Real Bull China - Reviews

matthewsx said:
7th floor apartment is interesting. Lots of folks on here have machine shops in their basements, standard procedure for big machines is to disassemble into smaller pieces for transport. Most important thing is making sure the floor of your unit is up to whatever weight you place on it, also making sure that potential vibration is dampened so the downstairs neighbor doesn't complain.

Since you're familiar with commercial tools my biggest concern for you is getting something that is neither accurate nor powerful. Some of the Chinese mini lathes/mills look good in pictures but when you actually start using them often a complete tear-down and rebuild are needed before good results are made. With your background you might consider building your own tools especially if you have access to a shop at work. I've been building a CNC mill myself and have been pleased with how it's coming along. Alternatively, if you can work with something a little smaller a Sherline https://www.sherline.com/sherline-benchtop-precision-lathes/ could possibly be imported from the US. Lots of folks in the live steam hobby get good results with them.

However you go the standard advice around here is to figure out the projects you'll be doing and get something that will meet or exceed the needs for those projects. There's a pretty active mini machine area on this forum that will give some insight on challenges with the inexpensive Chinese machines. Sometimes the best advice is to keep looking, researching and wait until the right machine comes along. Let your friends and relatives know what you're looking for, you never know if somebody has an old machine laying about from some long forgotten business that they would like to get rid of.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Cheers,

John
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Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely have to figure out a way to isolate the vibrations and noise - fortunately for now there is no one living immediately below my floor. The lathe is 105kgs and the mill is 135kgs, which should not be a problem for the floor loading.

I would've loved to get my hands on a used Sherline or a Myford, but unfortunately, to my knowledge, most sellers do not want to sell it outside of their country for the hassles of packing and shipment.

Some of the more complex parts will be machined in my factory, a bit of cheating ;)

For now I'm going ahead with the Chinese machines to get me going!

Thanks for the inputs!!
 
Keep in mind that 'deadweight" of the load is only one aspect of the equation. When you add movement you introduce a whole other type of stress factors that can act like a jackhammer that destroys a small bit at a time that can lead to major damage so eliminating Any vibration should be a Big Goal.
 
Ritul said:
Hello! I run a full fledged machine shop in India - we manufacture Timing Pulleys and I'm pretty conversant with lathes, CNC lathes, mills, gear hobbing, etc, however, I'm new to hobby machining and would like to use them for building a live steam loco. There are no hobby machines available here in India, so I'm opting for the direct import from China. I have been narrowing down on RealBull CJ0623 Lathe and XJ9520 Mill. I've been trying to check reviews of these but since most of the machines imported from China are sold under different brand names and model nos., I've been unable to get any proper reviews.

Is there anyone out here who has experience with these machines? I would like to know about the performance, workmanship and accuracy - look forward to replies!
Thanks!!
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Depending on the scale size locomotive you want to build, some of the parts, like the wheels, can be big enough to require an adequately sized lathe and other machinery to make the parts. Some/many locomotive builders have the personal need to make ALL the parts for their locos, or nearly all, including the boilers, and others buy certain parts so they do not need to buy larger, heavier, and rarely needed machinery to build them. I was with two live steamers a couple days ago looking for a larger lathe for the novice loco builder. We were looking at 13x40" lathes and larger. I can put you in contact with this serious live steamer if you want to, he is a H-M member. I think the gauge of the tracks they use is 7 1/2 inches. They do some beautiful work building their locomotives and other cars and accessories, real labors of love.
 
Bob Korves said:
Depending on the scale size locomotive you want to build, some of the parts, like the wheels, can be big enough to require an adequately sized lathe and other machinery to make the parts. Some/many locomotive builders have the personal need to make ALL the parts for their locos, or nearly all, including the boilers, and others buy certain parts so they do not need to buy larger, heavier, and rarely needed machinery to build them. I was with two live steamers a couple days ago looking for a larger lathe for the novice loco builder. We were looking at 13x40" lathes and larger. I can put you in contact with this serious live steamer if you want to, he is a H-M member. I think the gauge of the tracks they use is 7 1/2 inches. They do some beautiful work building their locomotives and other cars and accessories, real labors of love.
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Thanks Bob, I will probably take some help from my factory for the larger turned parts ;) I would love to get in touch with people with similar interests! Their experience would be of invaluable help to novice like me :)
 
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