Amadeal lathes – Any good??

[Tim SallowsParticipant @timsallows79095]

I'm looking to purchase my first lathe for home to do small tasks.

Does anyone have any experience with Amadeal lathes?

Any advice would be great.

[Tim SallowsParticipant @timsallows79095]

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

If you search for amadeal, there are about 15 results. Reading through them may give you an idea, or two, of other peoples experiences.

[Tim SallowsParticipant @timsallows79095]

cheers, It makes for interesting reading??

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Many people including me have had very good experiences with Arc Eurotrade who sell similar machines and give excellent customer service.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

I have never bought anything from Amadeal, but I suspect that it would be more likely for an unsatisfied customer to post their comments than a happy or delighted one.

Life's like that unfortunately, but like the poster above, I have always been delighted with my purchases from ARC.

[HowiParticipant @howi]

I have had mabout ity AMADEAL 210 for 8 years now, I wrote an article in Model Engineers Workshop about it (two articles in fact). It was bought at a time when most of the ubiquetous mini lathes needed a lot of fettling to get them up to spec.

The 210 worked straight out of the box and is slightly larger and heavier than the normal 3 1/2 inch mini lathe while still managable in a small workshoip. In my 8 years of ownership I have not had any trouble whatsoever.

As for Amadeal, all I can say as a satisfied customer, I have had no problems at all, I have bought extra bits for the 210 such as steadies, faceplate, quick change tool holder and a rotary table, all from Amadeal and hasve been more than happy with my purchase. Others may have different views, I can only say as I find.

As for other suppliers, Arceuro are up there with the best, I got my SX2P mini mill from them + lots of tooling etc and their service is second to non.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since I bought my lathe and most mini lathes and up tend to be of a lot better quality, My 210 came with a quality control spec sheet, how much that can be relied on is anyones guess but I have no reason to doubt it's authenticity.

All I can say is I am more than satisfied with my purchases from AMADEAL, what more can I say.

Edited By Howi on 01/07/2020 09:36:12

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

I bought a cj18a mini lathe from Amadeal just over 2 years ago. I have been happy with it as an entry level machine to the hobby.

I had no experience of lathes , so looked at the prices and specifications of the similar lathes sold by the various uk sellers ( Warco, Chester, Axminster, Arceurotrade etc). I decided to buy the one from Amadeal as it was among the cheapest at the time and had a better spec than some of the others.

The lathe was delivered quickly . The second time I used it, the plastic hand wheel broke ( I think it was damage in transit). I rang Amadeal at about 4 pm to explain the problem. They sent me a replacement which arrived the next day, which I thought was excellent customer service.

I have bought a few small items from them since and have been happy with the service and prices. They seem to stock a large range of spares for their machines with the prices listed on their website.

I did have a problem with one item ( an ER collet chuck) which was not machined accurately. I contacted them and they sent a replacement the same day with a prepaid envelope to return the faulty one. Unfortunately, the replacement had the same problem, so I asked for a refund. They offered to get them picked up by courier, but I preferred to post them back myself, which I did. They refunded the cost of the item and my postage costs direct to my paypal account the day they received them back.

So overall, I am happy with my lathe and the service from Amadeal.

Stuart

Edited By Stuart Smith 5 on 01/07/2020 19:57:27

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

As a newbie I'd be interested in how Tim got on…seeing as I'm in a similar position…

[Martin of WickParticipant @martinofwick]

I had a CJ18 from Amadeal that ran fine but required a fair bit of fettling, but all relatively minor stuff and probably no more than would have been required for similar lathes in that class.

They replaced a 4 Jaw chuck with faulty jaws that I had had for over a year (but not used), so have been content with their support.

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Posted by Martin of Wick on 01/01/2021 20:05:17:

I had a CJ18 from Amadeal that ran fine but required a fair bit of fettling, but all relatively minor stuff and probably no more than would have been required for similar lathes in that class.

They replaced a 4 Jaw chuck with faulty jaws that I had had for over a year (but not used), so have been content with their support.

Thanks Martin…I've picked up some books and one details the fine tuning most need…still researching but Amadeal are close to me but I've also looked at Warco…Arc Euro…and Chester so far…not forgetting machine mart and axminster…thanks again…

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

The CJ18 was my first lathe which I bought from Amadeal it was a typical cheap mini lathe, needed some adjusting and setting up but it was reliable and I did some decent work on it. I also did one or two mods to it to make it a bit better. I didn't have problems with it so I didn't test Amadeal,s after sales, I have heard good and bad to be fair.

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Posted by Ron Laden on 02/01/2021 11:02:23:

The CJ18 was my first lathe which I bought from Amadeal it was a typical cheap mini lathe, needed some adjusting and setting up but it was reliable and I did some decent work on it. I also did one or two mods to it to make it a bit better. I didn't have problems with it so I didn't test Amadeal,s after sales, I have heard good and bad to be fair.

Thanks Ron…i totally appreciate that I'd be starting at the lower end of the market…and I could spend a million quid on a car that has issues…in my day job I have to manage expectations and like most jobs you earn your money when it goes wrong…I reckon I'll pop in to see Amadeal when safe to do so and see how things are…cheers…

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

Martin

I have a CJ18a mini lathe from Amadeal (see my earlier post on the 1/7/20).

I did a bit of research online before I bought it on the different ones available. Being a beginner, I didn’t want to spend too much in case I decided it was not for me. At the time it was one of the cheapest and had a better spec than others (for the price).

I have been happy with it and with the service from Amadeal. If you search on this forum you will find a thread from last year from someone who wasn’t happy with the service they received when the ( larger) lathe they had had for 11 months failed. A few people who had had no dealings with Amadeal jumped in to criticise the company, which I thought was unfair.

From my first contact with them before I bought the lathe, I have always got through to them by phone and had a response by email the same day, so even though they are a small setup, I would recommend them.

One thing to bear in mind though if you are thinking of a larger lathe, they don’t include extras like additional chucks or steadies. Warco include these in the price of their larger lathes.

In my view, the Machine Mart lathes are not good value for money.

Stuart

 

 

Edited By Stuart Smith 5 on 02/01/2021 12:48:42

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Posted by Stuart Smith 5 on 02/01/2021 12:46:15:

Martin

I have a CJ18a mini lathe from Amadeal (see my earlier post on the 1/7/20).

I did a bit of research online before I bought it on the different ones available. Being a beginner, I didn’t want to spend too much in case I decided it was not for me. At the time it was one of the cheapest and had a better spec than others (for the price).

I have been happy with it and with the service from Amadeal. If you search on this forum you will find a thread from last year from someone who wasn’t happy with the service they received when the ( larger) lathe they had had for 11 months failed. A few people who had had no dealings with Amadeal jumped in to criticise the company, which I thought was unfair.

From my first contact with them before I bought the lathe, I have always got through to them by phone and had a response by email the same day, so even though they are a small setup, I would recommend them.

One thing to bear in mind though if you are thinking of a larger lathe, they don’t include extras like additional chucks or steadies. Warco include these in the price of their larger lathes.

In my view, the Machine Mart lathes are not good value for money.

Stuart

Edited By Stuart Smith 5 on 02/01/2021 12:48:42

Thanks Stuart…thanks for that and I'm reading loads already…they seem to have been about for a while so they look positive…I keep scrolling through Ebay and seeing things that look great but then like you say miss a couple of items…I see what you mean about the accessories with warco but then I can see arc euro and amadeal have starter sets and then Chester hobby have a set with accessories…good job I can drive a spreadsheet…lol…

Thanks again…

[GazzParticipant @gazz]

I've had a CJ18 for the past 9 years, bought it second hand from someone who bought it new from amadeal a year before that (he used it to make parts for his life size dalek, then sold it on)
Sure i sometimes wish i had a bigger lathe with more features like power cross feed, screw cutting gearbox and all that, but this little lathes done all i needed really.

Things i've had fail / go wrong on it,

About a year after i got it i started having problems with it cutting out, refusing to start etc,
I traced this all to the interlock board (amadeal call's it a filter board) that is in the base of the controller box, this makes you start the lathe by turning the speed knob to zero every time… very very annoying,
It also provides motor braking, and operates the inhibit function on the speed controller, which shuts power to the motor if you disconnect the motor whilst running… which you do when you operate the direction switch (something you shouldn't do on any running lathe anyway)

I was told by a few people that those boards can be a pain, and some needed to replace theirs every year or so!! So i bypassed mine, had to keep it in the lathe tho as it also provides power for the speed readout, so that's all it does on my lathe now.

i can get braking and inhibit functions back using a relay and a resistor, i just need to get round to it.

The high – low gear broke about 5 years ago, i lost low speed, it's a set of plastic gears in the headstock, needing the spindle removing to change, so i lived with only high speed for years,

When i finally bought a replacement set of gears, i got the upgraded metal ones,
And at the same time i bought a pair of angular contact bearings to replace the standard ball bearings that the spindle runs in
I figured as i had to pull the spindle and the bearings to get to the gears, i'd do the bearing upgrade at the same time, i got the bearings from arc euro trade (but watch out as most other parts are not interchangable between the seig and reel bull lathes as i found out recently)

When the lathe was put into storage for a year, the person carrying it from the car tripped and the cross slide leadscrews handle got snapped off, to fix this i needing a new leadscrew… so i ordered one from arc as it was cheaper… but it's not the right one, same thread by different on the area that goes through the bearing block / dial and that.

And i had the motor drive pulley come apart and damage itself, again i bought a replacement from arc as it was cheaper than amadeal, but it was not suitable for my lathe (9.5mm hole with keyway, where as the correct part has a 8.5mm hole and a key that's part of the plastic molding)

I've stripped the lathe down a few times and done some fettling to it, there is a great article on how to do this… using a seig version, but as you are just stripping, cleaning and fettling then adjusting it's relevent to most mini lathes:

Mini Lathe Strip and re-assemble

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Posted by Gazz on 02/01/2021 15:31:08:

I've had a CJ18 for the past 9 years, bought it second hand from someone who bought it new from amadeal a year before that (he used it to make parts for his life size dalek, then sold it on)
Sure i sometimes wish i had a bigger lathe with more features like power cross feed, screw cutting gearbox and all that, but this little lathes done all i needed really.

Things i've had fail / go wrong on it,

About a year after i got it i started having problems with it cutting out, refusing to start etc,
I traced this all to the interlock board (amadeal call's it a filter board) that is in the base of the controller box, this makes you start the lathe by turning the speed knob to zero every time… very very annoying,
It also provides motor braking, and operates the inhibit function on the speed controller, which shuts power to the motor if you disconnect the motor whilst running… which you do when you operate the direction switch (something you shouldn't do on any running lathe anyway)

I was told by a few people that those boards can be a pain, and some needed to replace theirs every year or so!! So i bypassed mine, had to keep it in the lathe tho as it also provides power for the speed readout, so that's all it does on my lathe now.

i can get braking and inhibit functions back using a relay and a resistor, i just need to get round to it.

The high – low gear broke about 5 years ago, i lost low speed, it's a set of plastic gears in the headstock, needing the spindle removing to change, so i lived with only high speed for years,

When i finally bought a replacement set of gears, i got the upgraded metal ones,
And at the same time i bought a pair of angular contact bearings to replace the standard ball bearings that the spindle runs in
I figured as i had to pull the spindle and the bearings to get to the gears, i'd do the bearing upgrade at the same time, i got the bearings from arc euro trade (but watch out as most other parts are not interchangable between the seig and reel bull lathes as i found out recently)

When the lathe was put into storage for a year, the person carrying it from the car tripped and the cross slide leadscrews handle got snapped off, to fix this i needing a new leadscrew… so i ordered one from arc as it was cheaper… but it's not the right one, same thread by different on the area that goes through the bearing block / dial and that.

And i had the motor drive pulley come apart and damage itself, again i bought a replacement from arc as it was cheaper than amadeal, but it was not suitable for my lathe (9.5mm hole with keyway, where as the correct part has a 8.5mm hole and a key that's part of the plastic molding)

I've stripped the lathe down a few times and done some fettling to it, there is a great article on how to do this… using a seig version, but as you are just stripping, cleaning and fettling then adjusting it's relevent to most mini lathes:

Mini Lathe Strip and re-assemble

Hi Gazz…thanks for that comprehensive response…it's certainly given me stuff to consider and take on board…cheers…

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

In the long run, I just wonder of the expected advantages of cheap mini-lathes – other than cheap to buy and space saving (for those with little of that).

Replacing boards,especially at yearly intervals, soon makes them expensive.

Of course, some motors can change direction, by a single press of a button, while running. Three phase with VFD is the type (and they can be restarted at the same speed without penalty – within reason).

I get the impression that broken gears are often a function of overload – the gears failing like a shear pin. An expensive shear pin.

Spindle bearings should last a long time. Most other lathes do not need up-graded bearings?

Many motors have driving pulleys which have lasted fifty – or even a hundred years.

I can imagine that some min-lathe owners have paid out more than the original cost over the nine years of ownership! While this is not the universal situation, it does make the saying of ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ applicable without actually changing the lathe!

Even though myfords are expensive secondhand (and can be a nightmare for those that get caught out by sellers advertising boat anchors), they are likely less expensive for spares over ten years of ownership?

It is fairly certain that buying from a company that stocks spares for the machines they have sold is a money saver in the longer term – even if a few quid dearer initially.

As an often ‘first lathe’ – indeed, a first metal (or wood) manipulating machine – many new entrants to the hobby are not well versed on the pros and cons of any particular brand or supplier so are going to pay the costs of operation before up-grading (what a nice term&#128578.

I expect that many lathes have been scrapped, abandoned, or sold on, by newbies to the hobby, due to poor purchase choices. Against that they have undoubtedly helped a large number on their way or have proven a good purchase. The only good thing for the latter group is that the initial cost and availability was there as a choice at the time.

Even purchasing new machines costing over ten times as much can have several things that need repairing/improving before even using the machine, if glaring faults are noticed by an experienced user (See Robin’s on-going thread).

Doubtless there will be a few comments about this post, so I’ll don my tin hat and keep my head down now.🙂

I’ve never dealt with Amadeal (only remarked as this was the original thread starter, some time ago) so all I know of them is what I have read on the internet.

I wish you luck with whatever you buy

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

I get your point…I have a desire for the rebuilt super 7 on the myford website…but they're £3,000 plus chuck and a few other bits…I can see that becoming £4-5,000 quite easily…even £1-1,500 on a used one from Ebay or something could become a money pit…think I need to find a trusted person who is getting rid of one…or wait till I retire…lol…

[Andy_GParticipant @andy_g]

I bought a 7 x 14 brushless lathe from Amadeal early last year. (AMA714B).

Customer service was very good – I had timely and polite replies to a couple of emails I sent, and delivery was swift.

The lathe itself had a true running spindle and straight and square ways. and generally seems to be par for the course for this type of lathe. It was usable as delivered, but in the nature of these things, a little fettling improved it. I've been quite pleased with the lathe – it's done everything I've asked of it. Being the brushless version with belt drive direct to the spindle, the plastic high/low gears are absent. The leadscrew gears are plastic, but under very little stress and haven't been any cause for concern. My only major irritation is that the cross slide leadscrew is 1.25mm pitch which requires more mental gymnastics when calculating how much to feed.

I had an issue early on where the supplied 4 way toolpost had been machined on the skew, but an email and a photo to them had a replacement sent out promptly without any argument (it wasn't hugely better though!). I've bought bits and pieces of tooling from them since and the service has also been good.

If they've got what you're looking for, I would have no hesitation buying it from them.

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

I bought a CJ18 from Amadeal about a year ago, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how good it is for the price.

It needed a little fettling, as others have remarked – namely the cross slide gib strip was poorly machined and completely the wrong cross-section. I though of trying to get a better one from Amadeal, but decided it would be better to make a new one, which greatly improved the cross slide location. I also scraped the sliding surfaces.

As Andy Gray mentions above, the calibrations on the cross and top slide dials are absolutely maddening with 0.025mm/division, and with major lines every 10 divisions marked 10, 20 etc.. 10 what?

As discussed in this thread:

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=162227

I made new dials with diametral calibrations – a very worthwhile modification, and fitted roller thrust bearings to them which make for a smoother action.

At some stage I'll fit angular contact bearings to the headstock, but it works well the way it is.

Of course second hand industrial machines offer better value, but I don't have the room – I doubt the lady in the flat below me would appreciate having a Holbrook B-type arriving in her bedroom.

[Martin of WickParticipant @martinofwick]

Nah,

don't waste yer money on 'special' brands when starting out – you will always be able to move a cheap and cheerful lathe on at little risk or cost if you tire of it. Remember 9 out of 10 Myfords advertised for sale (and others of the same ilk) prefer Chum.

As you learn and improve, you will begin to form a view of the exact type of machine you really need and can take your time sourcing it. If you have the room, you may well find you keep the uncomplaining mini lathe to do the gnarly, horrid, cruel, abusive jobs that you wouldn't dare inflict on the frail 'workshop queen' of a certain age, preening herself under her cover in the corner…

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Thanks for the words of wisdom…they all makes sense…

[Martyn Edwards 1Participant @martynedwards1]

As I spent a lot of time sourcing, specifying and buying machinery in a past life and latterly in the Far East here's a bit of information of what goes on out there in regards to the machines available to us in the UK

Most of the imported cheaper manual machines we buy for our hobby are made out in the provinces in pretty basic factories where the working conditions and methods of manufacture we haven't been seen over here for many many years. A lot of their production is for the home market. These machines are then purchased by companies such as Weiss and other brands you may be familiar with. They take in the machines and effectively QC them and upgrade them with such things as CE wiring, better control boards, safety features that are not usually required in the home market addition features etc.,

The machines can be branded e.g. to names of the UK importers and even have importer added branding features such as badges and paint colour. With all this we must understand that the original manufacture is not high tech or particularly to a high accuracy. I have been in factories in Nanjing and seen most of the UK imported mini lathes being worked on on the same line but painted up for different UK importers.

There are always exceptions and Sieg is one of them as they manufacture their machinery in their own factory in Shanghai from start to finish and in that way the quality can be maintained and be better, thus the higher price because labour rates and company costs are higher in the Cities.

So it depends on your budget, the UK suppliers support and access to spare parts which invariably you will need, usually the electronics and motors.

Unfortunately the last UK manufacturer of Manual Lathes ceased production a a year or so ago (Boxford). To give an example a Boxford 330 with a useful amount of accessories and tooling last cost upwards of £14K the Chinese copies of this lathe come fully kitted at around £4K. The brand names (Colchester & Harrison) as that's all they are now are manufactured out in Taiwan and are the same lathe with one or the other name on them. Engineering standards and quality are usually a lot higher with machines from Taiwan.

[Martin Watson 1Participant @martinwatson1]

Posted by Martyn Edwards 1 on 03/01/2021 18:45:19:

As I spent a lot of time sourcing, specifying and buying machinery in a past life and latterly in the Far East here's a bit of information of what goes on out there in regards to the machines available to us in the UK

Most of the imported cheaper manual machines we buy for our hobby are made out in the provinces in pretty basic factories where the working conditions and methods of manufacture we haven't been seen over here for many many years. A lot of their production is for the home market. These machines are then purchased by companies such as Weiss and other brands you may be familiar with. They take in the machines and effectively QC them and upgrade them with such things as CE wiring, better control boards, safety features that are not usually required in the home market addition features etc.,

The machines can be branded e.g. to names of the UK importers and even have importer added branding features such as badges and paint colour. With all this we must understand that the original manufacture is not high tech or particularly to a high accuracy. I have been in factories in Nanjing and seen most of the UK imported mini lathes being worked on on the same line but painted up for different UK importers.

There are always exceptions and Sieg is one of them as they manufacture their machinery in their own factory in Shanghai from start to finish and in that way the quality can be maintained and be better, thus the higher price because labour rates and company costs are higher in the Cities.

So it depends on your budget, the UK suppliers support and access to spare parts which invariably you will need, usually the electronics and motors.

Unfortunately the last UK manufacturer of Manual Lathes ceased production a a year or so ago (Boxford). To give an example a Boxford 330 with a useful amount of accessories and tooling last cost upwards of £14K the Chinese copies of this lathe come fully kitted at around £4K. The brand names (Colchester & Harrison) as that's all they are now are manufactured out in Taiwan and are the same lathe with one or the other name on them. Engineering standards and quality are usually a lot higher with machines from Taiwan.

Thanks Martyn…

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