Choosing Lathes??

[GDillEire]

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying a new small lathe. I see a used Hobbymat MD65 which looks in great shape locally or I'm gonna go for the Warco Super mini Lathe. I cant seem to make my mind up as to which is the better lathe.
has anyone had any experience with the hobbymat?

Gary.

 

[Bazzer]

I don't know about the Warco lathe, I hear good and bad things about the lathes that come from that factory.

The Hobbymat seems to have a good reputation and for quite some time was rebadged and sold by Proxxon, they are still listed by Pro Machine Tools and often spare parts come up on Ebay.

Likelihood is that if you buy the Hobbymat and don't like it, then you can just sell it for pretty much what you paid for it.

Regards

Barrie

 

[goldstar31]

The story of the MD65 along with many other lathes can be obtained from the 'Lathes.Co.UK' site
From what I can deduce, it's an old machine and woefully short of a variety of speeds. In original configuration, of course.
As for Chinese lathe in question, Warco is only one firm who re-badges it. If it is old especially you might run the risk of circuit board failures. Certainly, I had recent problems with a new mill attachment on my much older SiegC4 from Axminister. Fortunately, it was covered in the warranty and all is well.
Somewhere in the recent past, I was offered something similar to the Warco mentioned for £350 locally.

So where would I go in your circumstances assuming that you are a beginner? Frankly, I'd not go for either.
I'd go for a good old Myford ML7 which will run quite happily on a quarter horse motor pulled out of scrap washing machine. My mate of 92 years is running a Myford ML7-R on one and does clockmaking etc.
Again, I have an old Myford Super7B and a little Myford ML10. The latter was pretty true having been re-furbished and with a host of goodies at a keen £600 whereas, I bought a bigger SiegC4 for £350 but had or I wanted a four jaw independent chuck, a 4 saw SC one and a faceplate as well as a fixed steady.
Contrary to many, I've studiously gone may own way and I can interchange Myford and Sieg parts from one machine to another. I can also swop parts from any one of them to my Warco mill drill and onto a variety of tool and cutter grinders.
To illustrate what can be done, I was offered a Myford ML7-R which is almost a Super 7 complete with chucks etc for a knock down price of £800 and that lathe was almost brand new and could be sharply contrasted with 'new' Super7 with no accessories for the staggering £3500 from Myford.

Relative 'bargains' can be obtained and I hope my exploits give some idea of what can be done.
I missed the ML7-R by a day and it pays to be like the Irish gypsies and travel with a horse's collar of money.
So think again, take more advice than mine- and Good Luck

Norman

 

[Bazzer]

Gary

I would agree with Goldstar that there are other options that you should look at, my answer was just relating to the two lathes that you mentioned.

I have had a Myford Super 7 before, it was a nice lathe, I certainly would be happy to have one again, likewise I have had an EMCO V10P, that is a nice lathe as well, I preferred it slightly over the Myford.

Currently I have an immaculate EMCO Compact 5 which is a good lathe.

All the lathes that Goldstar and I have suggested are well worth looking at.

Regards

Barrie

 

[Wizard69]

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying a new small lathe. I see a used Hobbymat MD65 which looks in great shape locally or I'm gonna go for the Warco Super mini Lathe. I cant seem to make my mind up as to which is the better lathe.
has anyone had any experience with the hobbymat?

Gary.

I’m trying to imagine what the MD65 is but I’m thinking small. From my perspective you either go to the watch makers /clock builders lathe or go with the largest engine lathe you can deal with.

If your focus is on very small items the small lathes can do and are even preferred. On the other hand if you want to be able to general machining and larger projects a larger lathe is far more versatile.

now when I say “deal with” I actually talking about several things. Money of course is a factor but so is a place to put it. A bench top lathe can be very limiting for larger builds and may not cut it for general work. However a bench top lathe has been used by hobbiest for years, you just will not be doing a large steam or hit and mis on it.

this brings up the big question, what are your interests? If you are going to do a steam engine to run on 7-1/2” track a 7x14 lathe is probably a bad idea. However small engines like for model aircraft might be fine.

there is no right answer all you can do is to try to fit the lathe to your current interests. If your interests change the worse that can happen is that you end up selling the lathe.

which brings up another point, a good watch makers class lathe, Sherline or Taig can be a good long term investment. This due to their ability to handle very small parts with the corresponding high spindle speeds. Many model makers (even professional machine shops) keep such a lathe around for the odd problems they can solve. Big lathes can be an issue when it comes to the very small. So this is a point worth considering starting out, buying a small machine to keep long term, can make sense. It again comes down to your goals and interests.