Lathe Question

[TaxPhd]

Is anyone familiar with the OMT 10" x 27" Belt Drive Lathe sold by Travers? It is on sale for $899.99.

I am a complete beginner, and I have been reading everything I can find on the net about machine tools, from "Chinese stuff is fine, but may need some modifications" to "Only buy American Iron." Well, I have been searching for used American machinery, and haven't found anything local, and the other stuff is so far away that shipping is a deal breaker.

So, how would this be for a lathe to learn on?




Scott

 

[rake60]

Scott OTMT is a "store name brand" sold under the Traver's name.

I am not familiar with their 10 X 27, but I do know the other lathes they
sell are all Sieg manufactured machines.
I can pretty much guarantee it is as well.

I only buy Grizzly machines!
THEY have green paint over the original Sieg red.

They are good quality machines but they do require a total going over before
using them. That's not a bad thing! You should know and understand the
workings of a machine before you use it.

Rick

 

[TaxPhd]

The Grizzly machines come with more accessories, and from what I have read, they seem to have decent customer service. How is Travers customer service?

Is the OTMT or a Grizzly in a similar size a reasonable machine for a beginner to learn on, or would I be better served by something like a 7" x 14" from MicroMark, and then upgrade when I have a better idea about what I'm doing?




Scott

 

[rake60]

OK, consider this a personal opinion.
I'm sure many will follow.

When I bought the Grizzly 4000 9 X 19 lathe I had a few issues with it.
I called Grizzly's tech support and was talked through those issues.

I buy Grizzly because if their tech support.

As for size, that opens up a Pandora's Box.

You see some people will tell you that a 7 X 14 is fine for model parts
but you can't turn your brake rotors on it! :

It becomes a very personal choice.

You can learn on any size lathe.
The question is, what do you expect from it and how does it's cost fit into
your hobby budget.

Rick

 

[Cedge]

From personal experience, I'd steer you to Grizzly as well. I bought my mill from Travers because they have a show room here in town. The only advantages were that I could avoid freight, pick it up when I ordered and the sale price made it competitive with Grizzly.

The difference was... Travers warranty was only for 90 days, (1 year at Grizzly) and they were never able to supply me with an operators manual with more than 4 pages. I got past this problem by downloading and printing the Grizzly version. Travers parts availability is ok, but Grizzly seems to stock more replacement parts and accessories, and plus customer support is heads a bove that of Travers.

Don't get me wrong....

I do not regret the purchase, especially since it was not my first mill and I didn't need any real hand holding. Travers called me a number of times after the sale to make sure I was satisfied with them and the machine. I still buy happily Travers products and was even in there with George Seal and Kvom, today. I'm a satisfied customer but I'm also smart enough to spot their week points. Their customer base has always been industrial clients and the home and hobby guys are still a new animal to them. They've not quite gotten the proper feel for us just yet.

Steve

 

[Tin Falcon]

one of the things to watch when comparing prices is what accessories comes with the lathe. The 7x 10,12,14 tend to sold with little to no accessories ie, no follow rest, steady rest, face plate etc. it apears that the omt lathe you mention also falls in this category. Remember to compare apple to apples IMBs to IBMs.
Tin

 

[SmoggyTurnip]

I can also vouch for Grizzly. Twice since I had my lathe I had to replace parts. I just called them up told them what part I needed and they sent it to me right away with no hassels or shipping charge. And I am in Canada.

 

[TaxPhd]

Well, I've jumped in the deep end of the pool, and with the help of georgeseal, I'm learning a lot. He is supervising my building a small engine, and there is all kinds of interesting (at least to me) lathe and mill work to learn. In the process, I've been re-thinking my ideas for a lathe.

The 10X27 I was asking about is probably not going to work out for what I want to do. I've been using George's 12x36 Atlas (I know, I know. You can't cut a damn thing on an Atlas. . . ), and that looks like the size I want for both gunsmithing and model building, as well as general machining.

So, lots of research later, I have narrowed down my search to two machines - the Grizzly G4003G, or the Precision Matthews 1236. Does anyone have any experience with either of those machines, or is there something else in that price range (approx. $3,000 shipped) that I should consider?

Thanks!



Scott

 

[ksouers]

Scott,
Looking at Precision Matthews site the 1236 looks identical to the one that Bogstandard just bought and is in process of commissioning. Might want to watch his thread about setting up his shop. I'm sure he'll have a lot to say about this machine.

Bogstandard's shop set up

Also, Steve Bedair recently acquired the G4003G.

Steve Bedair

Sorry, I don't have any first hand experience with either of these machines, but I do respect the opinions of both these men.

 

[kvom]

No experience with either, but the owner of the Precision Matthews operation has gotten a lot of good press on the Practical Machinist forum for good customer service. That's always a big plus in my books.

 

[Stan]

There is good press on the PM board about Chinese tools

 

[wareagle]

I bought a Grizzly 13x40 and have really been surprised at how well it has performed. My previous lathe experience was on a Clausing.

When I took delivery on my Grizzly lathe, there was some damage that had occurred during shipping. It looked like something had fallen on the crate while being transported in the truck. I called Grizzly upon its arrival, and they had me uncrate it while they waited on the phone! There was some skinned up paint on the gear cover, so they just sent me a new one to make sure everything was okay. No hassle.

I would certainly be hard pressed to not buy from them in the future! Their customer service has been fantastic for me.

All of that to say, you probably wouldn't go wrong with the Grizzly machine. The Precission Mathews machine is probably a great one as well, so either way you likely will be pleased.