New lathe choice - Victor vs. Sharp

I am planning to buy a new lathe for the company, for prototyping and small qty work, modifications, etc. Been looking at something a little better than the typical $4-5K Asian commodity junk, and it APPEARS that Sharp and Victor may be a cut above that.

I notice that the difference in Victor models from previous to current (for a 14 x 40 machine) is 600 lbs lighter for the new/current machine. I think I have a choice in that regard, in that at least a couple of months ago I could get a previous edition or the current/new model. I'm not sure that lighter is better for a lathe. There may be some over-optimization at work in the casting department.

Anyway, I'm interested if anyone has bought a new Victor and has comparison observations to older units, and also whether there are general opinions about Victor vs Sharp these days. I saw some posts from a few years back in searching, but nothing fresh off the press.

I want to take delivery before the end of the year because we need it, and for tax reasons. Any other suggestions welcome.

My Dad has a Jet 1440 ZX and I like it, it has a 7.5 HP motor and spec weighs 5200 Lbs.

It runs well, holds accuracy, big bore, and is an overall pretty good lathe. When I go to buy a nice general purpose 14x40 class machine is will be on the top of the list.

BTW, I'm 50 and my Dad is 76, if it works for us it will work well for most applications. I drive it like I stole it and my Dad thinks .200 is a good rough cut depth.

Good Luck

specfab said:

I am planning to buy a new lathe for the company, for prototyping and small qty work, modifications, etc. Been looking at something a little better than the typical $4-5K Asian commodity junk, and it APPEARS that Sharp and Victor may be a cut above that.

I notice that the difference in Victor models from previous to current (for a 14 x 40 machine) is 600 lbs lighter for the new/current machine. I think I have a choice in that regard, in that at least a couple of months ago I could get a previous edition or the current/new model. I'm not sure that lighter is better for a lathe. There may be some over-optimization at work in the casting department.

Anyway, I'm interested if anyone has bought a new Victor and has comparison observations to older units, and also whether there are general opinions about Victor vs Sharp these days. I saw some posts from a few years back in searching, but nothing fresh off the press.

I want to take delivery before the end of the year because we need it, and for tax reasons. Any other suggestions welcome.

Click to expand...

Is the weight difference primarily / exclusively in the base? I know some Asian imports (e.g. Acer) switched from cast iron plinth bases to sheet metal a few years back.

-Phil

Aaron-M said:

My Dad has a Jet 1440 ZX and I like it, it has a 7.5 HP motor and spec weighs 5200 Lbs.

It runs well, holds accuracy, big bore, and is an overall pretty good lathe. When I go to buy a nice general purpose 14x40 class machine is will be on the top of the list.

BTW, I'm 50 and my Dad is 76, if it works for us it will work well for most applications. I drive it like I stole it and my Dad thinks .200 is a good rough cut depth.

Good Luck

Click to expand...

I have run 2 Jet lathes in my life. Both were junk.

crazygoat said:

I have run 2 Jet lathes in my life. Both were junk.

Click to expand...

I've run a crappy Jet lathe too, but a ZX is a whole different breed of machine. If I could find one locally lightly used, I'd want it.

Regards.

Mike

My Colchester came from a shop that replaced it with a Sharp. I would take the Colchester any day. I know that does not answer your question, but. . .

I have a Sharp 1640LV that I'm getting ready to sell because I'm retiring. I purchased it new in 2005. We really like it. I'll be selling it with a lot of tooling and extras. PM me if you want more information.

i've had very good luck with Victors (Fortune actually but they came with books with the Victor logo and made by line)
they are basically a Mori-Seiki copy
the ones i repaired for years were not home shop stuff, they were 15" chuck CNC and bigger
they could take a hit like few other machines were able to that i have worked on (what a thing to have to know )
support was not the deepest but there was one dude out in Jersey that knew his shit if you could understand him

My experience was 10 years ago so things may have changed since. We needed to replace a bunch of Harding toolroom lathes that were worn out >20 years old and found that the leadtime for new ones was prohibitive. We ended up purchasing Sharps and never went back. The sharps were every bit as nicely finished and accurate as the Hardinge lathes and quite a bit less expensive and I could get them right away.

KV

Mike,

I agree Asian machines are always a little gamble, some are winners and some are not.

I used to have a Monarch 10EE that sounded like a jet engine when you started it up, and yes it did great precision work, like driving a Caddy with class and style and I will never own one again, I don't do that special stuff anymore.

The Jet ZX is just a pretty good all around lathe. Doesn't particularly win in any given category, just pretty good in all of them. I will buy one of them.

Thanks

Aaron-M said:

My Dad has a Jet 1440 ZX and I like it, it has a 7.5 HP motor and spec weighs 5200 Lbs.

It runs well, holds accuracy, big bore, and is an overall pretty good lathe. When I go to buy a nice general purpose 14x40 class machine is will be on the top of the list.

BTW, I'm 50 and my Dad is 76, if it works for us it will work well for most applications. I drive it like I stole it and my Dad thinks .200 is a good rough cut depth.

Good Luck

Click to expand...

That's a heavy lathe for that motor [emoji16]
My 1000kg Colchester does have a 7.5hp motor as well [emoji16]






And for some Victor lathe info :

We have two at my work.
One is a from 1999. A 500x1500 and the other is same size, just older.

The new one have a timing belt for powering the feed/thread gearbox. This makes its super quiet.
The old one have normal gears, and is very noisy compared. [emoji16]


The lathes in general runs very well. Very accurate and easy to use.
Handles and levers are well placed and have a nice feel to them.

But I do like heavy cuts, and thise lathes suffer/lacks torque in the 'higher' speeds.
And for some jobs, also mass/weight/rigidity..

But for most jobs and most users it's a great lathe. Especially our newest model runs as mentioned very well and smooth.
I can really recommend it. [emoji4]


Personally I would rather have a TOS sn40. We also have one like this, and it's a total different machine to use. Super strong compared.
But I don't know how common they are over there [emoji4]

Best regards.





Colchester - The world turns on Colchester lathes.