I started out with an Einhell Minilathe and then moved on to a Hobbymat with milling head.

The Hobbymat is more rigid and better finished but is slightly smaller. The headstock is MT2 and around 12mm bore. The Minilathe has MT3 and around 19mm bore. The low speed kit for the Hobbymat is still available but the tumbler reverse if you want it would have to be found secondhand. Other accessories may also be harder to find.

What are you intending to make, this my help guide your decision?$

Best regards

Roger

I had a Hobbymat MD65 for a while and found the bed design somewhat lacking. The milling head can also suffer from stripped gears, so be careful if you're buying one. I'd go for the Warco, as parts and accessories will be much easier to find.

Edited By Gordon Tarling on 27/09/2017 09:48:03

Is there a specific reason you want the new version of the mini-lathe Martin? As Dave says, it could be a while before any appear second-hand – although it is worth checking if Warco have any ex-demo at their open days (there is one in November), my son's mini lathe came that way with enough of a saving to pay for its tooling.

Apart from the brushless motor, the rest of the improvements can be easily retro-fitted to a second-hand lathe if you find you actually need them. (I fitted a speed readout like this **LINK** for less than a tenner including a case).

One problem with the old model's 80mm chuck is that it has a smaller bore than the headstock, so an 80mm or 100mm 4-jaw with a larger bore is a useful addition – at least with the mini-lathe, accessories like chucks, steadies, quick-change toolposts and milling slides are readily available, as well as the full range of spares.

Brian