Denford Viceory TDS 1/1 GBL lathe

[sean logieParticipant @seanlogie69385]

Hi, I’m looking at this lathe and wondering if it was worth buying. They do seem to get a decent writer up on the Lathes UK site.  Anyone one on here have or know about these lathes , I have a choice of 3 ,2 have threading capability

[Richard BParticipant @richardb44403]

I have a very late model – the headstock casting is square not inclined like earlier versions and it’s metric.

I bought it from a friends father who only used it for model engineering and it had lots of tooling.

I have added a Tesla vfd drive and it greatly improved the machine as previously it was a bit underpowered I thought.

Denford used to be with Boxford and when he set up DMT he improved many area’s on his lathe and directed sales to educational establishments especially schools. So some had an easier life than others I guess !

I think it’s a good sturdy machine and serves me well. The nose thread is the same as Boxfords.

The numbering can be confusing !

I have a TDS 1/GB which has a full s/c gearbox and in addition both long and cross powerfeeds.

The L in the number you note I understand means long bed version.

As with all lathes wear is the important factor to look for. A good one is an excellent machine and often cheaper than Boxfords which are better known and much more robust than Myfords (which can also be much overpriced as a go to name).

I would try and get as many unique accessories as possible such as steadies, change wheels, boring table, vertical slide (if required) etc included with sale as not so readily available as say Myfords etc.

[sean logieParticipant @seanlogie69385]

Thanks Richard ,the lathe in question is an ex education version

[onionParticipant @onion]

I  have owned a Viceroy TDS lathe for 25 years and have had a similar user experience to Richard. I bought it as a beginners lathe as it was ex-school and was little used. I converted it to single phase and I have been very satisfied with the machine.

The Denford website has a Viceroy users forum which also has user manuals, manufacturing drawings available.

neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Richard mentioned the compatibility with Boxford. Just to save you a possible mistake in the future the Boxford nose is Whitworth thread and the Southbends are UNC so chucks etc do not interchange.

[Richard BParticipant @richardb44403]

From the Denford drawing no ML 100/1 the thread is 1 1/2” x 8 55deg Whit form – just to confirm.

[sean logieParticipant @seanlogie69385]

Just to update this post , I ended up finding a Harrison L5 mk2  lathe much closer to home with all the accessories so no doubt I’ll be asking for advice on said lathe in the coming weeks 😊, unfortunately for me the Harrison is 3 phase so will have to find a suitable VFD . Any recommendations on a QC toolpost  and what size to get .Also  should I start a new post for the Harrison lathe ?

Sean

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