I’ve had a Warco WM250 for about 10 years and has done everything and more I have asked of it. Apart from fitting a VFD and motor I’ve had no real trouble with it.
Mark P.

+1 on vote for Boxford over China.

South Bend, Standard Modern, Harrison are also better value in my opinion than China, although the China machines are a lot better now than ten years ago. Several people on this forum have had controller PCB issues on new China machines and some China mills. Fixes are possible of course, but I don't need the hassle.

One thing not widely published is that the old iron, particularly South Bend, will keep producing good work even if previous owners beat the hell out of it and used it mercilessly for eons. I have such a machine, a 1949 model 9B and couldn't be happier with it. No PCB on it either. The trick I think is that the clever guys that designed it made the carriage support the cutting loads over a very wide area, so the errors and wear averages out. You see the same thing in toolroom lathes like the Hardinge and DSG machines.

You see the exact opposite on China lathes. Usually they have a very high very flexible toolpost with a very small footprint where it meets the bed. That, and a non rigid bed, are main reasons for inaccuracy and bad finish, along with tool setting and grinding problems.

Just my $0.02 worth.

The two downsides to second hand are making sure you get a genuinely good condition machine and the cost of any missing accessories (e.g. steadies, change wheels) can be punitive. If you get a good, well equipped one it can be very good. Prices can be silly for some machines because some people will pay more than they are worth for the name.

I can tell you that the next MEW will have what look like some really good deals in the classifieds but fairness means I can't give anyone advance information!

If you want new, the Arc SC4 510 is impressing me, you might say I would say that, but it has a lot going for it:

• 4 1/8" centre height, 20" between centres
• 1kW (1.3hp) variable speed brushless motor
• Double induction hardened vee bed
• gearbox built into saddle for screwcutting/fine feed.
• Power cross feed
• t-slotted cross and top slides
• Rigid bed
• Accurate.

The downside is the poor manual that doesn't explain everything about how it works.

Neil

Chinese or Myford..

Neither. Myford is Chinese now anyway. Why pay a premium for what is an outdated design.

Buy second hand British. As many have said, there are plenty of really nice Boxford lathes around. Nice Harrisons too, an M250 or 300, or maybe a 140.

Chinese machines seem to offer a lot for the money, but a feature that I would be doubtful about is that many seem to lack usefully low speeds for some ME tasks. For example, the Arc SC4 referred to above has a lowest speed of 150 rpm. Not too good for largish iron castings IMHO.

My Boxford, as bought, went down to 38 rpm, lower now with a VFD., I've found this range very useful for, eg, the 9" drivers for my Princess of Wales and other jobs.

My take on it is that a good used British lathe will knock spots off any of the Chinese ones. I have a Chester DB 10 Super, it is accurate in fact very accurate but it just doesn't inspire confidence with things like deep cuts to get through the skin on stainless steel or thread cutting. I took the cover off the gear box and the cogs are anything but concentric, no wonder it sounds awful when they're engaged. The cross slide and compound slide are small and light weight and not up to things like rear tool post or tool post grinder.

If your only going to spin up a bit of ali now and then, a Chinese one will probably be just fine. If on the other hand you want to work with large items and various materials then a good English lathe as any of those mentioned above should be OK, but, if it's worn then it can be very expensive and frought with problems getting it put right.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up buying.

Ian

Ah, a fellow ditherer. Consider this: you will never get the time you're wasting back. Make up your mind and get on with it. If necessary toss a coin. If it comes down heads, go online tonight and order a lathe. You will be using it next week. If it comes down tails, explore the second-hand market. Unless you take pot-luck, it will take time and effort to find a good one, but there are bargains to be had. Remember when it comes to buying second-hand, condition is everything. And don't forget to check everything is all present and correct.

My advice – if you can't tell chalk from cheese, buy new rather than second-hand.

Loads of fun to be had with a lathe, get stuck in.

Dave

100 actually.

But fair point although it should be easy to address with a change of belt pulleys

Neil

The denizens of Mytholmroyd will be surprised to learn that their bit of Yorkshire is now in China. As far as I'm aware the new Myfords are still made in this country, chatting to the chaps on the stand at Doncaster they tell me that they've run out of the raw castings they got when Myford Beeston went, and they are having new castings done.

If you get a good British machine at the right price you'll not regret it, but just because it's got the name doesn't mean it's any good

I doubt it, the Myford 254 wasn't introduced until 13 years after Myford closed Raglan down.

I was watching a super 7 long bed on ebay today and the last bid was over 5k au although it did look in immaculate cond – for 5k i could buy a chinese lathe that would eat the super 7 !

There are many more things to factor in with a lathe purchase , will it fit where you want to put it ? Does it need 3ph power ? Can you get the machine to where it will live without killing yourself or disantling it to the last nut and bolt and carrying it in piece by peice ?

Will it do what you want ? If you play with cars or bikes on the side you may need a larger spindle bore , longer bed or more swing over the bed / saddle .

Once you have checked over the specs on a few brands of lathes to see what will meet your needs you can then cull the ones that don't make the grade . After that you should go and look at some examples in your price range – both new and used with no intention to buy as you are just gathering info and sometimes once you look at something in the flesh you may not like it – i have seen some photos touched up or taken at certain angles so not to show bed damage !

My usual advice is simple :

Don't buy brand "A" or "B" just because of a name or some bloke at your local club likes this brand , you need to look at your needs and look for a make that has those specs be it myford , boxford , harison or chinese / taiwanese.

If you know nothing about how to check a machine for wear and its not just the bed the ,leadscrew ,headstock bearings , tailstock barrel , cross and compound slide feed screws all come into play ( excuse the pun !) you are better of buying new provided you can buy a machine that meets your needs .

It really is a bit like hopper said in regards to cars – those that know not how to fix or rebuild usually buy new as they want to get in and drive it not fix it and the tinkerers / enthusiast buy used as the like to play with them .

Ian.