"Best" Manual lathe "ever" made?

[stev]

I agree that Hardinge HLV, Monarch 10EE and Rivett 1020/1030, Weiler, Schaublin but I mostly agree with JimK on the 1000EE!
I even know where one is for less than $6k!
All lathes are great if they get the job done, but I like the rivett and 10ee style the best.
Stev

 

[Mike C.]

Although I have never had my hands on any of these exact machines, my dream list is, in no particular order:

14" Lodge And Shipley toolroom lathe
14" Hendey toolroom lathe
14" 27spd American Pacemaker

The L&S and Hendey I would want late 40s models so the spindle speed would be up high enough to be useful.

I am looking for one of these to round out my collection adn provide an in between for the Jet and the big 18" L&S.

I would not turn down a EE, HLV, Rivett, or P&W, though.

 

[matt_isserstedt]

The Monarch EE's spindle drive is what is truly hypnotizing (despite other nice features of incredible rigidity and mass)....the carriage wings span about half of the bedway....

You can be zinging along at 2-3Krpms and "stop" and the spindle stops in what seems like 4 turns with no squealing or any other noise that belies the "G" forces at work. It's like magic...really nothing else to compare to that you can stand next to, spinning along, and watch it stop that fast.

On the flip side, as fast as you can turn the speed control dial, the spindle is accelerating.

I will say that a Colchester 8000 series (13" and 15") while by no means an ultimate anything, has lots of desirable features...fast, slow, powerfeed kickout on a solid stop, reasonable power but nice accuracy, E/M threading and dual E/M dials as an option. The larger sizes in 17+ just don't have the beef in the headstock of comparable Monarchs and L&S lathes, though.

I've always been impressed by the sheer beef of a DS&G, just never touched one up close.

-Matt

 

[rmsfla]

I have seven lathes in my shop and reasons for each one.
For precision ,I like the Monarch"EE" just as well as the Hardinge HLVH for it's quickness of threading
The Lodge&Shipley "Sixty Series" for the heaver turning/boring ..takes very heavy cutting.. chips the size of your thumb..
The 32"Gap x120" Mauser for the spindle's big thru hole and with the1/4 to the inch threading in conjunction with the special indexing threading fixture I'm able to cut the multiple thread lead screws.
The two Standard Modern 17x54...13x40 w/turret for the "all round" lathe work.
It's just too hard for me to choose just ONE LATHE!!!
RUN THE MACHINES AND YOU'LL COME UP WITH YOUR FAVORITE TOO!!
P.S.
JimK..Do you still have 3 lodge & shipley lathe or are they W S lathes? ...I don't remember
Regards,
Robbie

 

[Jeremy]

Andrychow TUG-40 17X80 lathe. First large metal lathe I ever used and loved it. Such a solid machine. They didn't spare the iron making that puppy.

 

[Brett by Portland]

Well, the two in my shop are , at least for me near the top of the food chain:

Holgrook H-15 15x36 with taper attachment, lead screw reverse with micrometer stops, 1 lever change to go to Metric threading, fully covered ways, 2" spindle hole, 22-1500 rpm with one lever to shift the 16 speeds, unGodly repeatability and rigidity due to it's 6700lbs of cast iron and heat treated steel. Plows metal off so hard that the chips sound like coil springs when they hit the floor, but can dust off the tenths with a sharp tool, clutches that actuate with a pinkie finger. Tony at lathes UK said they were very expensive when new, and very high class machines; I agree. I also can't imagine even dreaming of a better machine, at least for what I do.

Pre-war Rivett 1020 toolroom lathe, 10x20", taper attachment, lead screw reverse w/micro stops, 5c collets direct in spindle, 9 sliding way surfaces that the carriage is supported on, precision everywhere, a little kooky to run, pleasing to the eye unique and ridiculously complex/precise/rigid and costly-to-build design, and only 20 or so ever made.

Come over and see them if in the area, Brett in Vancouver,WA

 

[Shuswap Pat]

As I was finishing my apprenticship, I got to run a BRAND NEW DS&G 17 x 60. It was the same price as the 30 year old 3 bedroom houses I was looking at. What a beautiful machine. I also ran Hardinge, and VDF. I was spoiled.

 

[JS]

Pratt & Whitney

Monarch

Summit

Brazil (( made in Brazil ))

 

[Forrest Addy]

I don't know why we need to limitt the lathe size to 15 x 40 but OK.

Several have posted that different needs establish requirments ofr different lathe construction. If I couldn't have a Monarch EE I'd take a 10 x 30 Nardini in a heartbeat.

If I couldn't have a 1992 (last year made) 17 x 60 Monarch engine lather I'd take a Caseneuve or Cadillac,(both French), DSG, Rebuild L&S Turnmaster, American Pacemaker, etc. Adding Okuma (how could I forget Okuma?)

If I wanted more beef I'd go with Axelson or the Monarch HD series they came out with in 65 or so. I could do anything small and delicate on a 18" Axelson that I could on a EE but it would be slow and awkward. Same goes for rough work where a lot of stock has to be removed. The EE doesn't shine in this mode of operation but the Axelson does.

So the answer to the question posed is: it depends.

[ 10-27-2005, 04:19 PM: Message edited by: Forrest Addy ]

 

[alwyn]

DSG would have been a lot better if they had put a decent cross slide on,instead they put short one to make room for the power drilling attachment and traveling steady,the cross slide is only about 8" long and very prone to wear,
still a good lathe,and easy to use,
The DSG T means tool room these are built to a higher spec,hard bedways,inch/metric screwing ect,
Holbrook,s are highly rated over this side,never used one myself,but they tell me they are a better lathe than a dsg,

 

[tnmgcarbide]

ikegai.

 

[motorworks]

My vote goes to:

15" and under:

COLCHESTER 15 X 50
Best all round machine.
Cuts all the threads that you may come across in a repair/rebuild shop without gear changes.
(Standard, metric, pipe, etc.)
Very nicely placed controls.
Just a pleasure to use!

18" to 20"

Nothing beats a Tos Sn50, but the Lion comes very close!
e

 

[Bigfoot]

Alwyn,
The cross slide on my DSG 1307 is 24" long, the full width of the saddle.

I mostly leave the power drilling attachment 'parked' on the rear of the cross slide, easy to slide on to centre when needed.

I guess all these top end lathes have one thing in common, and that is that they are a joy to use.

Kevin

 

[bluchip]

Those Monarchs.....MMMMMMM

But that Colchester......crummy handles, mickey mouse carraige controls, barely enuf clutch, but that big a%#$ spindle hole...don't how many times had repair jobs that all of the "finest" lathes listed here (especially US style lathes) couldn't do because of that dinky lil spindle hole....that Colchester with those gaping spindle holes will swallow the work right up. No need for steadies or centers. Throw that shaft or bar in there and go. And remember, big spindle hole means big bearings...on both ends of spindle...no other way around it.

Spin Doctor

On the Mill side of the equation

K&T's rotary heads
BP's for their overall user freindliness
Cincinatti's Horizontals. In a pinch they make a heck of a horizontal boring mill
DeVlieg Jig Mill's
And of course the Deckel. Not that I have ever run one but it looks to have loads of utility in a small footprint.

DeVlieg MMMMMMMMM Nuthin finer. What a treat it was to see them making them in Royal Oak. Masterpieces. Make mine a 4K72.

 

[Davis In SC]

My vote is for a 15 or 17 inch Colchester, I cut my teeth on a 17, spent thousands of hours on it...

 

[Michael Moore]

17x33 is not far off of 15x40 (actually, at 561 it is smaller than 600) so I'll mention that my Mori Seiki MS850G seems pretty nice. The SAG12 a friend has includes some interesting features which would be nice to have.

But my experience on running different lathes is so limited I can really only base my opinions on what I can glean from reading about the different lathes.

There sure seem to be a number of lathes out there that fall in the category of "more than nice enough for most people".

cheers,
Michael

 

[donie]

Probably no absolute perfection in any machine. This 1983 special order Monarch 10EE inch/Metric lathe is very nice.

http://www.metalworking.com/DropBox/_2003_retired_files/Don%20006.jpg

The combination geared together Inch/Metric dials are smooth operating. A threading stop is incorperated in the cross feed dial.

http://www.metalworking.com/DropBox/_2003_retired_files/Don%20007.jpg

Switching from inch to metric threading is instant with no loose change gears, just move a couple of levers.
Overall sensitive but solid feel to the machine.

 

[alwyn]

Bigfoot
The cross slide is the part that moves,or thats what i,am talking about,are you talking about the length of the ways?,yes 24" is about right,
The cross slide on my lathe was so badly worn,and the ways on top of the saddle,i made a new cross slide,and re machined the 24" ways on a cnc mill,biggish job, the cross slide is 16"long 1 3/8 thick, made from high grade cast iron plate,
It,s given the lathe a new life.

 

[Yoyo1]

What about the whacheon or hwacheon manual lathe ?

 

[machinistrrt]

Monarch 16x30 model 610 or 612. Kinda like an EE that grew up. Then a Model 60. An EE for the small stuff. I have a Model C at home, not as convenient to operate as the other three, but works like a Monarch should.
The Leblond Regal with that toolsteel way insert is interesting but I thought it was light compared to the Monarchs.