Amadeal lathes…

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Hi there, just a little about me..

Ive been an engineer for the past 2 years doing mechanical production and absolutely love the job! I mostly work on a manual milling machine making fixtures for cnc machines and do some manual turning on a large lathe.

I now want to purchase my own mini lathe and turn some custom parts for my air rifles and pla about with it really to improve my skills and knowledge and a few designs I have in the pipeline for some other bits.

Anyways, to the point.. I know that I want one of these two lathes, I know all about other recommendations for a second hand myford etc. etc. but I know this is what I want so please just give me advice on these two.

So basically I was going to go ahead and order the CJ18 mini lathe (http://www.amadeal.co.uk/acatalog/—-span-style–font-size–16px——CJ18—100mm-3jaw—Metric—–span—–AMA_LA_CJ18_M_3JRB.html#SID=2) However I then noticed the 'Bench Lathes' on the Amadeal website and saw the AMA210VG (http://www.amadeal.co.uk/acatalog/—-span-style–font-size–16px——AMA210VG-Lathe-8×16—–span—–AMA_LA_210VGWE.html#SID=5) and could stretch my budget to this to give myself a large working size lathe as many say I should, however I noticed it has a lower powered motor at 450W whereas the CJ18 lathe has a 550W motor? So what benefit would this have to me when turning?

Ive been trying to find a review on the AMA210VG bench lathe but nothing has resulted, so is there anybody with experience here with this particular lathe?

I dont know whether to go with the larger lathe or the lathe with a more powerful motor? Also due to the fact that the CJ18 lathe has a large amount of positive reviews…

Help me please!

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Sorry, Jack

I can't be of any help, except to bump this thread so it doesn't get lost.

MichaelG.

[herbert punterParticipant @herbertpunter99795]

I have had a CJ18 for a couple of years and it's ok but obviously as a mini lathe it has limited capability. The limits are set by the motor power and the rigidity. That said I'm happy with it apart from the crappy flimsy chuck guard which I must get round to sorting out. If I had the space I'd probably get a Warco 240 or 250 but I don't. I can't speak for the other one you mention because I've never seen one.

I hope this helps a little

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

For making air rifle parts you're not going to need high power but you will need accuracy. The bigger lathe is much heavier so is likely to be much more rigid. That will help you to get the accuracy, although it is mostly up to the user rather than the machine.

Can't speak for personal experience of either machine.

Russell.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

For the money, I would personally be looking at the Seig Super C3 sold by Arc-Euro.

Big advantage with the Seig is that it uses a brushless DC motor, I believe the Amadeal still utilises the older brushed DC motors which are not great at low speed. Torque and power are much more consistent throughout the range with a brushless motor.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

bench lathe clicky minilathe clicky

Even though it doesn't come witha 4-jaw and some other bits will eventually be required it is still best to put every last penny into the base machine and wait for the extras. Bigger is better to start with as it difficult to make it grow with just water and fertiliser even in a mild spring.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Have you seen this thread from last week It looks to be the same machine,

Don't forget delivery charges.

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

I am an owner of a AMA210 and so far I've been very pleased with it ,although if you consider that my previous machine was a Taig/Peatol then the only way is up.

I made this with it.

I have also turned a few chunks of hydraulic shaft in it for my Brother in laws agi machinery business and cut quite a few threads both external and internal. Motor torque does'nt seem to be a problem it's more likely that the belt will slip first, just bear in mind that it's a small lathe and treat it accordingly.

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Thankyou for all the replies! I wasnt expecting so many so I am very grateful. I have looked at the Sieg Super C3 before, and with this particular lathe I noticed it had less swing over the bed compared to the AMA210, was a lot lighter and the dimensions of the total size was a lot lighter/ smaller so thought the rigidity would be bad in comparison and also it does not have a thread dial indicator and the optional accessory one you can buy is not able to fit to it? Also a lot of the upgrades available for it are mostly out of stock and I don't know if that usually happens and they will quickly come back in but didnt want to take my chances..

Finally, a real owner of the AMA210… Thankyou for your reply Tim Chambers, how long have you owned the machine and have you had any problems with it? I havent seen one review for it or any other actual information apart from the Amadeal website?

Thankyou for all the replies, greatly appreciated!

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

If working on firearms and fitting sound moderators etc. you will certainly need an independant 4 jaw chuck.

When threading the barrel you need to dial in the bore not the outside of the barrel. They are seldom in the center and you will always have some run out with a 3 jaw anyway.

Don't forget to save some money for tooling and measuring kit. This can often account for as many coins as the initial lathe purchase and without them you will have a pretty looking piece of metal (the lathe) on your bench and not be able to do any 'proper' work with it.!

Have a browse of the ARC Eurotrade site. (link box on the right hand side of this site) Then have a phone call with Ketan the owner. He's a good guy and will most probably do you an attractive package deal on kit.

Nick

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by Jack C on 15/02/2015 14:53:45:

also it does not have a thread dial indicator

You will also most probably be best with an imperial machine for threading. – Many threads on even the european guns are imperial.

e.g. 'Proper' sound moderators are nearly always a 1/2 inch x 20 thread. Larger ones have a larger thread. But still imperial.

Nick

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Thanks for the reply Nick, but I have taken into account the price of tooling etc. and have about £200 left for that so should be no problem and I was going to be making slip-on sliencers that sit over the barrel with the use of a grub screw but thanks anyway!

Also, in case you were wondering, the thread indicator I need for metric threads I will be turning for the other projects I'm currently working on..

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

I was originally looking at the mini-lathe and went to Bristol Mex to view machines about 2 years ago. While I was looking at the mini-lathe on the Amadeal stand a complete stranger suggested that it lacked rigidity in the crosslide area. The rep on the Amadeal stand told me it had already been sold and if I wanted a lathe to take home with me "The 210 is still for sale." I looked it over and could see that it was a much more solid looking machine and the price was acheivable. A couple of weeks later I ordered one from Amadeal with a four jaw chuck, faceplate,quick change tool post, livecentre and drill chuck. Including delivery it came to £985 , ordered Thursday morning,delivered Friday noon. My lathe came without the thread dial indicator, so I used the stop,backout and reverse method for screwcutting initially but when I ordered some extra tool holders from Amadeal they sent me a TDI foc.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Tim,

That's an interesting comment on mini-lathes. I won't deny that the "generic 8×16 lathes" are a fair bit beefier than mini-lathes, but cross-slide rigidity is not a criticism I have ever seen levelled at them before. The Mini-lathe cross-slide has ample bearing surfaces and is a hefty chunk of metal.

Neil

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Ok thanks for the input TIm, and think I'll bite the bullet and purchase the 210 so thankyou for all the help and I will post an update and maybe a review once I have got some use out of it for the benefit of anyone else who is struggling for information!

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/02/2015 15:41:30:

Hi Tim,

That's an interesting comment on mini-lathes. I won't deny that the "generic 8×16 lathes" are a fair bit beefier than mini-lathes, but cross-slide rigidity is not a criticism I have ever seen levelled at them before. The Mini-lathe cross-slide has ample bearing surfaces and is a hefty chunk of metal.

Neil

It was probably one of those "Ex (hasbeen) Spurts (drip under pressure)".

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Went to go order the AMA210VG and now its out of stock typical..

Anyone know how to get in contact with Amadeal, did send a message before and left my email to get a reply, which never got a reply over a week ago and also tried to call which again came to no answer. This was to get information which I appealed for on here and now I want to know when the lathe will be back in stock to order…

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Have tried to access Amadeal website.. 'cannot display page' message comes up.. googled Amadeal UK.. same message.. site seems to be having probs today.. any one else tried it?

George

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

I just double checked and I can access it fine, no problems here…

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Hello Jack.

If you have no luck with Amadeal, or are faced with a long wait for them to be back in stock, then you could try SPG Tools in Hinckley. They offer the same lathe as the Amadeal 210, SPG call it the SP2109 and appear to have it in stock at the moment, and with a useful saving in price. I have no connection with SPG or any other supplier.

Most of the other suppliers such as Chester, Toolco and Warco do a similar version of it, and with varying prices and accessories included. But the Amadeal and SPG versions are just about identical in that they both have a geared high and low speed range, controlled from a knob on the front of the headstock, in addition to variable speed control. I think most of the other versions have a high and low range selected by swapping drive belt positions, also with variable speed.

I did see Amadeal at the Harrogate Engineering show a few years ago, but they haven't attended since, has anyone seen them at other shows?

Edited By Lathejack on 15/02/2015 21:21:50

[ASFParticipant @asf]

Contacted them last week twice via ebay site both times they returned emails quickly

Here is a link to their ebay account

**LINK**

I have one of their mills and its been as good as gold

[blackcat smithParticipant @blackcatsmith57530]

Phone them..I collected a milling table from them before Christmas ..good stuff!

[John DurrantParticipant @johndurrant47282]

I have an AMA210 and find it quite capable of the work I do. You will also need a four jaw chuck and (I wish I had one) a fixed steady.

The accuracy is very good but it will need to be well supported. I have mine bolted on to a workbench made with a 4 x 2 timber frame bolted together, with a worktop made of three 22mm floor panels glued and screwed together.

I turned a test bar by gripping a 30mm dia by 150mm long bar in the three jaw chuck and taking very light cuts over 125mm length with no centre support. It was parallel to within a couple of tenths with hardly any movement at all on a dial gauge. I turned and drilled two and I'm using them as squares on the mill.

[Jack CParticipant @jackc59137]

Thankyou for these replies. And thankyou lathejack for the alternative amadeal lathe in stock at spgtools! Now Im caught up in which to go for in total Im looking to spend £900 aprox. including the lathe and all its tooling (tailstock chuck, carbide tip tools with inserts, revolving centre, quick change tool post etc.)

The ama210vg I would look to spend £700 on the lathe then the last £200 on the tooling which works out to a total of £900 or the sieg c3 super that would be £600 for the lathe then the last £300 for all the upgrades to the lathe such as metal gears, brass gibs set, bearing changes etc. to improve all accuracy.

Do I go for the bigger, bulkier ama210vg/ sp2109 or the sieg super c3 with a large amount of backing/ upgrades available….

I want to order by tomorrow so all opinions/ advice would be great!!

Thankyou!

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