Lathe Help

[mercurycrest]

It's becoming apparent I can't go on since becoming "Latheless". I haven't a lot of room now, so one of these things is about as big as will fit in. Has anyone any knowledge of their worth? Will it make decent threads, bushings, knobs, etc.?
https://www.shopaessolutions.co.uk/warco-wm-180-variable-speed-lathe-240v.html
Cheers and Thanks, John

 

[nkt267]

I have one of their larger lathes and if I had to replace it I would get another..Personally I would choose the one fitted with the DRO as I've used one for years. It is so easy to swap between Imperial and Metric that I can use both cutting the same job if need be..An advantage with this lathe over a Myford is the size of the spindle bore, I found that having to cut any thing over 9/16" down to size was a chore. Some thing you may need to check with them is the chuck fitting, I have a feeling that the backplate for the chuck is part of the machine.

 

[Mr. Boring]

Here is the next generation below.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/WM210V-G-M...h=item4689c499af:g:-2YAAOSw3ihXS7UX:rk:4:pf:0

 

[clevtrev]

Here is the next generation below.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/WM210V-G-M...h=item4689c499af:g:-2YAAOSw3ihXS7UX:rk:4:pf:0

Does NOT ship to United Kingdom !

 

[Graham Smith]

If you're buying from overseas John, beware that the import duty could be significant.

 

[Pete Appleton]

I had one of those. The specification level is pretty good for a cheap lathe. Three jaw chuck, four jaw, face plate, a couple of steadies and back gears are worth having. They do them with either a metric or imperial leadscrew. The metric will do most imperial threads but sadly not 26tpi ( Cycle thread).

The only reason that I got rid of mine is that the variable speed is horrible. Start taking a heavy cut and it slows down. Turn the speed dial up while you are taking the cut and it goes whizzing off at high speed when you finish the cut. If you try turning something three inch diameter and turn the speed down to get the right cutting speed you find that you have lost all of your power and it almost stops when you try to cut.

If you are happy making small items and not in a rush then they are fine. Fitting your own DRO kit is easy and a great thing to do.

For something a bit more industrial you should get a geared lathe. I have one of the slightly larger gearhead Warcos now and am really happy with it. Chester machine tools are pretty much the same as Warco.

If you fancy an adventure then you need to go to the London Model Engineers show in January. https://www.londonmodelengineering.co.uk/ and have a look at all of the toys there.

 

[stu spalding]

I bought one of the cheap, cheerful Chinese lathes from Machine Mart. There was an optional milling head but as I knew nothing about milling (still don't know much) I wasn't sure about getting it but I'm glad I did. What you don't know you soon learn! (and I've still got all my fingers) Cheers, Stu

 

[mercurycrest]

Well, when Peter suggested a bigger lathe, I found this one with a belt drive. https://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes-metalworking-lathe-machine/302920-wm-240b-warco-lathe.html Seems it'll only go down to 125 rpm (no back gears). Now, I'm REALLY missing my old Logan 211 that I left behind. Besides what lathe can you buy today that will make Herringbone oil lines?

 

[litnman]

Now I want to see the video.

 

[Marcus Bowden]

I honestly don't know how one could survive with out the daddy of all machines. Just doing simple jobs like making a spacer. At sea saved the company £ $ k's with big ship side gate valves just with a broken spindle, order some ally-bronze and turn up a new one usually multi start, I still love it. Creating in wood was my first love but to keep my Royal Enfield tandum going I needed to spend more time in the metal work room at school, the metal work teacher (Mr Parker) was a Rolls Royce trained engineer and still enthusiastic about his subject.