(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon

Where are you located?
If in Vancouver try KMS Tools in Coquitlam, Sharpe Machine Tools in North
Vancouver , Fraser Machinery in Surrey , Thomas Skinner & Sons in Richmond ,
OTP Machine Tools in Vancouver , Friesen Electric in Abbotsford or Buffalo
Machinery in Burnaby and of course as you mentioned Busy Bee in Coquitlam.

Pete

"JonJonJon" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon

I'm near Ottawa. I have a cousin who lives in Vancouver, but I don't
think he can carry a machine like that back to me for less that what it
would cost to ship (or can he?).

Pete wrote:
Where are you located?
If in Vancouver try KMS Tools in Coquitlam, Sharpe Machine Tools in North
Vancouver , Fraser Machinery in Surrey , Thomas Skinner & Sons in Richmond ,
OTP Machine Tools in Vancouver , Friesen Electric in Abbotsford or Buffalo
Machinery in Burnaby and of course as you mentioned Busy Bee in Coquitlam.

Pete

"JonJonJon" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon

Try getting a qoute from Overland freight , I have used them before and
they were the best price and excellent service ....1 1/2 days from Calgary
to Surrey for a 200# anvil the cost was $75 to my door last year.

Pete


"JonJonJon" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm near Ottawa. I have a cousin who lives in Vancouver, but I don't
think he can carry a machine like that back to me for less that what it
would cost to ship (or can he?).

Pete wrote:
Where are you located?
If in Vancouver try KMS Tools in Coquitlam, Sharpe Machine Tools in North
Vancouver , Fraser Machinery in Surrey , Thomas Skinner & Sons in
Richmond ,
OTP Machine Tools in Vancouver , Friesen Electric in Abbotsford or
Buffalo
Machinery in Burnaby and of course as you mentioned Busy Bee in
Coquitlam.

Pete

"JonJonJon" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon

On 20 Aug 2005 07:33:55 -0700, "JonJonJon"
wrote:

(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon


Canada, eh? That's a nice little place. Are there any postal codes
where you live?

On 20 Aug 2005 08:02:14 -0700, "JonJonJon"
wrote:

I'm near Ottawa. I have a cousin who lives in Vancouver, but I don't
think he can carry a machine like that back to me for less that what it
would cost to ship (or can he?).


Hey JonJon,

OK. Now I have to appologize for my smart lip, about the postal code.
Sorry.

You don';t exactly live in the behive of the metalworking indusrty
there, but you're only 3 hours or so to Toronto. And there is a
pretty good group of hobby metalworkers up your way too.
Give me a day or so to get you a contact, and then see what they
suggest. Maybe something on the used market.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario. ( N0P 1C0 )
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx



Pete wrote:
Where are you located?
If in Vancouver try KMS Tools in Coquitlam, Sharpe Machine Tools in North
Vancouver , Fraser Machinery in Surrey , Thomas Skinner & Sons in Richmond ,
OTP Machine Tools in Vancouver , Friesen Electric in Abbotsford or Buffalo
Machinery in Burnaby and of course as you mentioned Busy Bee in Coquitlam.

Pete

"JonJonJon" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada. Shipping from retailers in the US seems too
expensive (not including customs).

Would anybody have any good retailers and or brands to recommend
that are easily available in Canada?


Thanks very much!
Jon

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 17:57:39 GMT, "Pete"
wrote:

Try getting a qoute from Overland freight , I have used them before and
they were the best price and excellent service ....1 1/2 days from Calgary
to Surrey for a 200# anvil the cost was $75 to my door last year.

Pete

And if you find one you like in the USA, get it shipped to a friend in
a US border town nnear you, then bring it across yourself. Easy to
do, and lots of reasons this is a good idea, and there is just PST/GST
no duty, .

I have found it cheaper to buy Asian machines in Canada
rather than the US. The American prices, by the time exchange is
figured into it, comes to more than the Canadian cost for the same
machine. I think the US must have higher import tariffs on Asian
machinery than Canada does.
Try KBC Tools in Windsor or Toronto. Their stuff isn't bad but
the service has been poor in the past. Maybe they've fixed it up now.

Dan

On 20 Aug 2005 07:33:55 -0700, "JonJonJon"
wrote:

(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada.


Thanks very much!
Jon


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend


BK

Check the local iSell magazine,I seen a few lately.
Cheers!
Phil
Barney-Killer wrote:
: On 20 Aug 2005 07:33:55 -0700, "JonJonJon"
: wrote:

: (Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
: message)
:
: Hello all,
:
: I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
: use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
: centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).
:
: I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
: BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
: time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
: machines in Canada.
:
:
: Thanks very much!
: Jon


: Jon,

: I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
: lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
: improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
: translated into English very well.
: They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
: Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
: got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
: equiv.
: In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend


: BK

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 06:47:02 -0500, Barney-Killer
wrote:


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend


BK

Im rather fond of my 3 Hardinges.

Different tastes I suppose.

G

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

is there any old factories near you or production facilities or how bout
any auctions sometimes you can pick up older equipment that they just
don't build anymore but is so heavy built it will literally last
forever,a guy I was talking at a car show last year , we got on the
subject of old equipment and he told me that he picked up a lathe 25
years ago at a military surplus auction an old lathe that was 20 years
old then but said
he can just about turn out all the parts that would need replacing on
the lathe ahead of time and saved money and time when they are still
good and get good measurements and he would make improvements where
possible and the thing is he told me was he was there with a friend and
wasn't planning on buying anything
but anyway sometimes it is best to look around
and take your time looking be patient and put the word out hey even
advertise in a paper sometimes you get a good line that way and check
your local sale papers and the free papers as well you wont believe what
you can find in there and check out estate sales also and see what they
have in the listings theres always a place to look and sometimes think
about what kind of ppl uses that kind of machine might even put you on
the right track too for something reasonable and of very good quality
so good luck

Gunner
I would love to get my hands on a hardinge roolroom lathe. I have
spent time on them in several shops as well as the Taiwanese copy which
was not too bad. I even got the Hardinge tour back in 85. It was a
great factory tour and then a CNC programing course on site. I hope the
rest of the town is in better shape than it was back then. In 85 Elmira
NY had basically only two employers, Hardinge and a federal prison. We
drove by a closed GE foundry, LaFrance firetruck factory and a Corning
glass works. The only thing missing was the tumbleweeds rolling down
main street :-(
A buddy told me about a retired Prof at a local university that
bought a new Hardinge and Bridgeport to play with in his golden years
:-) I would have gone with a Deckel myself :-)

The Copies are made by Feeler. I did a lot of small prototype **** on
this machine, it held up pretty well. I don't know if they are
available in the US, but at the time we got one it was half the price of
a Hardinge 25k vs 50k cnd$ in 89.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/feeler/

Machineman
http://www.jamescrombie.com


Gunner Asch wrote:
On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 06:47:02 -0500, Barney-Killer
wrote:


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend


BK


Im rather fond of my 3 Hardinges.

Different tastes I suppose.

G

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 02:05:29 GMT, machineman
wrote:

Gunner
I would love to get my hands on a hardinge roolroom lathe. I have
spent time on them in several shops as well as the Taiwanese copy which
was not too bad. I even got the Hardinge tour back in 85. It was a
great factory tour and then a CNC programing course on site. I hope the
rest of the town is in better shape than it was back then. In 85 Elmira
NY had basically only two employers, Hardinge and a federal prison. We
drove by a closed GE foundry, LaFrance firetruck factory and a Corning
glass works. The only thing missing was the tumbleweeds rolling down
main street :-(
A buddy told me about a retired Prof at a local university that
bought a new Hardinge and Bridgeport to play with in his golden years
:-) I would have gone with a Deckel myself :-)

The Copies are made by Feeler. I did a lot of small prototype **** on
this machine, it held up pretty well. I don't know if they are
available in the US, but at the time we got one it was half the price of
a Hardinge 25k vs 50k cnd$ in 89.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/feeler/

I repair a lot of Feelers and Goodways (they both come from the same
factory..the Chinese Red Dragoon Noodle and Machine Tool Collective)

and are not bad. Fit and finish is about 80% of the Hardinges they are
copied from, though some materials used are inferior. Most Feelers
have the feed clutches go out inside of 3 or 4 yrs of steady use. Or
sooner.

Sharp and Brother badge the same lathes and specify a better finish.
Still tend to slightly inferior materials in some places..but ..shrug.

Id not turn down any of them if the price was right. I was just
blessed by (insert Deity of your choice) and managed to get mine for
damned little..mostly trade outs in labor. Same with the big 15x48
Clausing 1501. The Gorton MasterMill was a basket case I rebuilt from
the concrete up. Shrug

Gunner



Machineman
http://www.jamescrombie.com


Gunner Asch wrote:
On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 06:47:02 -0500, Barney-Killer
wrote:


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend


BK


Im rather fond of my 3 Hardinges.

Different tastes I suppose.

G

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

In article , Barney-Killer
wrote:

On 20 Aug 2005 07:33:55 -0700, "JonJonJon"
wrote:

(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada.


Thanks very much!
Jon


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend

...... if you want an antique. Otherwise, there are lots of better
machines available. A Colchester for example.

PDW

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:30:41 +0100, Peter Wiley
wrote:

In article , Barney-Killer
wrote:

On 20 Aug 2005 07:33:55 -0700, "JonJonJon"
wrote:

(Sorry for the repost, my news server never carried the original
message)

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing a small metal working lathe for hobby
use. Something around 8 to 10" swing over bed by 15 to 20" between
centres (seems like a good size for a small machine).

I can easily get my hands on a Craftex brand lathe distributed by
BusyBee tools (anybody have an opinion on them?), but I'm having a hard
time finding other retailers that offer similar sized and priced
machines in Canada.


Thanks very much!
Jon


Jon,

I bought the Craftex 10x18 lathe a couple years ago as my first
lathe. It is not a bad machine but could do with some minor
improvments in the change gear area. Also the documentation is not
translated into English very well.
They could also have been a bit more detailed in the documentation.
Other than that, I'd sure recommend it as a first lathe, but if you've
got lots of money... go with an American made lathe, ie: South Bend or
equiv.
In my humble opinion, there is just nothing better than South Bend

..... if you want an antique. Otherwise, there are lots of better
machines available. A Colchester for example.

PDW

The South Bend name is not a holy Icon. In fact, its actually not a
very good lathe all things considered. Peter is very correct..a
Colchester is 10x the lathe.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

In article ,
says...
On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 02:05:29 GMT, machineman
wrote:

The Copies are made by Feeler. I did a lot of small prototype **** on
this machine, it held up pretty well. I don't know if they are
available in the US, but at the time we got one it was half the price of
a Hardinge 25k vs 50k cnd$ in 89.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/feeler/

I repair a lot of Feelers and Goodways (they both come from the same
factory..the Chinese Red Dragoon Noodle and Machine Tool Collective)

and are not bad. Fit and finish is about 80% of the Hardinges they are
copied from, though some materials used are inferior. Most Feelers
have the feed clutches go out inside of 3 or 4 yrs of steady use. Or
sooner.

I own a Feeler and am quite attached to it. Are the clutch
parts readily available if/when I need them? The only
problem I've had with the lathe is loose connections to the
feed motor commutator. A new motor was $600 - I spent a few
hours under a microscope resoldering the connections and
it's held up for a few years so far. I get the feeling that
this may be a weak spot as well because when I called about
the motor the guy knew almost immediately what the price
was. Or maybe he just knew he could make 300% selling *any*
little DC motor for $600 g.

http://www.suscom-maine.net/~nsimmons/Feeler05.JPG

Ned Simmons

On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:08:00 -0400, Ned Simmons
wrote:

In article ,
says...
On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 02:05:29 GMT, machineman
wrote:

The Copies are made by Feeler. I did a lot of small prototype **** on
this machine, it held up pretty well. I don't know if they are
available in the US, but at the time we got one it was half the price of
a Hardinge 25k vs 50k cnd$ in 89.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/feeler/

I repair a lot of Feelers and Goodways (they both come from the same
factory..the Chinese Red Dragoon Noodle and Machine Tool Collective)

and are not bad. Fit and finish is about 80% of the Hardinges they are
copied from, though some materials used are inferior. Most Feelers
have the feed clutches go out inside of 3 or 4 yrs of steady use. Or
sooner.

I own a Feeler and am quite attached to it. Are the clutch
parts readily available if/when I need them? The only
problem I've had with the lathe is loose connections to the
feed motor commutator. A new motor was $600 - I spent a few
hours under a microscope resoldering the connections and
it's held up for a few years so far. I get the feeling that
this may be a weak spot as well because when I called about
the motor the guy knew almost immediately what the price
was. Or maybe he just knew he could make 300% selling *any*
little DC motor for $600 g.

http://www.suscom-maine.net/~nsimmons/Feeler05.JPG

Ned Simmons

Most Feeler parts are readily available, though they may not be solely
from Feeler. The machines tend to be rebadged with many company names
so there are a considerable number of them out there that are
identical in all but name plate.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner