UK site that is).

 

I had already read the Martin Cleeve articles on the EW – so I recognised it straight way when I saw it for sale. It appears to be a very robust little machine and is destined to be my “Winter Warmer” (inside lathe) for when it’s too blooming cold to go down the workshop and fire up the Myford (such as right now!)

 

It needs motorising and I’ve already built a simple countershaft but need to add a mount at the back for the salvaged cap-start motor I’m going to use (currently awaiting delivery of a new capaciator). I think it will be a very useful tool once set up. I didn’t design in a clutch just yet but will add the Martin Cleeve dog-clutch for the leadscrew I think.

 

Although it might sound much too large – I’ve also asked Santa for a small diameter ER32 chuck to mount on the EW. I have standardised on ER32 on my larger machines and decided that it was much cheaper to stick with the larger collects (which I already have) for this one too. An economy QC toolholder is also on its way – and if I can mount if further back from the current postion – my diamond toolholder can also be used for some smaller work. Lot’s of new things to play with!!     

 

Good luck with your EW Ruaidhrí

 

Regards,

 

IanT

 

PS I’ve been looking for any documentation for the EW (mine cakme with none) and I would very much appreciate any scans or copies of any EW reference materials if you have them.

 

Hi Paul,

 

One word of excitement is certainly NOT a shout!

 

Terry

Hello,

 

I am looking at a small lathe for model train building.I am interested in either the Cowells 90ME or the Stringer EW lathe (same as IanT EW lathe).I do not know much about either lathe so could anyone please offer there opinions

 

1. Are the EW Lathes very accurate and good quality?

2. Are the Cowells 90ME lathes very accurate and good quality?

 

Is there any difference between the Cowells and EW lathe in terms of quality and accuracy?

 

Hi IanT….what is the swing please for your EW lathe?

 

Hope you can help

 

Thanks

 

Tony

Hi IanT

 

Thanks for the good reply.

 

Yes if possible please post more as that would be appreciated.

 

What sort of prices do the EW lathes command?

 

Best Regards

 

Tony

Thanks Bill

 

Do you use your Cowell Lathes for model building?

 

I see the swing over the bed is 90mm….have you machined any metal close to that size?

 

The specs state that 90mm is the largest diameter over the bed so i will be able to turn 85mm aluminium tube….would you see the lathe handling this size OK

 

They look very well made .. seen pictures on there website.

 

Thanks for the reply Bill

 

Tony

Tony

Yes, I would think that they will handle most anything within their centre height capacity. They are, indeed, well made. Back gear and self act as standard are helpful. I haven’t done a great deal with mine as the main machine is a TriLeva 7b.

To consider the opposing view, as is often pointed out, it is possible to machine small components on a large machine  but difficult, if not impossible, to machine large components on a small machine. As ever, ‘horses for courses’.

Rgds

Bill

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Hi IanT,

 

Would you have a couple of more photos of your EW lathe from different angles please you could email me at – tonyborland@hotmail.com

I will advertise to see if anyone has one for sale.Much appreciated

Tony

Sand and lathes, not the best combination. You can still buy genuine black wrinkle finish paint.

 

I’ve got a early Cowells ME. Absolutely first class for quality but don’t expect to remove metal at a particularly high rate. It starts to struggle with work over about 1 1/2″ inches in diameter. It has backgear and all the changewheels for thread cutting, in fact good versatility all round but definitely more for small models and items. Very transportable though if you move around a lot.

 

 

It’ll take you all day to remove that much metal because you couldn’t apply more than the lightest cut without the motor grinding to a halt. It’s a lathe designed for watchmakers and small precision instrumentation. The belts are only 1/4″ wide (if that) and also prone to slip when heavily loaded. The tailstock, like most good lathes, can be adjusted sideways for taper turning. That’s the ‘plate’ you probably think you see. It’s just not worth the effort of riser blocks because increasing the diameter capacity of the lathe just makes things worse. In my honest opinion, you’ll be cursing that you didn’t buy a bigger lathe if you buy a Cowells for this class of work. It’s superb for what it’s designed for but don’t fall into the trap most people do of trying to make a lathe machine work way above its design. You’d be far better off with something like an EMCO Compact 5 for that size of work. You can pick those up in excellent condition second hand for around £500. Well built and versatile, a Compact 5 can still easily be lifted and moved around by one person even if it’s to tuck out the way or to put on a shelf. It has roughly twice the size capacity of a Cowells and much nearer to what you need.