Welcome Rob.

You've opened a can of worms asking about the Adept lathe lol.

Some love em, some loathe em, some refer to them as boat anchors.

I have two waiting to be renovated, not to use as I have much better machines in my main shop. But they look good in the house.

Regards mick

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what do you plan on using it for ? Don’t forget it was the lowest priced lathe of its period some 70+ years ago – repainted it will probably look good as an ornament but as a serious lathe no way.

I don’t have an adapt but I do have one of its competitors a flexispeed student – but I have a WM180, a Perris Me90 and also a Taig – the latter is probably the most usable cheap lathe I’ve seen, the Perris is the precursor to the now very expensive Cowells

Given sufficient time and some expertise the adapt can probably produce acceptable small scale work but it depends on what the OP envisages using it for.

How do You rate the WM180?

I am asking as I am trying to improve one with a much bigger spindle and VFD.

Am I wasting my very precious last years on a painted tart?

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I have been using a WM180 for about 18 months. It replaced a Chinese mini-lathe as my 'house lathe' and is a much better machine. I have discovered that at least two other members of Epping Forest Horology Club also have WM180's and it does indeed offer the basis for a very inexpensive and useful clock makers lathe at about one third the price of a clapped out Swiss Schaublin which has less facility. It's yet another case of "horses for courses". I have a Colchester Master but the WM180 is ideal for late night use in a corner of my conservatory and raises no objections from the management!

To Niels question of whether he is wasting his time trying to improve his 180 I woud say that he is because when he 'falls off the perch' it will go straight in the skip as a piece of ruined junk. The WM180 is what it is,…either get busy maing stuff or get another, better, bigger lathe.

For me the WM180 would take a lot of beating…in fact there is no equal in it's class for what I require,..it comes with a couple of nice chucks, is resonably well designed (much better than mini-lathe) and performs well inside it's capability. The only issue for me is that I require some specific clock making kit which has to be made up, but I have just cut a clock fusee by turning the chuck by hand with cross slide screw removed and I delighted with how it went as it could not have been simpler and would have been impossible on a Swiss lathe without VERY expensive accessories

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This bloke who does 'Ade's Workshop' on yutube uses a WM180 and has made a few improvements including his current project od electronic feed motor;

The lack of cross slide slots was teh one thing that made me pause for thought before aquiring the 180 and I will admit that i considered an old myford,…however, I wanted to make clocks not refurbish clapped out lathes.