Hi folks,
I've been beating myself about the head and shoulders lately looking for a lathe but this isn't a rod wrapping lathe or rod drier. It will be used for handles and stuff like that someday when I can get back into the custom rods but for the most part this lathe will be used for metal and plastic parts I use to build fishing rods.
With all the variables and imports that sound to be very unfavorable I was just wondering if I might be able to pick up any suggestions here.
Some important issues would be the ability to thread its own spindle threads for face plates and such.
A 16" minimum travel between centers would be about prefect.
It really should have a 3/4 to 1 horse motor minimum.
Quick change gears are a must and I have to be able to slow this thing down to about a snails pass at 40 or hopefully 20 rpms.
I know some of the 9 X 20's coming into the states now might fit this bill but I am looking for something with a little more longevity between maintenace and far less out of the box work then these imports take to be a good machine.

Any suggestions?



Tight wraps and lines,
Wylie

Do a search for lathemaster they look good iam waiting for them to get some in right now.

Thanks James,
From what I hear they have just got in the 7 X 14's (or should soon) and should soon have the 9 X 30's in stock. They are still a couple months out on the 9 X 20's.
Although it sounds like I will have to taer it completely down and go through it with a fine tooth comb I am leaning toward the Jet 9 X 20 myself.
Be real careful with what you get and do a very close inspection as I have read some real horror stories.
I do like the fact that the Lathemasters have the gear drive that could make for faster speed changes but it does mention the changing of gears just like with the Jet with the belt drive system. The Jet does have more thread options and a higher top end speed. The Lathemaster doesn't meantion the spindle thread and this is important for face plates.
The biggest plus I have seen with the Lathemaster is the shrouded lead screw which sounds to be a problem with the Jet.
The price on the Lathemaster is real nice compared to the Jet too, but then there is shipping.

I figure once I have a stand in place I'm filling the legs with concrete to keep vibration/sound to a minumum.

Thanks again James,

Tight wraps and lines,
Wylie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2005 01:22AM by Wylie Wiggins.

Wylie, look at the lineup from Enco, they make an excellent quality machine that requires very little fine tuning, one of my family members has one and also a milling machine, very good quality, I personally have a 7x12 Speedway metal lathe and a jet 1014 wood lathe and am very satisfied with the performance as far as my needs. One of the biggest factors is the shipping costs after you find the cheapest price, sometimes that is the catch. I bought my lathes local so shipping was not a factor, and parts are readily available. Good luck

Hi Galen,
The Jet and the Enco 9 X 20 look like the same animal with a different paint job, even the cabinets look identical. The one difference that I did notice is that the spindle threading is different and more like the Grizzly with a M39 X 4.0 thread and not the 1 1/2" X 8 tpi that the jet has. That M39 X 4.0 tap to make face plates will run about 100 bills here in the states if I am correct and I am not sure the machine is able to make those threads, but I could be wrong too.
I'm really stuck on the 9 X 20's but they all seem to be the same beast for the most part.
My largest concerns with what I have seen from the 9 X 20s is getting them into granny low for threading metal and plastics. Besides this they all look to be the same imports with different paint and few different features that vary little one from the other.
From what I have gathered there are two sources that these machines originate from, China and Taiwan with Taiwanese machines being the favored and less troublesome.

I may just have this wrapped up at this point unless a golden oldie comes my way that is worth the work that could have to be put into one.

Thanks Galen,



Tight wraps and lines,
Wylie