Does this seem okay

[ShedBoy]

I have been trolling on alibaba for a mini lathe. I have found this little one for a better price than I can get in Australia anywhere, US$748 delivered.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/370082682/WM180V_MINI_Lathe.html

Brutally honest opinions needed here. What questions should I be asking them

Brock

 

[Blogwitch]

Brock,

In all honesty, I don't think you can ask any questions except, do you give a warranty? if so, how long?, and if it does go wrong, how do I get it fixed?

They will tell you anything to get a sale, it's a long way from your place to China.

This one looks no worse, in fact, it looks a lot better than some I have seen.

Questions you should be asking yourself, will there be any import duties on it?, and related to above, if it goes wrong, how do I get it fixed?

You pay extra for buying locally, for one main feature, you can go back and kick a**e if it does go belly up in the warranty period.

You might be lucky and it never goes wrong and is of a good build quality, in which case you have got yourself a bargain.

You pays your money, you take the chance.
The decision can only be with yourself, no-one will tell you if it is a good buy or not, that is your choice by taking in all the relevant information provided by them and what you have seen elsewhere.

John

 

[bearcar1]

Caveat Emptor or buyer beware. I've seen stuff on different sites that are considerably cheaper than local that is being sold from China and I have to wonder how can that be? To sell something so ridiculously cheap and be able to ship that distance gives me some serious doubts about the items quality and the companies service. Like John said, who is going to take care of any issues once that beast arrives at your door. "Hello? yes, my name is Peggy..." just like the commercial ad. It's your decision whether or not to gamble.


BC1
Jim

 

[moanaman]

Brock,
I think the bed length is a bit short. I have a Sieg C3 which is 50mm longer than what you are looking at and I would like it at least anther 50 mm longer. In many way it looks better to me than a Sieg machine. But at least with a Sieg machine I can get parts in Australia. How do you feel about having the only machine in Australia with out support?

Barry

 

[ShedBoy]

I have a 9 x 36 which is Australian bought and everytime I need a part for it it has to come from china. The short bed length is not going to worry me as I have a large machine if needed. The company is able to supply all parts for it as they are the manufacturer and have been selling them for a while so support should not be an issue. I was looking at a Seig C series once again on aibaba, does much go wrong with them, I have read about plastic gears breaking regularly. I have looked at lots of different suppliers for Seig in shops and the build quality differs from good to quite shocking depending on which shop I go to?

Brock

 

[bezalel2000]

Hi Brock

One limitation I would consider is the compound slide is not long enough to cut a taper for its own headstock (MT3=3-3/16"), and the tailstock looks like it may not off set enough to cut it that way either.

Which only means you will be challenged when it comes to making Morse taper tools for itself. Which is not a problem at all if your keeping the bigger lathe.

Plus bought tapers are pretty cheap these days ;D

Bez

 

[Entropy455]

Are you only considering new?

I recently picked up a very good condition 13" Clausing lathe, for 600 bucks.

It sat in the back of a high school for the past 22 years, unused. The school never got around to hooking it up within their new building. I purchased it at a state surplus auction. It had very little use prior to that - the machine is like new.

Good deals are out there.

To quote a machinist friend of mine: you can turn little things on a big lathe, and you can turn big things on a big lathe - but you cannot turn big things on a little lathe. . . .

 

[warranator]

In my opinion that lathe looks pretty good. I have worked with old lathes in the past that have no support or spares anymore and have always made what I need to get it going again......yes I do have access to another lathe and some people out there may not have that advantage.

Spindle bore looks a bit small but depends what you are going to use it for.

 

[checkedout]

I have no LATHE advice for you, but I will tell you about alibaba (from my experience).
I'm a buyer for a marketing company.
Our clients request some WEIRD stuff.
At times, I've only been able to find on alibaba and gone that route.

I've had bad luck with alibaba, and will never buy through that route again.
Just sayin'

For something as important (and potentially hazardous) as a lathe, I would buy from a trusted source and pay a little more.
You could luck out... or you could really regret it.


my 2 cents.

Either way, I'd love to see how this turns out for you.
Good luck!!!

 

[ShedBoy]

Thank you for the replies all some helpful info.
Brock

 

[geoff]

Hi Brock
This looks like a sturdy machine which i recognise as the Wiess WM180 which is sold under many other names such as warco, optimum and chester ect. here in UK, just look for a local supplier.
It has a similar spec to the sieg C3 but is much heavier.

geoff

 

[ShedBoy]

I thought it was the same as the warco just by looking at them. Can't seem to find a supplier for this machin in Aus, there are Seig and Real Bull type machines all which are more expensive for what seems like less of a machine. I am not trying to take anything away from these machines just they all seem to need upgrading from new (or maybe we have to tinker :big. This machine has alot of good points just no supplier in Aus. The company who sell them are an estabilished company and back there product up apparently. As for parts availibility they seem to be just an email away. I am going to buy one (throw myself at the mercy of the machinery gods) so expect a full review when it arrives. :-\

Brock

 

[hopeless]

Hi shedboy have you looked on ebay? a guy I have found to be a good supplier of machinery (chinese) is ozmestore. also has a lot of tooling. I have bought from him quite a few times including my lathe ( grizzly in the US sells same lathes but their d/lable manual is better) and found no probs with it or the gear I buy from him. I am not a machinest by trade so probably don't know diddly but I'm a happy little vegemite :big:
Pete

 

[ShedBoy]

Hi Pete, I to have bought much stuff from ozmestore, but he could not compete even close to the price I got this for. Just signed the deal and payed for it. Should be on its way sometime in the future. I will keep you all informed.
Brock

 

[Leucetius]

One thing though you already buyed: On the pictures all plates are in german. Don't know about the standards in down under but it may be a problem (metric screws etc.). And the manufacturer is stated as a chinese one, so you may or may not get the lathe pictured.

Just my 2ct - i'm looking forward to your review

 

[ShedBoy]

Once the money has cleared they send pictures of the machine before packing to mke sure I am happy, his words. He sells thousands of these each year to Europe and America apparently. I have recieved paperwork to sign which he has signed. So far it all seems okay. I love metric its part of my generation, imperial drives me insane mostly.
Brock

 

[Tin Falcon]

Shed boy good luck with your new lathe. from the pictures you posted it looks nice and well equipped.
Sometimes a deal that seems to good to be true is trouble sometimes the manufacturer is just cutting out the middle man.
Tin

 

[Swede]

I think it looks pretty nice, to be honest. You had to have been around when China flooded the market in the late '80's, early 1990's, to appreciate just how far their QC has come from those days! ;D Those early machines were simply phenomenally badly put together.

We are all picture and machinery ho's, please take a bunch of pictures and do a review for us. It would be appreciated, especially by guys considering a new machine.

On second look, I have one objection - the quoted motor power of 450 watts seems low, possibly badly low. I hope that's not an issue. Something in this size should have at least 1 HP, IMO.

 

[jct842]

that looks to have every thing I wish my cumins should have. it is 40 lbs heavier too as I remember mine was 90. very nice looking machine for sure. john

 

[ShedBoy]

UPDATE
Just sent a where is my machine email to the chap over there and he has sent me by mail the shipping info. It left China on the 13-1-12 and is currently in the Indian Ocean somewhere on its way to Fremantle. Due in port next week. Got the name of the ship so I can trace it on the net, handy. Just got to wait for it to clear customs.

Brock