It appears to have a separate feed shaft separate from the leadscrew, which is a sign of a better quality machine, not a budget special.

Just check out that you can cut both metric and imperial threads (If that is what you need) – probably by use of a conversion gear wheel set and that it is present with the lathe. (may be difficult to source after purchase).

Also a 4 jaw chuck and faceplate as minimum tooling.

Bob

If you can flex your budget you won't regret it, substantially more capable than a Sieg (no offense to Sieg users, but that thing is really well designed and built).

I take it you have access to three-phase power, or the machine is single phase?

Looks like a very decent lathe BUT condition is everything with machines! Give it a good inspection and run it up through the gears to see if it has any nasty noises, give the slides a good inspection and ask him to cut some steel.

Tony

Whatever you do do not disregard the dro they Arte a great confidence booster and a great aid to repeatable parts.

To check the lathe, you are better to yake a very blight cut over the full, length, and compare the readings nat each end. This should tell you if the bed is teisted.

This is effectively "Rollie's Dad's Mathod" as detailed by Ian Bradly in "The Amateur's Workshop" and the "Myford Series 7 Manual". These also tell, how to shim, or adjust the Tailstock end of the bed to eliminate the twist that will result a taper over a long turned length.

Howard

Those numbers sound pretty good to me. Cutting a longer bar may well show up some taper but that's also a function of how well set up the lathe is, there could be some bed twist which could be removed by levelling. Also do you expect to support the bar at the end away from the chuck? Lots of ways you could get apparent errors due to the process not the machine.

The tests as you describe them are not telling you anything much about the lathe. Runout of a 6mm milling cutter held in the chuck is maybe telling you the chuck has about the normal acceptable runout for a three jaw chuck, or that the milling cutter is not perfectly straight, or that it was not gripped very well in the chuck. Plus, the condition of the chuck is not the condition of the lathe.

The other test of a dial indicator on the compound slide bearing on the bed as you traverse the carriage is telling you nothing. The carriage will follow the bed regardless.

Your metal cutting test sounds about right. You will get heat, and smoke if there is oil there, when taking a 1mm cut with carbide. Taper on a roughing cut like that means nothing.

There is nothing to be gained by trying to turn a longer half-metre piece of bar. The taper on it depends entirely on the tailstsock, which is fully adjustable. Turning test for taper without a tailstock centre is usually done with a piece of steel 25mm diameter and sticking out of the chuck by 100mm. Any longer and you get too much flex in the workpiece.

Once you get the lathe into your workshop, you can set it up with shims under the mounting "feet" to make it turn parallel without a tailstock centre, and then you can adjust the tailstock so it turns parallel with a tailstock centre in place.

It looks like a good quality machine, so if it is not making bad noises and if it is turning nicely like in your picture, I would buy it.

Edited By Hopper on 14/02/2023 02:59:13

Probably the best ‘exploded diagram’ you are likely to see

… It all looks good to me, but the actual condition must be the deciding factor.

MichaelG.

N D I Y is right, for square or irregular work, or if you wish to place work ecceentric deliberately, you need a 4 jaw indepenedent chuck

In addition to this you will need a magnetic base and at least one Dial Test Indicator (Clock)

When you get the lathe home and start to set it up, you need to follow the method explained by Ian Bradley in his "The Amateur's Workshop" or his "The Myford 7 Series Manual", often referred to as "Rolllie's Dad's Method"

This will show if the bed is twisted and how to adjust / shim the tailstock end of the bed to eliminate it and minimise the risk ot taper on long work.

If this is your first lathe, I would strongly advise you to read one or more of books on using a lathe.

Suitable authors are

L H Sparey "the Amateur's lathe"

Ian Bradley as above

Harold hall "Lathework"

Stan Bray "Basic lathework"

neil Wyatt "Lathework"

David Clark and Dave Fenner have both written books about the mini lathe, which your larger and more sophisticate machine is not, but the same basic pricipes apply.

HTH

Howard