"john" wrote in message
...
Dave H. wrote:
"Richard W." wrote...

If it's in good shape it not a bad lathe. The one's I ran were built in
the late 70's and early 80's. They seem to chatter easy on long shafts.
I
think they needed more iron in the bed on the longer lathes. (20" swing
10' centers) Seemed fine for chuck work though, which is most of what we
did on it. Can't say much about a small one like the one you are looking
at. It may be just fine. Although if I was in the market for a new lathe
they would be near the bottom of the list.


Thanks for the feedback, Richard, may I pick your brains a little more?

I'd mostly be using it for work in the chuck, things like machining hubs
and
clutches I guess, and boring smallish castings on the carriage with a b/c
boring bar, occasional work on driveshafts etc., it'd be an addition to
my
tools for working on / modifying motorcycles - I don't imagine I'm likely
to
be doing anything that would tax it too much

I'd be interested to know why you'd put them at the bottom of the list,
though - rigidity? This one (the TUB32 model) comes in at around 2.2 tons
for the 12" swing, 40" and is quite a bit heavier than a Colchester of
that
size, sounds like it should have plenty of iron in it! Newer ones may
have
gone the same way as a lot of manufacturers' kit though, lighter
castings,
18g sheet steel where cast iron would have once been used...

If it's a matter of "fit and finish", I wouldn't be expecting too much
from
the eastern bloc (I've seen their motorcycles from the 60's!), if it's
down
to durability and reliability that's a whole 'nother thing?

While I think of it, it runs (as delivered from the factory) a 10HP
3-phase
motor - reckon I'd get away with a lower-output VFD if I kept the cuts
fairly light? 7.5KW VFD's cost an Imperial Arm and Leg (more than I can
pick
the lathe up for, anyway) as does getting the 'lectric co. to install
3-phase power, but here in the UK 3KW (4HP) are getting to be
reasonable -
and 10HP in a 12" swing lathe seems kinda generous anyway! I'm still at
the
stage of factoring in rental of a plant trailer and truck to tug it, new
reinforced concrete base for the 'shop, 50 yards of heavy armoured cable,
VFD etc. and want to keep the collateral damage to my wallet down...

Thanks, Dave H.


If you bolt the lathe to the concrete floor you can make it a lot moe
rigid. Also proper leveling makes a big difference. There is an art to
doing long thin parts without getting chatter, a steady rest or follower
rest being manditory.


True, but a lathe with wide ways helps a lot. Tarnows have narrow ways. At
least the ones I have used.


I would not recommend using an underrated VFD. I would spring for a single
phase motor of about 5 hp or so and eliminate all your other electrical
problems. It would probably be cheaper in the long run and would also
make the lathe easier to sell.

I would run a rotary phase. My P&W has a 7.5 HP motor and it works just
fine.

Richard W.