Equipment/Lathe

Summary

We have a Myford super 7 lathe kindly donated to us by Martin Levine. It is a quality machine in fair condition but it is capable of causing severe injury so it must only be used by those trained to operate it safely. The 'owners' are responsible for training new users and ensuring that it is maintained in a safe condition. So far the owners are Roger Smith and Robert Copcutt. Please contact them to become an approved user.

Historical discussion on buying a new or used lathe

Large used lathes sell for cheap. They have the capacity to work large pieces, and they may be of very high quality for the price. Transporting them is difficult: they can weigh (literally) a ton. Getting spares when they arrive incomplete, they break, or we want accessories could be very difficult. Making a decision as a group about what to buy could be very difficult -- the used market is a moving target.

New lathes cost a lot, but there are entry level lathes of reasonable quality that would get us started. The downsides are a more limited capacity, and a less rigid machine. The small machines coming out of China dominate the small-lathe market, and buying one of these would make it easy to get spares and accessories from multiple sources. There is also an online community of hobbyists using them that we could draw upon. Chester, Machine-Mart, Axminster, and Arc Euro Trade all re-brand and sell very similar Chinese lathes.

Desirable Features

Thread cutting

Variable speed

Quick change tool post

Concrete suggestions

The following small lathes have the features:

http://www.chestermachinetools.com/products/detail/2 -- 332.50 ex. vat

http://www.chestermachinetools.com/products/detail/3 -- 415.83 ex. vat

Joe says that these are rather small, and he knows, from experience, that they are easy to knock out of alignment. He recommends a bigger machine for beginners:

http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes-metalworking-lathe-machine/19-wm280v-f-variable-speed-lathe.html -- 1,575.00 inc. VAT

(MT) That looks like a very good lathe. There still could be a place for a smaller, less expensive lathe in addition to a big lathe. If the Chester one is not a good choice for this, what about something like: http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes-metalworking-lathe-machine/15-wm-180-variable-speed-lathe.html - 725.00 inc vat

And in the same spirit for a lower cost milling machine: http://www.warco.co.uk/milling-machines/36-major-milling-drilling-machine.html 1100.00 inc

Peripheral tools and accessories

Running the lathe will require many accessories, there is a suggested list here:

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Accessories/accessories.htm

List desired accessories below:

HSS tool blanks

Tailstock chuck

Vertical slide attachment (enables limited milling operations)