Colchester Bantam 2000 - Thoughts?

[Chaz]

I am looking at this:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lathe-Colc...-/231773982948

Seems well priced and lots of watchers. So assuming one of you bunch don't buy it from under me ....

Thoughts? They seem well regarded and perhaps a bit more modern / size than a Myford ML7.

I just spoke to the guy, it sounds like one of the top leadscrews is wrong and need replacing. It works but likely that the pitch was different when replaced.

Thoughts?

I dont want to start a China versus old British debate but would I be better off spending £1500 on a Warco VM250 with VSD? I have a Denford Triac mill already and would love a lathe to be able to do some of the parts Id like to do.

Thanks

[kingcreaky]

I had that on my watch list. Il leave you to it Chaz.

[Chaz]

I had that on my watch list. Il leave you to it Chaz.

At the moment, Im looking at a new Warco instead. Buying 2nd hand, especially without knowing and inspecting, worries me.

It might be a good buy or not. When I spoke to the guy I asked if the lathe had any damage / play. He mentioned 'some play' but not sure.

I think the Colchester lathe parts are expensive, so this might not be the bargain it seems ...

[uli12us]

The colchester is much bigger and powerful as the warco. 13*30" vs 10*22" and the weight ist at least 6*, the warco has a small 1,2kW Motor, the colchester at least 4kW.
Maybe, I can't see it on the pictures, it has a removable bedbridge without this you can
turn much larger parts who have a bigger diametre than 13" but must be short in length.

[Chaz]

The colchester is much bigger and powerful as the warco. 13*30" vs 10*22" and the weight ist at least 6*, the warco has a small 1,2kW Motor, the colchester at least 4kW.
Maybe, I can't see it on the pictures, it has a removable bedbridge without this you can
turn much larger parts who have a bigger diametre than 13" but must be short in length.

Understood. I think your stats are a bit wrong.



That's the nameplate, difficult to read but it looks like 4HP motor. It is larger, no doubt but more difficult to run too. Im more worried if there is a problem with it, than its ability.

[uli12us]

Ok 4hp ist a bit (some 20%) littleer than 4kW. but all the other things are right.
I couldn't find better technical data, the weight is only estimated. If a small weiler commodor weighs around 700kg, then the colchester is at least as heavy.
In difference to warco the colchester has only an unregulated 3~ motor with a big gearbox, that reduce the speed while increase the torque. If you want to drill a hole with maybe 30mm, you will see the difference.
The Warco has a DC-Motor, which you must maintain regulary, the control unit can be (not must) fault-prone, while the 3~ motor is nearly indestructible.

And if you want a DRO, you can assemble it to the colchester as well.

[Chaz]

Ok 4hp ist a bit (some 20%) littleer than 4kW. but all the other things are right.
I couldn't find better technical data, the weight is only estimated. If a small weiler commodor weighs around 700kg, then the colchester is at least as heavy.
In difference to warco the colchester has only an unregulated 3~ motor with a big gearbox, that reduce the speed while increase the torque. If you want to drill a hole with maybe 30mm, you will see the difference.
The Warco has a DC-Motor, which you must maintain regulary, the control unit can be (not must) fault-prone, while the 3~ motor is nearly indestructible.

And if you want a DRO, you can assemble it to the colchester as well.

The newer Warcos are now VFD 3 phase motors, no longer DC motors.

http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes-...50v-lathe.html

[Chaz]

Details on the Colchester (and any other lathe) here http://www.lathes.co.uk/bantam/

Not sure if this is for the 2000 model specific, but some details below.

The approximate weight of the standard lathe was 756 lbs (343 kg.)

[Neale]

I know it's a difficult choice - I went through the same decision process a year or so back and went with the second-hand British option over the Warco same-price alternative. In your case, though, you are comparing two very different machines. The Warco is roughly equivalent to my Myford Super-7 which is a great machine, very useful, pretty versatile, etc. But next to a Bantam it's a bit of a lightweight. Less capacity, and that increased mass translates into greater cutting capacity (much faster metal removal, etc). As long as it's not too worn...

In my case, what swayed me was that the second-hand machine came with a heap of tooling, chucks, collets, etc, and the Warco with the bare minimum. You are going to have to buy cutting tools in either case but chucks can cost a fair bit, and from what I read the Bantam had a D1-3 spindle nose mount and these days that's not a common size. OTOH, I think the Warco has its own unique chuck mount which can be a bit fiddly to use when changing chucks.

Can you realistically think through the kind of jobs you might do on the machine and see if that guides you? Remember that you can do little jobs on a big machine but the opposite is more difficult...

And while the Bantam might be the right size machine for you, this particular Bantam might not be! There are plenty of them around (very common machine in training workshops and the like).

[Chaz]

I know it's a difficult choice - I went through the same decision process a year or so back and went with the second-hand British option over the Warco same-price alternative. In your case, though, you are comparing two very different machines. The Warco is roughly equivalent to my Myford Super-7 which is a great machine, very useful, pretty versatile, etc. But next to a Bantam it's a bit of a lightweight. Less capacity, and that increased mass translates into greater cutting capacity (much faster metal removal, etc). As long as it's not too worn...

In my case, what swayed me was that the second-hand machine came with a heap of tooling, chucks, collets, etc, and the Warco with the bare minimum. You are going to have to buy cutting tools in either case but chucks can cost a fair bit, and from what I read the Bantam had a D1-3 spindle nose mount and these days that's not a common size. OTOH, I think the Warco has its own unique chuck mount which can be a bit fiddly to use when changing chucks.

Can you realistically think through the kind of jobs you might do on the machine and see if that guides you? Remember that you can do little jobs on a big machine but the opposite is more difficult...

Many thanks for your response.

In terms of job sizes, I dont think Ill ever do anything 'large'. Most of the stuff I will do is Aluminium and Id rather have something that is easier to work with and potentially 'cncable' in future unless I manage to get something that is CNC from the start.

For example, I would want to do some gears, OD around 58mm, brass. Alu wheels for RC car, OD of around 80-90mm. I dont think ill ever need the size or speed of a big machine but I'm 100% open to taking views on this.

The myfords are nice but a common set of complaints is that they are a bit small and too expensive for what they are. I missed a lovely machine that sold for £900 with loads of tools (probably worth as much).

In both cases, the Warco and Bantam come with little, so Id need to get. The Warco comes with 2 chucks, a few steadies etc but nothing else. The Bantam will be with nothing as such.

To me, the Bantam might be a bargain if its not too difficult to sort it out. They seem to sell for more money generally but im crap scared of buying something that cannot be fixed or is simple uneconomical to fix.

If someone knowlegable could view and advise, that would push me to the larger machine. One thing that concerned me is that this guy seems to buy and sell / trade factory type machines. Perhaps buying at Auction or estates being would up. He had asked some engineering guys about the lathe and this 'incorrect leadscrew'. I got the impression that if it was worth buying, perhaps one of them might have considered it. If they havent, why not?