New Lathe Advice

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to upgrade to a bigger lathe. I currently have a 1.4kw 135mm x 600mm lathe. My budget is around 12k. I have narrowed my choice to the following two lathes one is Taiwanese 700kg in weight and the other 1.5ton Chinese. I am leaning towards the Chinese one due to being beefier and more powerful. I do general fab and sometimes precision work:

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L191D

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L242D

Would appreciate people opinions.

Thanks.

Of those two i would go the 1000d for sure. I have just had too many patchy experiences with mainland Chinese gear. Even up in these more industrial machines. I think shedhappens has a similar unit though so he may have a more informed opinion.

I would also look at the Liang dei machines sold by modern tools. Taiwanese and a middle ground in capacity between those two. Better standard equipment too.

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pdu said:

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to upgrade to a bigger lathe. I currently have a 1.4kw 135mm x 600mm lathe. My budget is around 12k. I have narrowed my choice to the following two lathes one is Taiwanese 700kg in weight and the other 1.5ton Chinese. I am leaning towards the Chinese one due to being beefier and more powerful. I do general fab and sometimes precision work:

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L191D

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L242D

Would appreciate people opinions.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

New junk? Or Old Gold?

LATHE MORI SEKI JAPAN in Southern Sydney, NSW, Australia

I have been looking for a good used lathe for a while now. So far they all have had issues that would cost a lot of time and money to fix. Since Covid hit good used machinery has dried up. Most of what I have seen is rather beat up and worn. That lathe you listed is in another state unfortunately. I am in Melbourne.

pdu said:

I have been looking for a good used lathe for a while now. So far they all have had issues that would cost a lot of time and money to fix. Since Covid hit good used machinery has dried up. Most of what I have seen is rather beat up and worn. That lathe you listed is in another state unfortunately. I am in Melbourne.

Click to expand...

LOL! Yah, well. "distance" and Oz.. I once had to plan a complete "C" band satellite Earth station for install at Woomera.

"Back in the day" that involved 400 miles of "Road Train" to get it there!

Which animal I had never even HEARD of, my sort sojourn to Pott's Point & King's Cross "entertainment" off R&R from 'nam... and had to ask some buds at the Australian Embassy in DC. to clarify, there being no "internet" in that era!

Impressive creatures, "Road Trains"!

But still... Better Melbourne than King Island. Shortlist 2 or 3 possibles.
here's another:

LATHE COLCHESTER TRIUMPH 390MM X 750MM 3 & 4 jAW CHUCKS removable gap bed MADE IN ENGLAND in Southern Sydney, NSW, Australia

...then book a scouting trip. The good machines are wherever they are - much the same as North America, even at similar distances.

Transport moves every day of every week with "stuff" of one kind or another, even out to South Bumf**k-over-the-waters (AKA "Hobart").

You'd still be under budget, even with the scouting trip and cost of lodging.

Mori's don't wear-out fast, they live long and prosper. Better lathe 30 years out than a narrow-carriage, raised in the sand, PRC mainland "Dirigible" lighter than air ship is, brand-new.

Great post from the drunk hick in the barn! We even got a flowery bullshit story!
Come on maan!
The troll, is loosing it in the other lathe thread, everyone needs re education to understand troll talk....

" Originally Posted by thermite
Least-cost, easiest to fix up, most flexible to power-up, stout enough even if dead-slow?

Could well be a War One era 'till end of production "tiebar" Hendey.

MASSIVE bed, long carriage = low rate of wear. Sort the plain spindle bearings, "per PM". Compensate for all other wear.

JF "fix stuff".

No muss, no fuss, no wear and tear on your dick from swinging it about."

what more advice would one need? ross, the troll needs your support more then ever,,goood fer yuh!

OP - pdu --
either one will be excellent.
I think.

I would choose the heavier china 1.5t one, but the other one would also be more than ok. Imo. Ime.

I bought a similar bit smaller 12x24 new about 10 years ago, a heavy industrial model.
It is excellent.

With a 2.5 kW AC brushless servo spindle motor and industrial cnc refit it is probably the most modified and near the best 12x24" chicom cnc-refit lathe on the planet.
C axis, 2 toolchangers, long x axis (linear guides), 32 / 25 mm ballscrews, 0.5 micron resolution.

The main thing is ability to cut hard aka heavy cuts at low rpm like large drills in tool steel,
and heavy cuts on large D workpieces at low rpm, circa 200 rpm / 200 mm D / 1-2 mm depth of cut.

And then excellent finishes on final cuts around 0.1 mm doc to 0.001 mm doc.

New junk? Or Old Gold?

LATHE MORI SEKI JAPAN in Southern Sydney, NSW, Australia

Click to expand...

looks more like an old gold

I bought one of these earlier this year:
CHIN HUNG PRECISION LATHE Ch-400/CH-430/CH-530 SERIES Internal Combustion Engine

Its branded ACRA in the states, but this is the company that made it. Since you are closer to Taiwan it may be cheaper for you to get. It will hold tenths all day long. At 2000rpm with a 10in chuck there is no vibrantion or noise at all. The ways are hardened and ground even on the compound.

I have a thread I started showing all of the features and my thoughts and setup of the machine. I am not unhappy at all with it.