New LeBlond or Clausing?

[JSJ69]

We are a career center and looking to buy a new LeBlond 1332 or Clausing 8026J lathe. Has anyone had experience with these newer models? Should I stay away from one or the other?

 

[Vcmt]

Calusing is not the same as it was years ago. They were made in England
years ago now I think there made in some where else. I have a 1998 clausing cnc lathe made in England very nice machine .
I was in Travlers tool last year in the showroom I saw a 13 x 40 clausing for $13000 from 10 feet away It looked like it was made in china .I remember the cross slide was just rough machined I was thinking I could get a better finish using a band saw .

 

[Marty Feldman]

What is "career center" supposed to mean? Such things exist ranging from money-making operations that crank out white collars who we don't need, to serious programs that aim to supply competant and modern shop-floor machinists who we care more about here. It will be easier to respond to your post if you supply a profile of the applicant qualities you are looking for, and the goals and skills you want them to have when they graduate. Also helpful if you say a bit about why you are focused on the two machines you mention. In the meantime, not a bad idea to keep post #2 in mind.

-Marty-

 

[JSJ69]

Ok, so a little clarification. Our career center teaches 11th and 12th grade students. We already have CNC machines and our manual lathe is beyond repair if I'm being fiscally responsible. I am not allowed to buy another used or refurbished machine so, I got quotes on the LeBlond, Clausing and a Kent model as we had vendor status already setup. I understand thermite's comment on students learning to understand wear but this is not an option for me at this time. Administration says I must buy new.

 

[FamilyTradition]

Have you ever thought that the administration needs to get their head out of you-know where? Have any of them actually worked in the field?

What exactly is wrong with the current lathe? It seems bass-ackwards that buying new is going to save money vs fixing the one you already have, unless you are dealing with a FUBAR situation like a cracked headstock casting. At any rate, the fiscally responsible thing would be to buy a good used lathe. They can be had for under $5k with tooling if you look, and depending on your general location (which would be helpful to know, by the way )

 

[Bill D]

Calusing is not the same as it was years ago. They were made in England
years ago now I think there made in some where else. I have a 1998 clausing cnc lathe made in England very nice machine .
I was in Travlers tool last year in the showroom I saw a 13 x 40 clausing for $13000 from 10 feet away It looked like it was made in china .I remember the cross slide was just rough machined I was thinking I could get a better finish using a band saw .

Hariosn and Clausing are both part of the 600 group. Harrison m300 lathes went from being made in England to China. Quality was so bad they had to go back to England factory. Latter they have switched back to made in China.
I would assume Clausing are now made in China as well.

 

[Joe Henderson]

The LeBlond if you have good control on those kids. They can destroy an anvil if left alone.

 

[beckerkumm]

If you are looking for a Taiwan lathe, Acra or Precision Matthews should be contacted as both have pretty good customer service and will deal with problems that are normal for new machines ( more than you would expect ). Precision Matthews machines have their limitations but are a pretty good bang for the buck. I'm a used guy but understand that a school deal is different. Dave

 

[Marty Feldman]

... I am not allowed to buy another used or refurbished machine so, I got quotes on the LeBlond, Clausing and a Kent model as we had vendor status already setup.... Administration says I must buy new.

Sorry for the disrespectful tone, but your operation does not sound like anything where I'd send a kid for serious machinist training. You may be OK, but in my view the trickledown from ignorant admin is inevitable and not consistent with adequate instruction.

-Marty-

 

[rklopp]

Sorry for the disrespectful tone, but your operation does not sound like anything where I'd send a kid for serious machinist training. You may be OK, but in my view the trickledown from ignorant admin is inevitable and not consistent with adequate instruction.

-Marty-

Put yourself in the OP’s shoes and help him out with the hand he’s been dealt instead of moaning about his administrative bosses. OP, I mentor in a school shop with similar purchasing constraints. We have a Grizzly lathe bought new. I didn’t buy it, but we make it work and the students learn a ton. Decent tooling and a DRO make a huge difference to a marginal machine. Given your budget and need to buy new, I guess is you’d be best off picking a new machine from an established entity like Clausing or dare I say Grzzlee.

 

[chipss]

Also not trying to be a dick but let's face it. You're teaching kids and they're going to mash and crash anything you put in front of them. Buy another used lathe and let admin spend the rest of the money on social programs.....

 

[Mebfab]

From someone who has been down this road, We bought new acer lathes. 17" models. The larger machine like that seems to take the abuse better. We have 6 of them. I think 8 mills.

I have bought Kent. Definitely seemed to be a step down from Acer.

I wouldnt hit a dog in the ass with anything from the 600 group. A friend bought one new. The quality was on par with Kent but much more money. The spare parts are beyond outragous in my experience.

As for Leblond, that factory is long gone. They are slapping a name on something out of a 40' shipping container and adding to the price.

Are you putting out for bid? If so the bottom feeders are going to sell you junk. You will need to spec Mehanite castings, longer warranty, onsite repair during warranty, etc.

How many machines you buying? 2?

 

[Joe Gwinn]

I must say that I would definitely consider the better grade of large Chinese stuff here, because the students will soon chew it up. So treat these lathes as a fancy kind of consumable. (I'm with thermite there.)

Part of the instruction can be just what's wrong with these lathes, so the students will know better when they are in industry.

 

[Arc-On]

Personally, I'd get the Clausing. They're not bad. A friend got one after his shop burned down with his insurance money and it makes good parts. We had Clausing Metosa machines at the college I attended and they were great lathes to learn on. Nothing you buy for a school will be as good as the old iron from the 60's, but that's ok. It doesn't need to be. Budget for a new lathe every 10 years, and glue on a block of aluminum on the corner of the compound so when it gets ran into the chuck you have a sacrificial pad for the corner of the compound. I'm thankful there are at least a few HS shops around with machine tools.

Speaking to CNC vs manual, I would MUCH prefer to hire the kid with manual lathe experience and teach them CNC then the other way around. Manual machines teach a lot of things that old timers take for granted like cutter selection and grind, workholding, speeds and feeds, how to run repair jobs and one-offs, etc. Once you know all that, CNC is much easier to apply, as you know the basics.

A high school program isn't designed to teach kids to be a machinist, its designed to expose them to a lot of facets of a lot of trades so they can move toward paths best suited for them. LOTS of careers use a manual lathe, a knee mill and a drill press, but will never touch a CNC. Welders, maintenance mechanics, repair and rework shops, hell even woodworking shops have manual machine tools. You may not be able to teach HS kids in 45 minute chunks how to be a machinist, but you CAN show them what a lathe is, how to run it safely, and the basics of turning so when they end up working third shift maintenance at a factory, they can turn up a bushing or drill and tap a shaft. If it really speaks to them, they can take it further and explore machining as a trade, where they will NEED to know CNC to make any money.

 

[cranium]

Forget the Chinese crap.

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