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large bore 3"min. manual lathe purchase

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onetim

Plastic
Joined
Jan 16, 2018
Good day, I have enjoyed this site for some years now, finally registered. Purchasing a replacement manual lathe for a dead inherited Jet (I know) The need is for strut and shock development work, no production work. The only requirement is a minimum of a 3 inch bore, and it must be new, and I would like a decent quality lathe.
I have quote for 3 units, A Sharp 1640L at $20,000, A Kingston HD 22 at $28,200, and a Clausing/Colchester 18" x 40" VS 8053VSJ at $41,610. Leaning toward the Kingston, but will have to explain why I should not purchase the Sharp at ten grand less, or perhaps I should?
 
I vote for the Kingston. Great size, good value. The Sharp is an oversized el cheapo lathe. The Clausing should have a chair mounted for the operator to ride back and forth along the bed. I would get tired of walking around it. It looks like crap too.
 
You aren't comparing apples to apples for one thing.
you're comparing a 16" to a 22" to an 18".
If you're going to be doing a lot of small work, the Kingston would be my last choice because it only goes to 1,200 rpm. The clausing has rapid travers and variable speed. This is a very simple engineering problem. Make yourself a spreadsheet will all the items you need. Score each of them. then rate each machine.
JR
 
You are correct on the large variation in swing sizes, the 3 were chosen because they are all 3" bore or better. We also have an old 13 x 40 Taiwan Turnmaster/Liberty, a 14 x 40 Kingston, and a HAAS ST20 So the Kingston at 22 x 60 with 4" bore really fits the need best. Good to know the Sharp is as cheap as it sounds. We need to be able to fit shock/strut tubes in the bore for machining/threading. Even the ST20 has the draw bar removed, and a standard 3 jaw chuck, making it a 3" bore without buying an ST30. Again 80% one off work, with batch runs never more than 50 parts.
 
onetim said:
Good to know the Sharp is as cheap as it sounds.
Click to expand...

Haven't used one for a long time, but Sharp used to be very well built. At that time, they were made in Taiwan.
Like I say, not apples to apples. Price the Sharpe with the variable speed option.

If I had the money, it would be the Colchester. Sweet machines, but not made for production.
There are several other makes out there that should fit your need. Webb/Cadilac which is a Mori copy. Baileigh sells an 18" for less than your Kingston.
JR

JR
 
Thank you all for the input, I will look into the other lathes mentioned. We also have an EMCO, and I have a Mattel power shop at home, but these don't belong here :)
 
Why dont You buy the HAAS TL-1 ?

3" spindle pass.
Can be used manually.

Has tons of advantages over any manual, and the best resale value in the world, and CSS.
And is cheapish.
 
sharp is not a make , it's a nameplate i've seen on everything from chinese machines to takisawas . the mori clones i know of start at 24" for a 3"+ spindle bore. cadillac lists their 22" machine w/ 2-9/32" hole . namseon is a Howa clone .

i believe the korean namseon 16 w/ the 3" bore is ~$20k .
 
Last edited:
hanermo said:
Why dont You buy the HAAS TL-1 ?

3" spindle pass.
Can be used manually.

Has tons of advantages over any manual, and the best resale value in the world, and CSS.
And is cheapish.
Click to expand...

What he said! CNC and tool room lathe make stuff like cylinder end machining easy fast and simple. 50 od runs would be tolerable and doable in a day easy, not so on a manual lathe.
 
Was in this boat about a year ago, ended up with a Whacheon HL580 x 60. Tank of a machine, had to go with the 22" to get a 3" through spindle. My second choice would have been the Kingston, especially if you need the larger though spindle for that class of a machine.

The Clausing is a nice machine compared to most new manual lathes, but wasn't much different in price than the Whacheon, yet quite a bit less in build quality.

As for the Haas TL series. If you can get a manual hybrid machine, I'd go for a Romi or Milltronics machine, as Haas no longer offers the directly coupled hand wheels like a traditional manual lathe. Additionally, to get the 3" though on the Haas, it is a much lighter class of machine than the other two mentioned, especially when compared to a higher end manual lathe. Depending on the level of comfort you and others have with the control, it may or may not be an option to get a TL series in place of a manual lathe. I'd even consider a prototrak lathe over the Haas, but those got expensive to get a 3" through.

The sharp is not a long term machine. It has the fit, finish and feel of most stereotypical modern, off shore machine tools.
 
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