metal lathe chat beginners help needed
Discussion
Loved using them back in school and have decided to get a small one to get my arm back in.
Not ready and don't have the dedicated space yet for a myford or similar but looking at smaller bench top stuff like hobbymat, Clarke etc.
I know the Clarke stuff and other offspring are likely to be Chinese and need some "tweaking" but would welcome some advice in finding something that won't leave me annoyed at build quality, lack of power etc.
I know it's a big question but I'm looking at spending a few hundred and would mainly be turning Ali or Brass to begin with.
Not ready and don't have the dedicated space yet for a myford or similar but looking at smaller bench top stuff like hobbymat, Clarke etc.
I know the Clarke stuff and other offspring are likely to be Chinese and need some "tweaking" but would welcome some advice in finding something that won't leave me annoyed at build quality, lack of power etc.
I know it's a big question but I'm looking at spending a few hundred and would mainly be turning Ali or Brass to begin with.
When I was randomly looking the other day the Sieg SC3 came up, at least after a few upgrades to bearings etc. it looked pretty reasonable.
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/ has all the machines and the bits, other sources exist. As ever the same machines are also rebadged and sold by others.
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/ has all the machines and the bits, other sources exist. As ever the same machines are also rebadged and sold by others.
JoshSm said:
When I was randomly looking the other day the Sieg SC3 came up, at least after a few upgrades to bearings etc. it looked pretty reasonable.
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/ has all the machines and the bits, other sources exist. As ever the same machines are also rebadged and sold by others.
I have the same lathe but from a different manufacturer, and am very happy with it. You’ll also find similar clones from Sieg, Axminster and Clarke etc.https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/ has all the machines and the bits, other sources exist. As ever the same machines are also rebadged and sold by others.
Some of the gears are plastic but don’t let that put you off. They’re very robust and parts are readily available and reasonably inexpensive should anything fail.
https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machine-S...
Are you looking for new or used?
Emco made some lovely little lathes, but as with all old equipment you have to bide your time waiting for the right one to come along.
Unfortunately the lathe is only half the cost, the tooling ids where a lot of money goes. So if buying used the more tooling the better.
You don’t say what sort of stuff you are hoping to make?
Emco made some lovely little lathes, but as with all old equipment you have to bide your time waiting for the right one to come along.
Unfortunately the lathe is only half the cost, the tooling ids where a lot of money goes. So if buying used the more tooling the better.
You don’t say what sort of stuff you are hoping to make?
xstian said:
Are you looking for new or used?
Emco made some lovely little lathes, but as with all old equipment you have to bide your time waiting for the right one to come along.
Unfortunately the lathe is only half the cost, the tooling ids where a lot of money goes. So if buying used the more tooling the better.
You don’t say what sort of stuff you are hoping to make?
I was going to comment the same. I had an EMCO V10 that I bench mounted, was very versatile and could do decently sized work for its size. Not the stiffest lathe in the world, but none of the 'hobby' ones are. You just need to take lighter cuts.Emco made some lovely little lathes, but as with all old equipment you have to bide your time waiting for the right one to come along.
Unfortunately the lathe is only half the cost, the tooling ids where a lot of money goes. So if buying used the more tooling the better.
You don’t say what sort of stuff you are hoping to make?
allegro said:
Ooh that looks promising. Didn't know they did a small one. Looks like they may be above my start up budget. Definitely will keep an eye out for one though
Wow, £2,250!https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235742527851
I do light metalwork (small bits of brass) on a Myford ML8 with a compound slide, but being a wood lathe it's not really designed for metal.
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