Advice Sought for Lathe

[Washout]

Thanks Guys,

Googling lathes seems to bring up the same brands, so the additional makes above are very useful. I'll throw some saved searches out on ebay and keep an eye out.

Chris

[m_c]

Also keep an eye on Advert - All Ads although JohnS is likely to beat everyone to any bargains :)

[Washout]

Hi Gents,

Still mulling over a lathe purchase, but the requirement has now some urgency (i.e. this week) as I have secured orders for some parts to do on it (6082 aluminium stuff).

The order has given me some more concrete requirements and a question that needs answering - when someone is quoting a 4 or 6" chuck are they referring to the size of the chuck or the diameter of the workpiece it will hold? Reason I ask is I have a need to turn down some 88.9mm (3.5") rounds to around 70mm dia. with an 85mm dia. flange, so the chuck will need to hold those. Hopefully that will narrow down my search, but I'm thinking of new and obviously somewhere with stock, rather than 2nd hand.

Thanks in advance as ever.

Chris

[Jonathan]

The order has given me some more concrete requirements and a question that needs answering - when someone is quoting a 4 or 6" chuck are they referring to the size of the chuck or the diameter of the workpiece it will hold? Reason I ask is I have a need to turn down some 88.9mm (3.5") rounds to around 70mm dia. with an 85mm dia. flange, so the chuck will need to hold those.

They're referring to the external diameter of the chuck. Google and you'll find the range of sizes a particular chuck size holds. You'd hold that size with a 6" chuck using external jaws. 8" would be nice if the lathe is big enough to support it.

[gavztheouch]

I have a Myford ML7, and I would recommend it if you are tight for space. Otherwise I would go for a Colchester with a DRO, if you are doing production stuff a dro is an absolute must.

The best thing I ever bought for my lathe was one of these diamond tool holders. Diamond Tool Holder

Its all I ever use for basic turning and it leaves a great finish and its super easy to sharpen which is a time and money saver over carbide inserts or complicated/skillful hss sharpening with a grinder.

[m_c]

As jonathan says, chuck size refers to the diamter of the main body. Depending on jaws, you can hold stuff bigger than the chuck diameter, but it's not always advisable. 85mm parts should be quite comfortably held in a 4" chuck.
Lathe capability is more important that chuck size. Lots of smaller lathes rely on electronic speed control, so are pretty useless for dealing with larger diameter parts as at low speed they lack the required torque to handle decent cuts. I'd personally look for something where speeds can be changed via belts (gear change is probably out of your price range) to make the lathe more versatile.

If you're wanting the lathe urgently, I'd be checking Arc Euro Trade, Axminster, Warco, and Chester to see what models they do that would suit your requirements, then making some phonecalls to see how quickly they could deliver.