hobbymat

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

hi are hobby mat lathes any good I only want to make stuff for my model boat enough special £220 good price good or would you buy a new one lathe

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

I had one some time ago and thought they were pretty good for this size of lathe. Like all though they can wear so when buying it's best to try them. They use a very fine threaded lead screw and an unusual way of setting the play in the saddle and tailstock. Sometimes they are adjusted incorrectly which can cause problems in the lead screw area – stripping the nut that runs on the lead screw.

Some of them use a top hat style toolpost where the tool is clamped directly to the top of the compound slide. If over tightened it can crack the top of the slide. When I sold mine I was accused of selling it like that but it was fine when it went.

One fault I found was when the screw cutting was used for long periods. There is a dog clutch on the end of the leadscrew and it can develop burrs which prevent it from meshing correctly. It's easy to clean up now and again with a file.

That's about it really other than it's best to buy one that comes with the bits and pieces that you need. They often don't have the full set of change wheels with them and nothing but the 3 jaw chuck.

John

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[AlanWParticipant @alanw96569]

I had a Hobbymat for years until up-sizing last year. I've done some quite demanding work on it at times and it always coped quite well. The only disappointment for me was the lack of capacity for milling; it can do small work OK but only light cuts are advised because the 'D' shaped bed lacks the rigidity of a flat or prism bed. I did have to replace the leadscrew nut, probably for the reason given by John. You can also expect some backlash in the cross-slide leadscrew but even my brand new Warco has that. The motor has plenty of grunt, even at only 250W. I can't say the same for my much larger dc-motored Warco; I can stall that easily at low revs.

Alan

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

My first lathe was a Hobbymat MD65 that I bought new in about 1989 or 1990, I think it was just over £300, they were produced in East Germany as it was then.

They were very well made without any manufacturing faults or sloppy assembly, and came correctly adjusted and ready for action, I quite liked it.

As well as spare gears, drill chuck, a few tools and spare back plate, they also came equipped with an angle plate and vice. The angle plate was put in place of the topslide, the topslide was then bolted to the vertical face of the angle plate with the vice bolted to the topslide. This formed a vertical slide so light milling could be carried out.

They have just four spindle speeds, and I think the lowest was 250 RPM, but I seem to recall there was a slow speed attachment offered as an optional extra.

Mine had the quirky circular tool post, but at the time it was my first lathe and everything was just fine as it was. It was used to make small petrol engines, and produced cylinder barrels, pistons and crankcases with relative ease.

Edited By Lathejack on 18/03/2016 13:14:48

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

There not bad lathes for there size but make sure the castings etc. are not cracked through over clamping or wrong adjustments.

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