mcg
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 09:11 PM |
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Clarke metal lathe model CL 300M chuck material size
(probably a stupid question but.....)
Been years since I used a lathe, and I am thinking of getting the Clarke CL 300M. (Mainly for work {design children's toys})
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cl300m-metal-lathe?da=1&TC=SRC-lathe
However, I am wondering how bigger piece of material will I be able to fit in the chuck? Can anyone help?
The reason I ask, is someone I know is making a custom light sabre, and he wants the lathe to not only be useful for general things for work, but also
to make his lightsabre!
A friend of mine....
Honest!
Any help would be awesome.
Cheers
Matt
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austin man
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 09:30 PM |
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300mm between centres the downloadable manual says 180mm max work diameter
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 09:30 PM |
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If i could offer you any advice it would be to spend your 540 quid on something else.
The only thing that has going for it is the variable speed.
Spend you money on a myford or a boxford or a raglan. infinitely better quality.
By the way I have a Myford ML7 which I paid £300 for and it is so much better than my clarke lathe.
Build Blog
Build Photo Album
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austin man
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 09:30 PM |
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300mm between centres the downloadable manual says 180mm max work diameter
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 10:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
If i could offer you any advice it would be to spend your 540 quid on something else.
The only thing that has going for it is the variable speed.
Spend you money on a myford or a boxford or a raglan. infinitely better quality.
By the way I have a Myford ML7 which I paid £300 for and it is so much better than my clarke lathe.
Absolutely agree. Look around for a second-hand Myford 7, which you should be able to find for similar money (maybe a little more). The big
advantage is that you can get any spares you may need, and there are many suppliers of add-ons and accessories. They are also a manageable size,
although you'll still need 2 people to shift it! If you can't find a Myford then a small Boxford is excellent.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 10:42 PM |
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I paid £500 for a very clean Harrison L5 last month which is infinitely better, induction hardened bed, couple of chucks and deviding head with gear
cutters 
Lathes take up space, the footprint of the L5 is not that much larger than the little atlas it replaced as a lathe is not something you should be able
to move around.
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trextr7monkey
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| posted on 27/2/15 at 11:23 PM |
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Have a look for Denford Viceroy machines not so well known and cheap compact small footprint some don't do thread cutting
Atb
Mike
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14016102@N00/ (cut and paste this dodgey link)
Our most recent pics are here:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/trextr7monkey/
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 09:15 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Lathes take up space, the footprint of the L5 is not that much larger than the little atlas it replaced as a lathe is not something you should be able
to move around.
True... as far as metalworking machinery is concerned, there's no substitute for mass of metal. But for small jobs a Myford / Boxford would be
fine as they're both good-quality machines - you just have to be realistic about what they can achieve. In fact, I once had a play with a
Cowell mini-lathe (about 1.5" centre height, and 6" or 7" between centres) and that was excellent for tiny work. It all comes down
to build quality, and what you want to achieve with the machine.
I suggest that you go to a Machine Mart and have a play with the knobs and wheels on their lathes, and make up your own mind (I did just that at a
model engineering show, and decided that they weren't for me). Ask about accessories, and the availability of spare parts too...
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Oddified
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 09:24 AM |
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As said above the Machine Mart lathe isn't very good compared to a Myford ML7 or Super 7. Don't worry about getting one with a gearbox on
the front (much cheaper without), if you have all the change wheels it's not a big deal to do any thread pitch you want for the amount of times
you'll use it to do threads.
One of my mates bought the Machine Mart lathe and i used it a few times, rubbish compared to my Myford which can do proper work accurately.
Ian
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mcg
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 11:48 AM |
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thanks for all the replies. Good advice. Appreciate it. I am on the hunt!
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rf900rush
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 12:28 PM |
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I second the Denford Viceroy.
I sold my Warco lathe. same as the Clarke CL 430.
I replaced my warco with a Basic Denford Viceroy, very pleased with the change.
Denford have a good forum for advice as well.
Good site for lathe infor www.lathes.co.uk
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Alan B
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 04:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Oddified
............. Don't worry about getting one with a gearbox on the front (much cheaper without), if you have all the change wheels it's not
a big deal to do any thread pitch you want for the amount of times you'll use it to do threads................
Totally agree with this.
The number of times you will screwcut threads is minimal, espcially if you are a novice user. Screw cutting is definitely a step above day to day
turning and boring.
Alan
[Edited on 28/2/15 by Alan B]
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big_wasa
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 05:20 PM |
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I've had a lathe in that class. Great for small bushes and bits and bobs but forget trying to turn big chunks of steel, it just won't do
it. Even with alloy it will only take very fine cuts.
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 08:38 PM |
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I had the same dilemma. I could see myself either getting a fine piece of British engineering, or a sizeable lump of Chinese junk. I knew nothing
about lathes.
I searched.
After looking at some very badly abused items of British perfection, all them very overpriced (my opinion), most belonging to greedy unhelpful youth
from a dead Dad's Estate, most requiring major attention to get back to a useable state, I thought again... and another Clarke VAT voucher
arrived...
I have a piece of Chinese junk. It's the Clarke CL430. Depends what you want your Chinese thing to do. Mine makes bushes, bearing housings, all
sorts. All of a sudden, making things fit, or square, isn't the problem it has been. Gearknobs, turned alloy bits to weld to other alloy bits.
OK, so it isn't entirely solid, it's not totally accurate across the whole slide (mind you, that's a big lump of something), but it
does everything I need it to.
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big_wasa
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 10:11 PM |
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Ahh but yours is the next size up.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/2/15 at 10:29 PM |
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It's possible to make parts with just about any lathe, if you're prepared to put some effort in!
My first lathe was a Zyto made in the 1940s - 3.375" centre height, 12" between centres, belt driven, and probably powered by a treadle
when first used (it now has a motor...). None of the feedscrews had calibrated dials - making and fitting those was one of the first jobs I did on it
- and the main carriage feed wheel turns in the reverse direction (that makes swapping between lathes "interesting" .
I used this to make a 5" gauge model steam engine:
However, it did involve using the lathe in ways it was never designed for, and if I'd had my Colchester Student lathe I could have built it in a
fraction of the time! I still use the old Zyto though as I built a quick-change toolpost for it, so I can do small jobs really quickly.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 5/3/15 at 01:13 AM |
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Know someone who paid less than 400 for a cl500 and it's fine for steel and alloy, cuts <1.5mm. Just needs good practice top use right.
Certainly nothing like as solid as a 1950s British cast lump but built all the conversion parts for my CNC machine no worries.
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