Re: Lathes and so forth.

On Apr 30, 11:59 am, Robert Wilson <robwil...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
jontom_...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Apr 30, 10:59 am, Robert Wilson <robwil...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
jontom_...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Apr 30, 10:17 am, Tony Jeffree <t...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 10:05:29 +0100, Robert Wilson
<robwil...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sorry Tony, that's actually called running Business. If he has the
means the supply Lathes more cheaply then fair play to him. Welcome to
the world of competitive business.
Thats one way of looking at it Robert. The other way is "caveat
emptor". If he's paring his prices to the bone, it doesn't speak
highly to me of the quality of the ongoing support. If that isn't a
concern of yours, then thats just fine.
Regards,
Tony
Tony
While I deplore the tactics being employed and there is something
rather unsettling about someone who purports to be an "honest Joe"
giving advice while he pushes his own cheap machines as hard as he
can, unfortunately you have to admit that they appear to be
successful. While the original poster asked for "opinions" on this
type of machine the discussion is now focused on merely where he
should buy it from.
I suppose this shows why I am not a successful business man, I should
have jumped straight in with a strong defence of the "best of British"
quality secondhand machines. This of course would have absolutely
nothing to do with the fact that I have two excellent machines about
to come on the market. To prove how daft I am I won't even tell what
they are. The proper place for blatant advertising is amongst the
adverts and there are more than enough excellent avenues available for
those as I'm sure John and Charles would agree.
Lets return this forum to what it was when I arrived, a source of
honest, well balanced and well informed advice. Long may it continue.
Now is this the best type of machine for the original poster?
Best regards
Keith
Actually that would be more useful, some suggestions of where to buy
second hand from.

Cheers,

Rob.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Rob Hi,

That is one of the most difficult questions to answer and is up there
along with "how long is a piece of string". The difficulty in finding
good used machines at reasonable prices particularly now in the days
of E-bay is the main reason why, as a fan of "good old iron" I, I have
often advised new import machinery to someone beginning in the
interest. In my own workshop that has taken me 25 years to collect I
have a mixture of both new and secondhand.

I personally have not had much success with the major dealers, not
that their machines were bad in all cases just that I'm too tight to
pay the premium they seem to think is deserved on good old machinery.
Many have had success with approaching their local education authority
about clearance machines from schools etc but, again it didn't work
for me. I have watched the local papers for years traveled thousands
of miles and in the end bought nothing any good. The four, in my
opinion excellent secondhand machines I currently have were obtained
by doing what you are now, using the internet. The first was obtained
privately after seeing it on E-bay, the second and third from contacts
made on this site and the latest from a lead on the http://www.homeworkshop.org.uk/
site. In all honesty there is an element of luck in buying secondhand,
not just in getting a good machine but in finding one in the first
place.

Rob, have you any more details on what type of machine you need, I see
in one post you mention a Colchester but that is a very different
beast from the CL500M. Is large capacity important to you and do you
have room for a fairly large footprint machine. A few more details on
your important criteria and of course any budget you might have would
help in suggesting suitable machines and possible sources.

To return to frivolity, and answer your specific question the best
place in the whole world to buy secondhand machines is "South Wales"
and the best source by far me, Me, ME.

Joking apart, (and it is a joke as from what you have said my machines
would be too small for you) if you can let us know the minimum spec
you would be looking for then we can at least give you a list of the
types of "old iron" that might be worth looking for. The same
information would help in suggesting alternative new machines to look
as well.

Charles, you beat me to it, nice Kerry.

Best regards

Keith

Well I want to build a black 5. Or rather start off with a simplex. Is
a Miller a really essential. By the sound of the milling attachment for
a Lathe is not very practical. I am open to all suggestions though. I
must be honest that I don't sit comfortably with second hand as you
don;t know what monkey has been using it before you. As you said,
buying second hand is base don luck and a mate who know's what he's doing.

Cheers,

Rob.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Rob, I'm sorry to say that as I'm not a train man this leaves me in
the dark as to what size and capability you would need so any specific
machine advice might not be reasonable. Based on what people seem to
have, if you are going to build in 5" gauge then I suppose something
the size of a Myford 7 series is about it. I'm not sure of the wheel
size on the Black Five so for a machine without a gap bed it might
need to be bigger. To give anyone a chance to give you reasonable
advice a little detail on your proposed budget, any space limitations
or engineering background you have would be helpful. This might seem
silly when you are asking about new machines but, in reality, cheap
import machines (some more than others) will require adjustment and
some TLC to get them and as importantly keep them working well.

On the secondhand front I'm not going to say much as I will be accused
of doing what I have complained about, but a Myford 7 or Boxford AUD
would be ideal and good examples of both are easily available.

In my opinion, for these proects you will need some form of milling
capability. In the past much has been done with a vertical slide on
the lathe but a stand alone mill will be a great benefit. To be
honest, you could get a basic lathe and a small mill for not much more
than the cost of the CL500M. Although that as a lathe has a larger
capacity than most of that footprint, if you are going on to build a
Black Five I think you will find its basic nature a bit limiting and
at times frustrating.

Regards

Keith

.

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