VTR1000.ORG

Morning all,
I fancy having a bit of a go with a lathe. I’ve got my Dad’s old wood lathe and found my way around that and have produced some decent results, the little Triumph T100t replica balance bike I did through the first lockdown for my Grandson had lots of turned bits.
Like all purchases there are a myriad of choices, older machines like the Myford (M, ML) Boxford or something from Clarke/machine mart. Any recommendations for a starter, light work machine?

Kev,
this is my lessons learned after deciding I needed a lathe over 1 yr ago.

I decided to go with the older product rather than a clarkes / Chinese new one, main reason being the build quality and robustness of the old stuff, but it does have its own drawbacks.
- availability of spares
- changing the speed generally needs you to move belts from 1 pully to another
- finding the missing accessories that you didn't know you needed like the change wheels to auto feed or thread cut, a different chuck to fit the spindle etc.


I got an old Zyto modelers lathe that had been converted to run with a speed controlled servo motor system, and that is a real bonus as I can set any speed I want and it has a digital tacho speed read out.
It is fairly small (bed is 2ft long, chuck is 3" dia) , but will do all the jobs I need for Bike stuff with a couple of exceptions, but that is because the chuck I have is small, and it only has the internal jaws, If I had the external jaws for the chuck, I could have held the part.

other problem it has is there is a bit of wear in the main spindle bronze bushes, and there is no spares, so I have to work round that,. For example, it doesn't like the forces generated using the parting off tool (its a 3mm plunge cut) , so I have to use the hacksaw and then face the part off later.

so while a bigger one might be useful every now and then, the current size is OK, and leaves room in the workshop.

but I would make sure the next one I get has better spindle bearings and good range of chucks & Jaws.

ML7 would be nice, but starting to fetch silly money, so I will carry on with the little ZYTO but try and get a new backplate machined to accept a new chuck with internal & external jaws, and perhaps a 4 jaw chuck

Maybe slightly more than a light duty/starter machine but I would highly recommend an old Boxford. As mentioned above, the older stuff tends to be a bit more sturdy and there's a good availability of parts for these.

The Myfords are lovely but quite sought after by model engineers and so the prices are a little disproportionate.

I suppose it really depends on what you're hoping to do on it. You can knock out all sorts of useful odds n sods on most machines but if you're after decent accuracy I would take a look at the Boxford.

Happy hunting!

Thanks chaps, good info. I’ll have a look at Boxford’s. A mate of mine has a Myford super 7 which he swears by, and if the quality of the
Vincent Rapide restoration is anything to go by, that works well!

For me, a metric screw-cutting setup would be a big plus, and a decent headstock feed size, otherwise you're restricted to shorter lengths or thin diameters.
And a milling attachment is a very good idea, as it avoids you having to buy another machine. Things like indexing tables are worth keeping an eye out for, collet chucks if you plan to do any repetition runs or volume work, lastly, a gap bed allows for big swings.
Am I asking too much?

With that lot, a flatbed grinder and a decent Tig welder I could be dangerous......

As others have said an ML7 will set you back close to four figures.

Check out lathes.co.uk for loads of info and advice. I contacted Tony there and he recommended plain turning lathes like the Raglan Loughborough or Boxford Model T. He said stay away from the lighter Myfords like the ML4 though.

Normally he wouldn't recommend these as they are without backgear or screw turning features but would do 90% of motorcycle jobs.

I've not bitten the bullet yet but I think I'll go with on with backgear and screw cutting when I do.

Another recommendation for lathes.co.uk

Sorry to bang on about the Boxford, if you think you may want to do screw cutting the AUD model, in my opinion, is the way to go.

Right, I'll shut the feck up about Boxfords now....

Thanks for the info chaps, all very useful

Go with Allan Millyard

You also need to consider what you want to make with it, how often you will use it, and how much garage space you can allocate to it.
If you are tight for space you need to be more honest with the first 2 questions, but if your shed has room, then you can get a bigger more capable lathe and see where it takes you.

I would struggle to get a freestanding lathe in and decided that its main job is making spacers from ally and steel. So FAR, i am either adjusting the length or diameter of bar stock, and I am not wishing I had screw cutting and other features. .... YET

kev also as others have said the Myfords are fetching money these days. if you are going down the older route, which i did with my pair here, have a look at Drummond lathes,, they are pretty much the same thing, there is a link up between the two companies that right now i canr remember but they are the same bar name and can be had much cheaper but spares are cheap and easy to find.

as for the motors dont go replacing the original motors on them as they are silly money, easy way and the way a lot of guys are doing these days, get a cheap treadmill motor, does the same thing and a fraction of the cost, you only need a motor that spins to about 1450 rpm or you will wear the spindle bushes out far to fast..

as for tools iv got near all of mine from china and they are every bit as good and uk stuff priced 3 or 4 times more, stuff like carbide tips etc, dirt cheap. running centres and chucks i would spend a bit more and they will last the life of the lathe

Thanks again all.
Al, I can make space in my shed for a reasonable size item. Ideally I want to cater for progression, and buy once.