Amadeal lathes – Any good??

[Mark HallParticipant @markhall37441]

I love my boxford 380IS its s completely different lathe to a Chinese import a friend had an armadeal lathe & he sold it after using my boxford. He said he did not realise what he was missing untill he used the boxford 380IS, he now had a boxford STS. Mini lathes are good to learn on but they have far to many draw backs, are hard work & simply not up to the job, a cheaper used British lathe is x10 the quality of a import

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I suppose to some extent it depends what the job is. Certainly a Mini-lathe would not be the ideal choice for a 1/3rd scale traction engine but they are capable of making smaller models.

My own Chinese import was bought for the job of model engineering specifically stationary steam, IC, hot air, etc. 58 engines and counting suggests to me it is upto that job.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Even though I agree with you Mark you are brave putting your head above the parapet!!!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Would also be interested to see what the 380IS looks like as I’ve not heard of that one before, only 250, 280 and 330 versions.

[Mark HallParticipant @markhall37441]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Apologies it was a typing error, I ment boxford 330IS, it has a 13″ swing & 30″ between the centers but could be a bit big for some but another one I can recommend is a boxford TH10.20 (just sold this yesterday on ebay) it’s alot smaller than the 330is but would be a better option than mini lathe & while it’s small enough it is very rigid & you won’t have any issues with parting off. I added a power feed to this with a hand controller </p>

[Mark Hall]

On Mark Hall Said:

I added a power feed to this with a hand controller </p>

How do you disengage the leadscrew/fed shaft when it is not being used? Also is it just a feed screw or or ELS that can do screwcutting etc.

At least a mini-lathe will screw cut and has power feed as standard😂

[Mark HallParticipant @markhall37441]

To use it manually yes you can disengage the power feed & and yes with the ELS it can screw cut, my point is there are better alternatives, a mini lathe reminded me of a toy the belt that drives it is extrealy thin ,I’ve owned 2 mini/import  lathes one was a clarke CL300M with 300mm between centers then being nieve & listening to recommendations i brought a import with 750mm between centers thinking because it was larger it would be more rigid , it wasnt & they were both awful to use, yes they can do what you need albeit badly & very slowly with chatter ,they are underpowered & not rigid at all but i agree they have there place because they are good to learn on, I have since sold the TH10.20 & now have it’s bigger brother the 330IS but all the x10 series are better options & can be found used for the same price as a import/mini lathe. They have a larger capacity, D1-3 spindle nose, you can take large roughing cuts of needed, there is no flex in the tool post or any of the parts ,it won’t fall apart as they don’t have plastic parts & they will last you another 40 years of daily use & you won’t have to be looking for upgrades like mini lathe owners do trying to fix there shortcomings, I waisted alot of money not to mention my time on inferior mini lathes & should of just brought the largest lathe that would fit in the space I had at the time. Buy once cry once I should of learnt. I’m in the Gloucestershire area if you want to try out a boxford 10 series lathe to see the difference , my 330IS only cost me £700. The gearbox is like new , the TH10.20 was £400 but it will cost another £120 for the ELS. You can get great deals on used lathes both mine came from sellers who inherited them & and accepted the offer I sent. The downside is there weight 300Kg-400Kg depening on model but both mine were be shipped on a standard pallet with palletline ( they have tailifts) they lathe can be removed from its base if needed to reduce the weight. All im saying is they offer a whole lot more than a mini lathe can dream of as you get more for your money.

That said even a BUD has screw cutting & will outperform a mini lathe but after using a modern boxford I sold my BUD to get the TH10.20.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Discussions about Chinese machinery versus secondhand “British” have been done to death on this forum, and no doubt elsewhere too.

The biggest elephant in the room (there are several here) Mark has ignored in his enthusiastic resurrection of this thread is the completely unequal availability of the two competing classes of machine.

New Chinese machines effectively grow on trees. Someone in the market for one can compare the specs of all those currently on the market, narrow things down to the one he wants, and then click, pay and have it delivered, knowing it will come new and with a warranty, which will protect the buyer in the event of problems revealing themselves in the first few months of ownership.

The situation when buying a secondhand British lathe is utterly different. You can narrow down your choice all you please, but unless the machine you’re after actually comes up for sale, and is an example in good enough condition to be worth buying, and is priced affordably, and you are fortunate enough to be able to travel to see it, then collect it or arrange delivery of it, it will remain just a pipe dream indefinitely.

The most salient passage in Mark’s posts is “You can get great deals on used [presumably he means British] lathes”.

Indeed you can, but if and only if you are either very patient, or lucky, or have oodles of time to go looking at used examples, and, perhaps most crucially, you have the know-how to appraise the condition of a used lathe in all important respects during the relatively brief window you will have to look it over in whatever surroundings it happens to be currently housed in when you go to see it.

Mark has landed on a good used British lathe, but has made the mistake of working backwards from that outcome to a suggestion that buying a used British lathe is a no-brainer inasmuch as you will automatically get a better lathe than a new Chinese alternative and buying one is never going to be any less straightforward.

Sadly, Mark is wrong on both these counts, as innumerable real-life experiences by other buyers less fortunate than he has been bear witness.

 

[moonmanParticipant @moonman]

I have one of their 7″ mini lathes, brushless 600w motor.

I’ve found it good, I suspect they sell the same lathes as everyone else. It’s just a different colour paint job and a new sticker…

However the electrics (where these companies differ) I cannot fault amadeal.

I’ve also needed spares every now and then when I’ve pushed the machine too far, they keep everything in stock. Are always happy to talk on the phone to make sure you get the right bit and delivery is next day.

When I upgrade I will be getting another amadeal machine, no complaints from me at all.

 

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

I suppose to some extent it depends what the job is. Certainly a Mini-lathe would not be the ideal choice for a 1/3rd scale traction engine but they are capable of making smaller models.

My own Chinese import was bought for the job of model engineering specifically stationary steam, IC, hot air, etc. 58 engines and counting suggests to me it is upto that job.

Jason,

I had a look at your youtube channel, and im in awe with your models ! Where do you get the kits for those ?

 

Also, what mill do you have ? Is it the sieg sx3 ? (im considering to add a mill in the coming months)

 

Cheers,

Chris.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Chris, Thanks. Some are from casting kits current and also out of production. Some are scratch built based on old kit drawings, others just scratch built from old patents, engravings, a photo , etc. A few of them are very limited casting sets. Usually just two or three sets cast, I get one in return for doing the pattern work.

All Far Easten machines for me. Warco WM280, SIEG X3 is my main mill and quite similar to the SX3 but without the tiltinghead or brushless motor. I also do the odd bit on a SIEG SX2.7 and the more recent models will have had some parts done on a SIEG KX-3 CNC mill. All upto the job.

[Mark HallParticipant @markhall37441]

 

The most salient passage in Mark’s posts is “You can get great deals on used [presumably he means British] lathes”.

Indeed you can, but if and only if you are either very patient, or lucky, or have oodles of time to go looking at used examples, and, perhaps most crucially, you have the know-how to appraise the condition of a used lathe in all important respects during the relatively brief window you will have to look it over in whatever surroundings it happens to be currently housed in when you go to see it.

Mark has landed on a good used British lathe, but has made the mistake of working backwards from that outcome to a suggestion that buying a used British lathe is a no-brainer inasmuch as you will automatically get a better lathe than a new Chinese alternative and buying one is never going to be any less straightforward.

I agree with you that they are not as easy to come by as a import but they are out there worth looking for & yes you can get a Chinese lathe delivered to you door any time you wish, I also agree that they have a place as they can be good to learn on however using a Chinese lathe is akin to using a 4×4 lump of wood to hit in a 6 inch nail, it will take longer to do, its not pleasent & you will have to faff around doing it but it will get the job done, eventually but its easier to use a better tool for the job & my point is size for size there are much better options out there & people don’t realise what there missing untill they use a more rigid lathe. They can be good for small O/D steel parts & brass I guess but they will flex/break if you push them.

I don’t have this same issue with mini mills they are built far better, i first had a new seig x2 & it did every thing I needed untill I come by a used axminster ZX25M which was larger but had its draw backs as round column mills do & now I have a bridgeport clone a ajax AJT200 but I can still appreciate a mini mills. I just wish they would build mini/import lathes to the same standard perhaps if they were a bit more heavy duty in the same footprint people would not be left wanting more.

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