After much consideration and research, I've decided to fix my current Rockwell 11x25 lathe and save up for a couple years and get something nice. I am accustomed to nice manual lathes, I don't want to jump into something that feels cheap or that I'm not happy with and regret. Having said that, I would like a nice 13x40 lathe for gunsmithing and tinkering at home with. I have been doing some research and have been looking into Acra, Acer, Kent, Sharp, and the Harrison M300/ Clausing 2500. Has anyone compared these lathes or have experience with some of these? The Acra, Kent, and Sharp all look very, very similar and they're all priced within ~$2500 of each other. The M300 is the highest priced, and the Acer is towards the lower end of price, but still double what most hobbyist lathes cost. From some researching, and talking with an M300 owner and Acra 1340 owner, the lathes listed above seem to be a step above the Precision Matthews Taiwan made lathes, and the price reflects that. I would rather save a little longer and get a really nice machine that will make me happy. Any help and input is appreciated. Thanks!
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13x40 Lathe
- Thread starter Jud96
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2013
- Messages
- 3,676
Acra, Sharp, Kent , and PM are all made in Taiwan as far as I know.
Avoid mainland Chinese machines , if you can
Avoid mainland Chinese machines , if you can
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
- Messages
- 4,854
The Acra 1440C/1440TE, Kent RML/TRL, and PM-1440TL are all made by Sunmaster which is a high quality Taiwanese lathe manufacturer. You will not be disappointed with these lathes, there are some difference on the models and also the naming is different depending in the importer. Acra sells the 1440C and the 1440TE and you are better off price wise dealing directly with Acra. Kent are a bit more expensive for the same lathe style, Sharp 1340VS and 1440V are a bit too light relative to the Sumasters, as well as the Sumaster lathes have universal gearboxes so no change gears for common metric and imperial threading. The headstocks are wider, if that is a consideration. You can look up the reviews of the different models search 1440C, 1440TE, 1640TE , 1440TL and 1640TL. Acra and Kent versions are available with factory VFD's, others have installed them. Precesion Mathiews sells the 1440TL that quite a few people have, and probably have better post sales support. Acra is probably the least expensive, but the least informative if you do not know what want to buy. I have the 1340ERL, which I like quite a bit, which is a D1-4 chuck mount, if I were buying new I probably would go with the 1440TL/TE with a D1-6 chuck mount and a larger spindle bore.
These lathes like the 1440C are around 2400 lbs and the 1440TL with a solid cast iron base is around 3200 lbs, so factor in how you are going to get it off the flatbed and into your work space. some previous psots to get you started.
www.hobby-machinist.com
www.hobby-machinist.com
www.hobby-machinist.com
www.hobby-machinist.com
These lathes like the 1440C are around 2400 lbs and the 1440TL with a solid cast iron base is around 3200 lbs, so factor in how you are going to get it off the flatbed and into your work space. some previous psots to get you started.
PM 1440TL with Hitachi WJ200-075LF VFD Delivery, Clean up and VFD Set up
My PM 1440TL arrived on Friday and I spent the weekend getting the machine in place, cleaning off all the rust preventative and finishing all the VFD wiring. Took the whole weekend and I put together a video of the process from truck delivery, using a forklift and rollers to get it in place...
www.hobby-machinist.com
I have a space problem, lathe related, New ACRA 1440 TVS
I'm going to sell my 1340GT, and I'm looking at the ACRA 1440CVS, same as the 1440C, but with a VFD installed. or the 1440TVS. The TVS is a bigger heavier more robust machine, than the CVS. I can fit the CVS with a little reorganizing, but the TVS is 6" longer, and I still have to make room to...
www.hobby-machinist.com
New ACRA 1440C lathe with Mark Jacobs VFD
Earlier this summer I received my new ACRA 1440C lathe. At 2700 pounds there was no way I was wanting to deal with the unloading duties. I ended up having it delivered to a local crane service company. When it arrived they unloaded the machine from the delivery semi and loaded it on their flat...
www.hobby-machinist.com
NEW ACRA 1640TE
The machine was ordered mid December of 2017 from ACRA Machinery. The machine took a few weeks to arrive from Taiwan and was shipped to the port of LA, then onto Ranch Cucamonga where ACRA is located. The machine was then delivered to my location via flatbed. The machine sustained a fair amount...
www.hobby-machinist.com
if a PM machine has a "T" in the model number it's made in Tiawan. if not it's communist chinese made.
I mainly want a new machine because it would be new. I don’t think I’d buy another used lathe, unless I know the owner of the machine and I know it’s been taken care of. My current lathe has been a project and when I bought it I was told it was in great shape. The gears, ways, dials, etc are fine, but there’s been a lot of little things that have made it more of a project.
The ACRA 1340 has my attention.The Acra 1440C/1440TE, Kent RML/TRL, and PM-1440TL are all made by Sunmaster which is a high quality Taiwanese lathe manufacturer. You will not be disappointed with these lathes, there are some difference on the models and also the naming is different depending in the importer. Acra sells the 1440C and the 1440TE and you are better off price wise dealing directly with Acra. Kent are a bit more expensive for the same lathe style, Sharp 1340VS and 1440V are a bit too light relative to the Sumasters, as well as the Sumaster lathes have universal gearboxes so no change gears for common metric and imperial threading. The headstocks are wider, if that is a consideration. You can look up the reviews of the different models search 1440C, 1440TE, 1640TE , 1440TL and 1640TL. Acra and Kent versions are available with factory VFD's, others have installed them. Precesion Mathiews sells the 1440TL that quite a few people have, and probably have better post sales support. Acra is probably the least expensive, but the least informative if you do not know what want to buy. I have the 1340ERL, which I like quite a bit, which is a D1-4 chuck mount, if I were buying new I probably would go with the 1440TL/TE with a D1-6 chuck mount and a larger spindle bore.
These lathes like the 1440C are around 2400 lbs and the 1440TL with a solid cast iron base is around 3200 lbs, so factor in how you are going to get it off the flatbed and into your work space. some previous psots to get you started.
PM 1440TL with Hitachi WJ200-075LF VFD Delivery, Clean up and VFD Set up
My PM 1440TL arrived on Friday and I spent the weekend getting the machine in place, cleaning off all the rust preventative and finishing all the VFD wiring. Took the whole weekend and I put together a video of the process from truck delivery, using a forklift and rollers to get it in place...I have a space problem, lathe related, New ACRA 1440 TVS
I'm going to sell my 1340GT, and I'm looking at the ACRA 1440CVS, same as the 1440C, but with a VFD installed. or the 1440TVS. The TVS is a bigger heavier more robust machine, than the CVS. I can fit the CVS with a little reorganizing, but the TVS is 6" longer, and I still have to make room to...New ACRA 1440C lathe with Mark Jacobs VFD
Earlier this summer I received my new ACRA 1440C lathe. At 2700 pounds there was no way I was wanting to deal with the unloading duties. I ended up having it delivered to a local crane service company. When it arrived they unloaded the machine from the delivery semi and loaded it on their flat...NEW ACRA 1640TE
The machine was ordered mid December of 2017 from ACRA Machinery. The machine took a few weeks to arrive from Taiwan and was shipped to the port of LA, then onto Ranch Cucamonga where ACRA is located. The machine was then delivered to my location via flatbed. The machine sustained a fair amount...
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2011
- Messages
- 258
Another Taiwan lathe, used to be a Grizzly 1031 now with the Eisen name on it. Mine has been great for 25 years, worth a look: https://eisenm.com/collections/engine-lathes