brian_lnwrfan

Hi Stephen, Again you have overwhelmed me by you superb and honest advice about the C3 mini lathe. This is far more than I had dared hope for and gives me much food for thought. It has also given me the courage to take that leap into the dark regarding which mini lathe to buy, so I suppose now it’s a question of when and where to buy. My only worry now is that I don’t get too addicted to the lathe when I get it. Many thanks again Stephen, it’s been a pleasure communicating with you. I will try and keep you posted as and when I get the lathe, and my first experience using it. All the best, Brian.

Hi Stephen, Nick, Gentlemen, first apologies for not responding sooner, but had to go out almost immediately after my last message yesterday, and have been out all morning today, in fact have only just switch my PC on and read your messages. You are quite right, I did get the wrong end of the stick in thinking that the whole head stock casing may have been plastic, hence the query. However, it’s an easy mistake, since they now make large airliners out of plastic ( the Boeing 777) I wonder if that’s made in China. I also just managed to download Nicks link from Arc Euro Trade about the preparation of a C3 lathe, and I now see exactly what you mean, there seems to be quite a few plastic bits in those lathes. I think it would be prudent to replace them with the metal counterparts right from the start and not wait till they break or fail. I have also been looking at some other forums regarding the Chinese lathes, and it seems that they should be used very gently, i.e. not try to cut too much off in one go, certainly less than 0.050†as this was considered too much. Also in some cases, there appeared to be a question of accuracy, though nothing specific was mentioned. Still I shall have to dig a little further before I finally commit to buy. Thank you again both for putting up with my ignorance, and helping to better understand these Chinese lathes. All your further information is very much appreciated. All the best, Brian.

Hi Stephen, Nick, Many thanks for the extra information, I am overwhelmed by the support you are giving me. However, it does need the right info before one can make a sensible decision on what to get for one’s money, I would hate to buy something quickly, then to find it is not suitable for purpose and may not be of the right quality for doing the work, so time taken considering my options is well worth it in the end. Also getting the right information from people such as yourselves is paramount (many thanks for that). One thing that did surprise me is that you mention the head stock on these Chinese lathes is plastic (although perhaps not so surprised, since most things these days are made of some form of plastic or other) I even spent yesterday evening looking at second hand Myford lathes, but all the re-conditioned ones were too expensive, and those around my price bracket seemed to just about worn out and need considerable attention, so will pursue another avenue. Thank you both for putting up with my ignorance, and helping to unravel the minefield of the modellers lathe and which to buy. All your efforts are very much appreciated. All the best, Brian.

Hi Stephen (bertiedog), Also, many thanks for your speedy reply. I must say what you have written, is a wealth of information and just the sort needed for me to make the right choice. I will certainly take on board all you have written, (Nick as well), and shop around. I’m just about to severely bend the wallet and re-equip my small workshop, so positively need to make the right choices, hopefully gained, from more experienced fellows like yourself. Stephen, this is exactly the type of information I needed, and is very helpful. Thank you, and Nick (previous reply) for what you have both written, it is very much appreciated. All the best, Brian.

Hi Nick (buffalo), Many thanks for the very quick response, must have been waiting for my post. I take your point about the Sieg machines, not too sure about them. However, have had a quick look at your suggested link, and agree the spec looks reasonably good, especially the extra distance between centres of 400 mm as opposed to 300 mm on the CL300. One point though, I notice the machines come in either Metric or Imperial, presumably this is the screw lead, do you know if this can be interchangeable by purchasing the other screw lead ? Thanks again for your reply. All the best, Brian.

Hi All, Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but I am seriously thinking of buying a lathe and have come across these two items, has anyone used either one of them, or has any comments about them (good or bad) ? Do you think they are a good buy ? See the following links: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-33893-Variable-Speed-Metalworking/dp/B005OJ9HSS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_diy_3 http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cl300m-metal-lathe Or does anyone have any better recommendations for a different make of lathe at around the same price range ?. Many thanks in anticipation. All the best, Brian