Which lathe to purchase

[Michael Ford 6Participant @michaelford6]

Sorry, it is still a bit too far under present circumstances.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

There's a Beeston in south Leeds as well.

[Matt HarringtonParticipant @mattharrington87221]

Michael, no probs.

Matt

[Gerhard NovakParticipant @gerhardnovak66893]

Posted by Steve Neighbour on 25/03/2021 12:57:19:

Posted by Michael Ford 6 on 24/03/2021 15:05:55:

"I have been scanning youtube and have discounted the chinese mini lathes as they all appear to need loads of rectification work before you can use them so I have set a budget of £1500 hoping I can find either a new or secondhand lathe that will give me the accuracy I am looking for.

I have looked at the Chester DB8VS also sold under other names I believe, and have found good reviews ??

Any advice would be appreciated

I really don't understand why so many folk on here discredit 'Chinese' Lathes, and assume they will automatically be poorly made – that was possibly true a few years ago, I suppose there will still be one or two 'dud' ones, but generally as a whole Chinese manufacturing has improved considerably.

When looking for a Lathe of my own, I spent hours trawling the markets trying to find the perfect little used machine that met my budget without much success, one thing I did learn is the 2nd hand market is flooded with too many 'very good condition, little used, too good to be true' British/American Lathes that are actually in poor condition and would cost a fortune to restore, often with very hard to find spares

Chinese Lathes

Pros'

• They are 'mostly' highly accurate 0.01mm (1 thou) (depends on make/model)
• Spares (if needed) are readily available
• Accessories are wide ranging and plentiful
• Almost all are fitted with needle roller bearings to the headstock (unlike Myford etc)
• They are available in both Metric and Imperial versions
• They have wide speed ranges (mine has 30 – 2250 rpm)
• You get a lot more for your money

Cons

• The instruction manual is often written in poor Engrish (good for a chuckle though)
• Delivery (at the moment for new) can be weeks or even months due to supply issues
• Some of the castings (rough edges) can be very poor, but usually it's where it doesn't matter 'too' much
• Electrics/Electronic controls (on some brands) can leave a lot to be desired

Anyway, the above is far from definitive, it is based on my own experiences to date, (as you may guess) I own a Chinese Lathe, it has out performed all of my expectations, is (so far) proving to be very reliable

Good luck with your search, and what ever you finally chose, I'm sure it will serve you well

Steve

Edited By Steve Neighbour on 25/03/2021 12:58:49

I totally agree to what you wrote, and also I own a Chinese lathe (DB8) and it is for sure much more accurate than a 60 years old model,and on top of being worn out it is also imperial….

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by John Haine on 25/03/2021 15:35:45:

There's a Beeston in south Leeds as well.

And a Beeston in Cheshire.

Edited By V8Eng on 25/03/2021 22:53:11

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Posted by V8Eng on 25/03/2021 22:52:08:

Posted by John Haine on 25/03/2021 15:35:45:

There's a Beeston in south Leeds as well.

And a Beeston in Cheshire.

Edited By V8Eng on 25/03/2021 22:53:11

Not wanting to leave Nelson's county out there's a Beeston in Norfolk.

Emgee

[Matt HarringtonParticipant @mattharrington87221]

Blimey, so many Beeston's

Matt

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

I remember when the works engineer drove to the wrong Watford – the one that was much closer than where he was phoning from. Possibly because he did not know the difference between a town and a village….

We had a good laugh for about a week, at his expense. There were numerous messages circulated, each giving directions and/or specific location for our regular and other meetings at our works.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Posted by Matt Harrington on 25/03/2021 23:50:30:

Blimey, so many Beeston's

Matt

Maybe thats why there are so many Myfords

;O)

Martin

[Brian BParticipant @brianb]

Steve, When I finished my apprenticeship my first job was to investigate the rigidity of a new design of milling machine head. Amongst other things I found was that solid head bearings, as used by Myford in the Super Seven are way ahead of everything else when it comes to rigidity. Next come taper roller bearings. Needle roller bearings were not even included in the list. Remember the bearing has to resist the end load on the shaft and needle roller bearings are not designed to do this.

So why are tape roller bearings used rather than solid ones? Well if my Myford head bearing seizes up and no one else were supplying parts then I would have a major problem although a service engineer may be able to rescrape the old one. In fact I might manage it myself although it is many decades since I did last scraped any form of round bearing.

If you need new roller bearings they are easily available from several sources

Why do they fail? Usually because of lack of lubricant, or contaminated lubricant.

I hope you are satisfied with your lathe when you finally buy it.

Brian Bristoll.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your lathe when you finally buy it.

Brian Bristoll

[DurhambuilderParticipant @durhambuilder]

Sell whatever scrap you can, beg borrow or steal to raise your budget to £2000 and buy the myford 254 in the classifieds, no connection with the seller but looks a cracking buy and fully tooled up.

Edited By Durhambuilder on 26/03/2021 11:56:38

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

I agree with Howard, if I was looking for a lathe and £1500 was my budget I would seriously consider the Chester Craftsman (18 inch gap bed) that Matts friend is selling at around that price. Only had around 10 hours use and £1000 less than new price, I would certainly want to be taking a look at least.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Although I have never seen a 254 in the flesh, I believe they developed it from the Raglan 5”.

Apart from perhaps being a little more modern, having immersion lubrication and being slightly more ‘user friendly’ I still think the Raglan 5” can be a better option.

I shall not be swapping my 5” for a 254 – as they are far too expensive in comparison. A good Raglan with more accessories than one needs, when starting out, might well be less than a grand (even a good deal less).

Of course, one needs to know what one is buying, but the beds are very long-lived, the lead screw is only used for threading and the infinitely variable speed selection within the speed range is good. They are a delight to use compared to the earlier Little John (still a good lathe, mind) what with the improvements made and that auto long-travel trip, (which gets used very regularly).

I hunted round for several months before finding mine – but I was in no hurry as I already had a Little John. Expect a ‘more urgent’ purchase to cost a fair bit more….

[Michael MooreParticipant @michaelmoore38916]

Posted by Journeyman on 25/03/2021 10:57:38:

I wrote a bit on my website about selecting a new lathe, have a look ** Journeyman's Workshop ** may or may not help a bit.

John

Thanks. That glossary is very helpful to me.

[Robert HoltonParticipant @robertholton69149]

It is worth looking at secondhand machines. Just before lockdown we were having a short break in Yorkshire, and we went into an antiques centre somewhere near Howarth .

In there they had an absolutely beautiful Myford on it's own stand. I drooled over it . It was in such amazing condition. I played with it for a little while. Everything worked with silky smoothness. I felt sick to leave it there.

They wanted just over £1300 for it. At that price I'd have snatched their hands off. If only I had the room for such a machine………..

Rob

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

A lot depends on how much room you have to spare. And the maximum size of anything you can imagine making.

[UncouthJParticipant @uncouthj]

To throw my tuppence in having not long been through the process…

If you're in a hurry, or not entirely sure what features you want/need, buy the cheapest functional thing that will service your needs sizewise. Then, if it warrants it, bide your time and look out for the one that ticks all your boxes and bid like you mean it…

For my part I was quite happy doing small models and light work for a while, so a second hand CJ18 that'd had the spindle and bearings upgraded, a few other mods and some tooling was a good punt for £350. That then gave me time to wait for the perfect lump of old metal to come about in the form of my 10" Logan, on which I bid every penny I had to my name and won for a steal.

Good luck in your search!

Jay

[Steve MillwardParticipant @stevemillward84705]

Hi I bought a Chester craftsman 2 years ago brand new paid £2501

had quite a few problems at first took me a couple of weeks to get them sorted

you get a guarantee from Chester but you have to return the machine to them

to have it repaired couldn’t be bothered do dismantle a put back on pallet

so had it sorted my self at my expense as it turned out it’s quite a nice machine

i also bought a warco wm180 for small work very nice machine

good luck with your search

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The Chester craftsman, still avaiolable new, is a generic Taiwanese design, like the Warco BH600 and the rarer Engineers Tool Room BL12 -24, and many other brands outside the UK.

They are good versatile, and from new, well equipped machines.

Not perfect, but a little of fettling and adjustment, and quite acceptable.

Mine came with a 1.5 hp VFD, and so far have never had problems, other than of my own making.

Howard

[Michael Ford 6Participant @michaelford6]

A close friend has recently died and his widow has asked me to sell all his tools including a Zyto (?) made by S Zyteck & Co approx 1920/30s which is in very good condition but I have no idea what sort of value to put on it. Is there anyone who would like to give me an estimate?

I have tried posting a photo but every time it is upside down and cant rectify it.

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

I've been using a Warco WM250V for 7 years now, both as a lathe, and with a Myford vertical slide, as a small milling and co-ordinate drilling machine.

It works well and any problems have been of my own making and resolved by my own fixing. I previously owned a Myford Speed 10 for 20 years, and I think the Warco is at least as well-designed.

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

Posted by Michael Ford 6 on 20/09/2022 15:15:31:

A close friend has recently died and his widow has asked me to sell all his tools including a Zyto (?) made by S Zyteck & Co approx 1920/30s which is in very good condition but I have no idea what sort of value to put on it. Is there anyone who would like to give me an estimate?

I have tried posting a photo but every time it is upside down and cant rectify it.

Best to start yor own thread on this subject. You will get more answers. BUT price depends on condition & features.

A lot more info will be required eg swing/between centres length/change gears available or is it even able to cut threads/ motor size etc etc.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 20/09/2022 19:24:59

[Chris MateParticipant @chrismate31303]

I would have liked to have a 330 swing lathe with high precision and no gear changes to cut threads, but the weight & cost was too much. The Chinese is an old nation and still there, I think they pretty much make anything for you to your "agents-requirements"…..So I blame my agent, then my lack of enough money.

Edited By Chris Mate on 21/09/2022 02:15:22

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