Thread: Beginner Lathe Recommendation

I've just started looking seriously into getting my first lathe. I was wondering if I could get some advice on which lathe I should be investing in.

My requirements
- Minimum 200 swing x 500 b.c
- Budget around $2500 for lathe only
- Will mostly be used for car restoration/race car parts so alloys, aluminium and polyurethane bushes will be a majority of the work.
- Happy to buy new or used machine
- Metric thread cutting

I have looked at the Hafco AL250G and AL320G along with the Optimum TU-2506V.
Will any of these 3 machines suit my needs?
I know that these machines have some issues but are they really that bad?
From my research I see many comments saying "buy a quality used machine" but finding these is proving difficult.

Cheers

No doubt you'll get plenty of members chiming in on this one, here's my 2 cents worth - I'd be inclined to buy used, if you are patient enough it is possible to pickup a used lathe along with a good selection of tooling and accessories for a good price. Also my first lathe used the lead screw for power feed - while this works ok I'd opt for a separate power feed bar. Make sure you have a 4 jaw chuck and get used to using it early on while you learn, and don't rely only on indexable carbide tooling - learn how to use and sharpen HSS tooling.

Given your intended purpose, out of those 3 the only one I'd bother with is the AL320G. Reason being the swing size and the spindle bore. Even at 38mm you'll run into plenty of times where you want to jam something 40mm up the bore. Modifying car parts has a nasty habit of requiring fairly decent size machines to fit whatever awkward shaped bit you're trying to jam in there.

I don't know your space and power situation, but I'd be at a minimum looking for any of the thousand varieties of the 12x36 Chinese gap bed lathe (used). 38mm spindle bore, can swing a 12" (305mm) brake rotor without having to pull the gap, and you do have the option to pull the gap if needed. Plus a bit of extra bed length if you can't jam something up the bore.

A probably better option might be something like a Colchester Student - seems to always be a couple for sale, same 38mm spindle bore and 12" swing (not sure what they can swing with the gap out, but often they seem to be missing the gap section). Only 600mm centres, but that means they have about the same footprint as a Chinese 12x36 whilst being double the weight at around 750kg (so still fairly manageable). The Master is a longer bed, but of course takes up more space. Biggest problem I see with the Student (and Master) is they seem to have a bit of a limited metric thread selection without some farting around. A problem for me, maybe not for you. I don't have any personal experience of them, so others might have better insight on that option.

While I agree finding a 'quality used machine' seems a daunting prospect, don't forget that the Chinese machines, while they work just fine, are often delivered in a condition not too different to an old lathe with a good whack of wear. Having witnessed the "scraping" on my AL335 slideways, and the completely wrongly marked handwheels, I'm somewhat less of a fan than I once was - and I now feel the need to learn to scrape to correct some of these problems, just as I might have to on any old lathe. I did buy the thing (secondhand) considering it to be a foot in the door, as it were, and something to learn on, which purpose it has served very well.

As I said, they do work fine, and you can do good work on them - but you can do good work on a worn old lathe too. Some say the Taiwanese built machines are better (AL960 for example), but I happened to watch a video on Youtube the other night that was a gentleman in WA stripping, cleaning and doing some mods on his AL960, and the "scraping" I saw on various parts didn't look much better than my AL335, so I'm a bit unconvinced...

I certainly wouldn't buy new, personally. If you do, don't pay extra for stands, put that money towards some steel and build your own, far heavier than you think it needs to be. Mine wobbles all over the place on the factory stands, they're a poor afterthought. It's on the list of 'improvements' to do. You can probably improve them somewhat by bolting them to the concrete, if you're happy to do that, but they're still a compromised design IMO - should really be a monolithic structure. And they're too short anyway, if you're around 6 foot tall.

Just my 2 cents*

*Price is exclusive of GST.

+1 for a Colchester (we have a couple of Bantams from the late 60s at work and they're basically bombproof), but the 2 main problems with buying quality used machines is that they're often 3-phase and expensive. Found one here for nearly $4k and you'd still have freight costs plus 3-phase or VFD to do https://moderntools.com.au/used_prod...r-student-mk1/

There's a Student on Facebook at the moment for $2500.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...89462771592665

Missing the change gear cover, but does appear to still have the gap which is often missing (like the one you mentioned, seems to be sans gap.) Something weird about the uppermost lever on the front on it too, doesn't look like any other I've seen. And it's been repainted at some point, so who knows what it's actually like.

There's another one floating around I think on eBay for about $3200. None of which helps the OP in Perth, but it was part of the reason that particular model popped into mind, along with being relatively light in weight and compact in footprint.

I do agree with the 3 phase aspect, hence my comment about not knowing his space and power situation. Of course, if you're in a rental or likely to move, or crammed for space, the Chinese 12x36 class really shine. On the other hand, if he's got a big shed and 3 phase already on, the options open up vastly. VFD conversions are pretty affordable and viable if you can find something in that Student size range (generally pretty small motors), but of course there aren't a lot of other options IN that range really.

Always a compromise. I was recently offered to be put at the top of the list if someone decided to sell their big DSG 13x40. Problem is, I really don't have the space here at the moment, without serious re-organisation. I could get enough power to run the whopping great motor those things use where I am now, and getting the 2ish tonne here wouldn't be too much of an issue. However, I've been for some time seriously considering moving out to the country about 500km away where the space wouldn't be a problem anymore. The flip side is that it's an off grid property, and the only way to power that beast would be with a large 3 phase generator - burning 3-4 litres of fuel an hour just to run a lathe doesn't appeal. In addition to having to move the 2 tonne then back out of my garage (with a short but quite steep angled gravel driveway, can't just back a tilt tray up, crane truck the only option really), into/onto some form of transport along with the rest of my gear, and then off/out again at the other end with no serious lifting gear to speak off, and no sealed driveways or other surfaces. At least the Bridgeport clone can be disassembled if need be, and 1.1ish tonne is somewhat more manageable than 2. Still keeping an eye out in case a couple of things to pop up in the 12x24ish range though, I think I can deal with the footprint, power requirements and the likely re-move at around 1.2 tonne....