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Thread: Metal lathe.

  1. #1
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    Default Metal lathe.

    Hi, I am new here and didn't know where to post this so moderators if you need to move it please do.
    I am 13 and have been wood turning for a while now and would like to try a metal lathe, this will be my first one and my dad is sorta broke and I want this to be my investment anyway, so what would give me the most bang for my buck? I know nothing about metal lathes but I have done some looking and was thinking about the al-250g, does anyone own one or know someone that dose? And I am not rich, I really don't want to spend more the 3000 including all the tools and to start with I would like it to not be much more the 2000.

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  3. #2
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    Apr 2013
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    Karana Downs QLD
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    Default Hello Alaks

    Welcome to the forum Alaks. You will find many here who are older and wiser than even I. You will also find them VERY HELPFUL. This is the only forum that I belong to and I think they are terrific.

    I have 250G - there are several in this forum. I get the impression that most of the 'oriental' lathes are quite sound, but the assembly can be sometimes hit-n-miss. There are certainly a few issues with mine, but nothing that cannot be fixed.

    How to buy one? Well, I'd recommend looking for a 2nd hand one. I found mine by chance as it had been returned to the H&F centre aisle following transit damage (to the motor only). I collected it - with several bits of included hardware that would usually be 'optional' - for about 1/2 price of the new one. A small geared-head lathe would seem to provide best flexibility.

    But let's see what some of the other old-n-bolds recommend.

    Good luck, Daryl

  4. #3
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    Aug 2007
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    St Georges Basin
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    1,015

    Default

    Enroll at your local TAFE for a basic course. Turning 1 in the National Metal Modules would be a good start. Give you something to think about.

  5. #4
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    Jan 2004
    Location
    Bellingen
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    Default

    Good on you Alaks!
    You sound a lot like me when I was your age!

    I cannot advise you on the 250G as I do not own that one but your going to really enjoy metal lathes!

    Now this is not a discouragement, just some advice. They are a difficult machine to self teach. You have to start somewhere though and a level headed 13yr old can start out.

    Metal lathes are remarkably unforgiving. A class at tafe is a wise option.

    Google "mrpete222" on YouTube. He was a high school teacher in metal work and has over 100 videos on running lathes and mills. He is a great teacher and has a life time of experience getting people started.

    There are a lot of good books out there as well.

    This sounds like a great project you and your dad can share together!
    Everyone here is very helpful here and they got me started out that long ago.

    Envite your Dad to join the metal work forum too.
    Your going to be sorting through a lot of information soon and have many questions.
    Best of luck!
    Ben

  6. #5
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    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay Qld
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by burraboy View Post
    Enroll at your local TAFE for a basic course. Turning 1 in the National Metal Modules would be a good start. Give you something to think about.
    Hi Alaks,
    Sorry, but I doubt that Tafe will enrol you in the course until you are 16. To pick up the knowledge you need Hercus and South bend have some excellent primer books(second hand) which are relatively cheap.

    There are other considerations however. For instance , a lathe can be a pretty hefty piece of machinery and can present problems if your family wants to move house.Your desired AL 250 would run about 200kgs and would likely be the heaviest item in your household to move.

    Also if your family doesn't not own the house is the landlord happy about mounting the lathe,as some need anchoring to the concrete floor. I too would opt for a good second hand one ,as they do come up in the big centers one regular basis.Trading post and Gumtree are good places to start.Indeed a second hand lathe will have many extras and if an Asian lathe will have many of the inherent problems already sorted.I'm thinking of of deceased estate type machines here in particular model railway hobbyists.

    Above all, take your time, think about what turning you may want to do, as this will indicate what bore size you should opt for.


    If you reply back with some of the above information the guys here will certainly be able to advise you in most aspects of the tooling you will require for the types of turning you may wish to pursue,as well as much more.

    Grahame

  7. #6
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    Jan 2004
    Location
    Bellingen
    Posts
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    Default

    What about a seig mini lathe? I know most people with big sheds and big budgets don't rate them well, but there is a huge following on line for them and with the right tooling, they appear quite capable!?
    It might be a good lathe to "cut your teeth" on and will always be useful no matter how big your workshop gets.
    There is a South American guy on YouTube that is a huge fan of using non-indexable carbide tooling with them.

    It would be more user friendly for a 13yr old to start out with and being a rust prone country, it would be easy to make a plywood box cover and dehumidifier to keep the rust away.
    I agree that tafe probably won't let a 13yr old register for classes, but you might be lucky and they will let you sit up the back of the class.


    Alaks sound like he will probably spend months in front of the lathe and I doubt the most dedicated dad could be standing right next to him every time.

    Agh... Now I want a Seig lathe as well....

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    SA
    Posts
    1,478

    Default

    Good move getting a metal lathe.

    If you or your relatives have no experience with metal lathes then you are vulnerable to getting caught with a worn out machine if you buy secondhand.

    So be careful, and maybe if a member of the forum was nearby they may be able to give an opinion on a machine - if you ask.

    Buying new you don't have this issue, and it comes down to dollars and features.

    The AL250g would be a good size for starting with and is probably capable of most things that you would want to do.

    Don't buy some great monster of a lathe just because it's cheap. I only have a 10 x 18 Chinese lathe and I've never been caught short with it for the type of jobs I do.

    Search for "Text book of Turning pdf" and you can freely download the old but extremely good book by Hercus. This will teach you everything you need to know to get started.

    Cheers

    Rob

  9. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Lower Lakes SA
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    58
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    Default

    First, please google 'lathe safety'.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    nowra
    Posts
    1,361

    Default

    I bought my first lathe when I was 13 it was a seig mini lathe they are great to learn on and would recommend one of those .
    BETTER TO HAVE TOOLS YOU DON'T NEED THAN TO NEED TOOLS YOU DON'T HAVE

    Andre

  11. #10
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    QLD
    Posts
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ben Dono View Post
    Good on you Alaks!
    You sound a lot like me when I was your age!

    I cannot advise you on the 250G as I do not own that one but your going to really enjoy metal lathes!

    Now this is not a discouragement, just some advice. They are a difficult machine to self teach. You have to start somewhere though and a level headed 13yr old can start out.

    Metal lathes are remarkably unforgiving. A class at tafe is a wise option.

    Google "mrpete222" on YouTube. He was a high school teacher in metal work and has over 100 videos on running lathes and mills. He is a great teacher and has a life time of experience getting people started.

    There are a lot of good books out there as well.

    This sounds like a great project you and your dad can share together!
    Everyone here is very helpful here and they got me started out that long ago.

    Envite your Dad to join the metal work forum too.
    Your going to be sorting through a lot of information soon and have many questions.
    Best of luck!
    Ben
    I can't go to tafe right now but I am really looking forward to doing year 11 and 12 and thanks for the youtube channel that will help a lot, my dad is really good with things like this, (he got me into woodworking) he is making and ornamental turning lathe from scratch right now and he regularly reads this forum and I will let him use my account if there is anything he would like to post.

  12. #11
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    QLD
    Posts
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grahame Collins View Post
    Hi Alaks,
    Sorry, but I doubt that Tafe will enrol you in the course until you are 16. To pick up the knowledge you need Hercus and South bend have some excellent primer books(second hand) which are relatively cheap.

    There are other considerations however. For instance , a lathe can be a pretty hefty piece of machinery and can present problems if your family wants to move house.Your desired AL 250 would run about 200kgs and would likely be the heaviest item in your household to move.

    Also if your family doesn't not own the house is the landlord happy about mounting the lathe,as some need anchoring to the concrete floor. I too would opt for a good second hand one ,as they do come up in the big centers one regular basis.Trading post and Gumtree are good places to start.Indeed a second hand lathe will have many extras and if an Asian lathe will have many of the inherent problems already sorted.I'm thinking of of deceased estate type machines here in particular model railway hobbyists.

    Above all, take your time, think about what turning you may want to do, as this will indicate what bore size you should opt for.


    If you reply back with some of the above information the guys here will certainly be able to advise you in most aspects of the tooling you will require for the types of turning you may wish to pursue,as well as much more.

    Grahame
    The "hefty piece of machinery is a bit of a problem but 200-280 should be okay, I know some strong guys, as for what I am turning I would like to try making a sterling engine a steam engine maybe a combustion engine, okay I am pretty interested in engines and things of the sort (I want to be a mechanical engineer) so a lot of that stuff, I also have a RC car that I would make parts for and projects like that, will a smaller lathe do that?

    Thanks for all the replies and anyone who replies back.

  13. #12
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    QLD
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    Default

    Sorry this was a repeat moderators please delete it.

  14. #13
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    nowra
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    Sounds like a smaller lathe will suit your needs ,Have a look at this site for some more information mini-lathe.com home page
    BETTER TO HAVE TOOLS YOU DON'T NEED THAN TO NEED TOOLS YOU DON'T HAVE

    Andre

  15. #14
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    Alex its commendable what your doing at your age as has been said before wish I had and not waited till I was 57.

    Not knowing where you are in QLD here's an ideal modlers lathe but which has the possibilities to do much more yes its old but they are solid I have just bought one recently and this one has lots to go along with it Metal Lathe | Miscellaneous Goods | Gumtree Australia Brisbane South East - Cannon Hill

  16. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alaks McGREGORE View Post
    I can't go to tafe right now but I am really looking forward to doing year 11 and 12 and thanks for the youtube channel that will help a lot, my dad is really good with things like this, (he got me into woodworking) he is making and ornamental turning lathe from scratch right now and he regularly reads this forum and I will let him use my account if there is anything he would like to post.
    I just read this Alaks guess what caught my attention The fact your dad's making an Ornamental lathe from scratch. I am also into OT so who's your dad on here time he came clean I think if he's a member cause you can't make an OT lathe without a machine set u to do the turning and milling required unless he has that all maybe via work or friends.

    No don't let him use your account make him sign up for his own. I hope he's been checking out the Ornamental Turning on this forum.

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