Enco Lathe

I know that this is an import, but what is the ovel all feeling on quality of a 13 X 40 Gear Head lathe by Enco. This is to be used for hobby and gun smithing work. Also is 60 RPM's to fast for threading on?
Thank You
Keith

Try a search using "import lathes" or "1340 lathe", or "new lathe" as the key words...results should give you a lot of info. Try to use only 2 words to define your search

imo, after reading hundreds (maybe thousands) of posts here and elsewhere, and researching and comparing machines for a solid month, talking with experienced machinists, then buying, Matt at Quality Machine Tools
(412) 787-2876 offered the best quality machine in this class with the PM 1236 make. His deal was far and away the best, I can't imagine better service and followup/followthru. My research found the PM1236 machine has the best, or equal to the best) quality, biggest spindle bore, most comprehensive tooling and extras list, heaviest HP motor and Best electronics (Siemens) for it's class... for my application anyway. I had the machine 2 days after I ordered it and was making money with it within the week, to within .001-.003 tolerances... which was well within my needs. The machine is tight, and runs great. I briefly looked around for used machinery in the Phila. area and had a tuff time finding anything for less than new, and I have a warranty, parts network, great support... and a new tight machine with DRO installed with no downtime/recondition time spent. I've spent maybe 8-10 hrs setting up, breaking in, beefing up the stand for extra rigidity because I'm maxing out the capabilities, and maintenace/oil changes etc. Other than that I'm turning parts and doing business with the machine.

I'm a total rookie regarding lathe work with maybe 40 -60 hrs experience behind engine lathes (but lots of metalwork and small biz experience) so this is all fwiw I needed something dependable to get up to speed right away, and I needed good support. The Precision Mathews Machines and Quality Machine Tools fit the bill perfectly for me. I'll work this thing hard for a couple years, save up my bucks, and keep my eyes peeled for a sweetheart heavyduty american precision lathe in the meantime. Good luck

JM

p.s. You can go here too and read till your eyes fall out on Enco 1340 lathes

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12x36importlathes/

I know that it's nearly forbidden to talk about Enco and other Chinese machines on this forum but since you asked....

I've got a 1994 Model 13 X 40 Enco Gap-Bed Lathe that I purchased new around that time. It has an Imperial (inch) lead screw and is geared to cut 40 Imperial pitches from 4-112 T.P.I. It also does 23 Metric pitches from 0.25 to 11mm. It only requires one gear change in the drive mechanism to change to Metric.

Mine came with a steady rest, follow rest and three and four jaw chucks with two sets of spare jaws. It has a Chinese 2 hp 240VAC motor. In the time I've had it, the only problem has been a burnt-out bulb on the power-on light which I converted to a American bulb with a different socket.

Mine has 8 speeds with the lowest being 70 rpm and I cut threads on it all of the time. 60 rpm would be very good. I made a new axle for my Harley sidecar a few years ago, tapers, threads and all.

For the price, you would either get a New Enco or similar or a used American machine. There's all sorts of arguments on this, ranging from quality issues to Sino-American balance of trade that I need not get into.

All things considered, for the hobby work that I do, principally revolving around motorcycles, it's been excellent.

My professional friend who has a big shop down the road comes down to run my Enco when he needs a metric thread. He has two Monarchs that only run inch so that always makes me smile.

As far as support, they do provide parts and accessories. I've gotten several accessories, including a knock-off Aloris tool changer and so forth. They can provide new replacement lathe parts if you have the part number. Being in California, I can get shipments of cutting tools and consumables on two days notice out of Nevada. They also stock many American tools and sanding belts, disks, etc.

Sure, I'd much rather have a Monarch but I'm not doing production work, so there's little point in it for myself.

In my defense, though, I did stay at a Holiday Inn express the other night, and I've switched to Geico several times because I like that little reptile in the TV ads.

Good luck.

With deepest apologies for the content of this post.....ahem.

Would $800 be a good price for a used ENCO 1340 lathe? Looks to be in good shape from the pictures. Comes with steady rest and QC tool holder. I am trying to do an inspection tomorrow . It is about 40 miles away.

vc3006 said:

Would $800 be a good price for a used ENCO 1340 lathe? Looks to be in good shape from the pictures. Comes with steady rest and QC tool holder. I am trying to do an inspection tomorrow . It is about 40 miles away.

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Yes if in decent shape. look for second chuck-face plate etc they came with.

There was no description with the post on the lathe just two pictures. The steady rest and tool holder were on the lathe, some other items on the floor in the edge of the picture. Enlarged the picture and could read made in Taiwan on the control panel. I am in communication with the owner, and currently waiting for the address to inspect the lathe.

I appreciate your input.

vc3006 said:

Would $800 be a good price for a used ENCO 1340 lathe? Looks to be in good shape from the pictures. Comes with steady rest and QC tool holder. I am trying to do an inspection tomorrow . It is about 40 miles away.

Click to expand...

Wow, this is an old thread!

Yes, $800 would be a good price for a used Enco, depending upon how many of the original accessories are still with it.

They came with:

6" 3 jaw scroll chuck, D1-4 with reversible jaws.
8" Independent 4 jaw chuck
Steady rest, follow rest with extra D1-4 pins
17" Face Plate.
Lantern type tool holder

One critical factor is that MSC bought the company a while back and closed it down so that there are no parts available, whatsoever. I mention this because recently my control transformer burned up and fed 240 V into the 120 Volt contactor coils and left a smoking mess, this after 24 years, however.

I gutted the panel and replaced all of the wiring and electricals with new from Amazon and eBay. So, if you haven't seen the machine yet, make sure to check inside of the electrical panel to see the condition.

On yeah, there were two models of the 110-1340. The early ones like mine had 8 speeds. The later ones had 16 speeds with a two-speed motor.

For the record, Grizzly (can we say that?) used to sell what they called a "3-1/2 X 40" lathe which was identical to the Enco that I have. They took advantage of the extra 1/4" swing. They do have parts but they are not cheap.

Good luck.

The parts are cheap, compared to the ghost of american builders.

As for $800, way too much. Offer $50. Thats what everyone else does.

Mebfab said:

The parts are cheap, compared to the ghost of american builders.

As for $800, way too much. Offer $50. That's what everyone else does.

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There are no parts available. $50? LOL