Buying a new lathe and milling machine.

[David HopcroftParticipant @davidhopcroft29628]

I am new to model engineering. I have seen a 7"x14" lathe listed on ebay, one has nylon gears, the other one has metal gears. What is the best one to buy?

Looking at the Warco WM12 milling machine, would this be a good buy?

Many thanks,

[David HopcroftParticipant @davidhopcroft29628]

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Nylon gears are likely to strip in the event of a crash or overload which is a bit of a pain but overall less so than damaging something more substantial down the line like a burnt out motor or control board.

[Martin CargillParticipant @martincargill50290]

If you go for one with nylon gears its worth buying a spare set to sit on your parts shelf, they don't cost a lot and there is nothing worse than waiting for a new set to arrive when you want to get on with a project.

[Ronald MorrisonParticipant @ronaldmorrison29248]

The nylon gears will be quieter and wear slower than metal. They should be plenty strong for anything you will need to do on the mini lathe. If you strip one or manage to break off a tooth, new ones can be 3D printed if you have access to the printer.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Which gears are you talking about here?

Some mini lathes use gears in the drive from the motor and if these break or cause other damage as Jason has suggested then the machine is out of action.

If they are the gears that are used for cutting screw threads than it is less of an issue as a lot of the time I suspect you will not be using the lathe for this, but rather using taps and dies to cut threads.

[David HopcroftParticipant @davidhopcroft29628]

Hi, nylon gears I will go for. Amadeal 7"x14" CJ18A lathe seems a good buy. Based in the UK, easy to contact by phone, seem to have a lot of accessories.

David.

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