What lathe to buy?

Hi sorcerxl, I started out with a similar sort of lathe a few years ago. It worked for me but I spent quite a bit of time making it "better", doing a lot of the mods that appear on various websites (camlock for the tailstock, tapered gibs for the carriage, headstock bearings replaced, cover the back of the apron to stop chip ingress, quick change toolpost etc. etc) I learned a lot from playing with this lathe (mine's a Sieg SC2) and I made a good number of small parts on it but have since upgraded to a larger used lathe (I'm not in the US either so don't have access to that goldmine of American iron). I used the Sieg to make replacement parts for my "new" lathe, a Harrison M300, as I stripped it down, cleaned it and replaced worn out bits. I still have the Sieg but don't use it much now as it's not as convenient or capable as the M300.

I don't think I would have had as much knowledge or confidence to tackle renovating the M300 had I not had the Sieg first. I bought from a reputable supplier in the UK so had some comeback in the event of quality issues, but mine wasn't too bad. I needed to upgrade when I started getting close to the capacity of the lathe (it ma be a 7" swing but you'll struggle to turn parts above half that diameter - not to say it can't be done).

Don't forget that spending on the lathe is only a part of the total outlay. There's materials, tools, a QCTP, indicators, chucks etc etc that can cost in total more than the lathe, but you don't need them all at once.
 
I can suggest a couple of suppliers I use in the UK - (no connection with them other than the wads of cash I've sent their way in exchange for tools). If you look at arceurotrade.co.uk or axminster.co.uk they have some lathes made by Sieg. I get the impression that they do a good quality control job on their suppliers. You'll get a lathe that will work but in a short time you'll discover how they've kept the cost down. The cheaper lathes (SC2 and SC3) look to be in your price range. You may have a more local supplier which would keep shipping costs down.
 
It's from the same stable as the lathe I started out with. It will work OK but there are a few things that you will want to improve. Needing a spanner to lock the tailstock is a pain there's not a lot of room in some setups to get the spanner in. Mine had the gears at the back of the apron exposed to chips - it makes for a jerky travel. There are a whole host of other aspects that can be improved and there are many websites/articles devoted to these.

Having said that, I was quite happy with mine. It was a fun little machine to learn on and the upgrades you do yourself are good projects.

Don't forget the cost of the extra bits you'll need - cutting tools, drills, measuring instruments, a grinder to sharpen toolbits and no doubt before long a 4 jaw chuck. The lowest cost route for tooling is to buy some HSS blanks and learn to grind them yourself. They work great on these little lathes and once you've learned how, you can make more or less whatever tool you need. I'd advise against the cheap brazed on carbide tool sets. I bought one - not knowing any better - they don't generally work well without having the right angles ground on.
 
Grizzly and precision matthews would be where I would look for an import one thing to remember with an import is can you get parts if needed I went with a grizzly g0602 and love it it has a big following and there's plenty of well documented mods for it on forums and youtube I've done some of the mods and it's been great for me
 
In the end I ordered a bernardo hobby 500 lathe , i hope it's much better then chinese lathe , plus i have guarantee from local store . Next week should arrive.
 
apparently austria, but probably is only assembled in austria . checkout bernardo.at
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top