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Posted to uk.d-i-y
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Metalwork lathe for beginner
On 28/11/2019 17:30, wrote:
I'm thinking about getting a metalwork lathe and while I'm tempted to go for a decent old Boxford or Colchester, part of me wonders whether it might be more sensible to start with one of those Chinesium toy/mini lathes, as a brand new item. The main advantages I see in the latter:
1. I could get started straight away, rather than (perhaps) having to spend an age fettling
2. It would use less space and be generally easier to locate/move about
3. I could get familiar with the practicalities/principles of lathe work at a more convenient scale
Of course, a cheap-ish mini lathe will be fairly crap and it might be a dud straight out of the box, or it might fail after little use and regardless, it will be very limited in what it can do.
Assuming I don't mind burning £300-£500 on a mini lathe in the expectation that I will need to blow a further £1200 or so not too far down the line, is a mini lathe worthwhile prep for big boys toys?
Thanks.
Bill.
I had the same thought process some years ago (25?) and bought a Boxford
BUD at auction to get started and went to evening classes to learn some
basic skills. I didn't do much with it but fancied something with a
gearbox so replaced it with a Chipmaster (again, at auction). Then I
bought a Holbrook C10 for beans from a workshop that was being closed
because it no longer met H&S requirements - this weighs about 1500kgs
and is somewhat OTT. I rarely use it but it's a joy to use when I do.
My advice: if possible, get something with a gearbox and that comes with
a package of basic tools (JohnR is correct that the machine is only the
start), look at the WARCO and PROXXON websites, be very suspicious about
combined mill-lathes for anything other than light work.
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