lathe tests

[chameleonrob]

hi all
does anybody have a list, or a website with one, of tests to determine how good a lathe is when looking to buy one? and how much bed wear is exceptable as the lathe I'm thinking of is a little tighter at the tailstock end, but you can only notice it when you concentrate on it. I'm looking for something around 5" centre height as some swarf got stuck in the gears to the saddle traverse handle when on auto feed, with the result that the apron snapped in two, although it is (has been) repairable i'm taking it as the point to upgrade from a free to good home 3" ch light duty lathe as some of the jobs I did on it were anything but light.

rob

[starspider]

Hi Rob
Try this link maybe what you need.
www.lathes.co.uk/page2.html
colin

[rustmagnet]

try

www.mermac.com/advicenew.html

I updated my lathe from a Chinese Chester 920 to a Harrison M300! It was ex college, cost £850 with 4jaw, 3jaw, faceplate and steadies. It looked rough and at the tailstock end it was fractionally tighter, but what a machine!!
It takes off huge amounts of metal and is accurate beyond belief.
When all is said and done I wish I would have started with this machine but I am glad I saw reason in the end.
p.s. Don't let anyone put you off phase converters to work in conjunction with 3 phase machines.

Regards