Buying lathe parts seperately

[randy]

Can anyone tell me the risk of buying a lathe bed, tailstock, headstock seperately ?
From the same maker of course.
I would think that there could be an alingment risk,..but if the parts I source look to be clean and ” gently used”, would I be “ok”?

I’m at the point of diving in,..and I see that I might be able to put one together more economically if I sourced the separate parts .

Thanks ( in advance ) for the counseling

Randy

[david pierce]

Randy,
When you purchase a used lathe there is always more of a risk on getting a machine with problems. A high end lathe like a new Derbyshire, Levin or Bergeon will reduce the risk but they are expensive. I own a lot of lathes and from personal experience have seen fewer problems with used Wolf Jahn Geneva lathes than any of the others. I also bought a used Bergeon but those come up for sale once in a blue moon. If I were just jumping into this now and wanted to work only on watches, I would buy a new Sincere. I bought a new one and it was perfect out of the box. The machine is affordable, has great features and has all of the accessories you will ever need.
david

[randy]

Thanks again David for your insight and suggestions.
My budget is tight, but I know that I need to purchase decent tools as well.
I’ll look again at the Sincere line of lathes, and the Wolf-Jahn’s as well.

Best regards,
Randy

[arutha]

Hi Randy,
just to add my two cents worth, I know where you are coming from on this as I did what you are suggesting when I first started. I bought a lorch 6mm geneva headstock bed and foot from one guy, tails stock from someone else and collets from someone else again. It didnt actually work out any cheaper and I then sold it to buy almost a full kit. If I had to do it again I would save my money until I could afford to buy a near as you can complete kit. When you take into account the price of individual collets now I think this would be cheaper in the long run.
David knows his stuff on lathes and if he says the sincere lathes are good then you can bet they are, would be well worth considering one of these as the add ons are so much cheaper and they are new. If in the mean time you see a kit you like on e-bay then go for it
Paul.

[randy]

Thanks Paul….
I have my eye on a nice set-up. minus collets.
I think that I will be able to get it, but was thinking around my options.
Lots of them,.and some very good advice for me to ponder as I go forward.

Take care !

Randy

[david pierce]

Randy,
If you go to Youtube and type in you will see a Sincere Lathe cutting a gear. If you type in or just , you will see a Vector Lathe in a wooden box along with many of the accessories. The Vector Lathe is the same lathe as the Sincere Lathe but is shipped to Germany, put in a wooden box and marketed as a product that has been “finished” in Germany. It costs a lot more than the Sincere lathe but no one ever explained what the Germans actually did to the lathe other than put it in a wooden box and raise the price. I too have read the comments about the lathe such as “it is ok considering that it is made in China”, and “cheap Chinese junk” etc. These comments are not true. I own a Bergeon and a Sincere and they are both excellent, high precision lathes. The Sincere is basically a copy of the Bergeon but the bed on the Sincere is a couple of millimeters larger in diameter than the Bergeon. It comes standard with a high precision cross slide and a lever operated collet holding tailstock that lines up on center with the headstock. When I bought mine the price was $450.00. The gear cutting/milling attachment costs $245.00 extra. For about $50.00 a sensative drilling kit will turn the lathe into a sensative drill press. It is sold on Ebay under “watchmaker lathes”. If you buy everything at once you can have what is essantially a complete watchmaking machine shop for around $2000.00 dollars. If you go to “OTTO FREI” and look up the price for the same lathe and accessories with a Bergeon the price is about $40,000.00 dollars.

[randy]

Thanks David,
I did look them up, and I am considering them.
They look to be nicely finished, and you obvious knowledge of lathes is very helpful.

Thanks again for the help – input !
Best regards,

Randy

[achipo]

If you’re considering used, I highly recommend Keith Williamson of Online Watch Tools. He has great integrity, carries top-notch used tools priced fairly, knows his stuff, and is willing to share his knowledge freely. I bought a nearly complete used Leinen Reform kit on eBay. It was in great shape, but was missing its tailstock. Keith pointed me to one listed on eBay and got nothing out of the deal. As a result it turned out great, but I could still be searching for a tailstock that would work. Piecing together a precision lathe is risky, takes time, and by the time you’re done, you will likely spend more than if you’d bit the bullet and gotten a clean complete set. I got lucky, you can too, but you may not.

Here’s a link to Keith’s site. I understand he’s in the process of moving, so he may be slower to respond than usual.
http://www.watchtoolsonline.com/main.sc

[randy]

ACHiPo,

Thanks for the link.
I think that I saw this once before , and forgot about it.
Looks like he has some nice gear, with great prices.
I’ll be sure to contact him,…looks lie all his lathes are currently sold,.but I’ll verify.

Best regards,

Randy

[achipo]

Give Keith a call. Like I said I heard he’s moving his shop so I’m guessing he hasn’t added new stuff for a while. He can also put together a turn-key kit for you, which is what I planned to do before I found the Reform.

[randy]

I’ll be sure to do that !

R

[david pierce]

Randy,
Go to Ebay and look at item number .
david

[randy]

OK…I may be a complete nutcase,….but I’m really enamored with a Wolf-Jahn Geneva style 6mm lathe that I’ve found.
Being sold by a clockmaker who just uses his 8mm more,..and attests that it’s tight and true.
A nice kit,..but no returns. It looks to be in very nice shape, but some parts in the kit need some light steel wool/oil attention given.
I’m just driven to by an older lathe, and I do not see myself doing case work, or heavy turning in the near future that would lead me to an 8mm.

Am I completely mad ????

David,..I’ve seen where you say you have a 6mm W-J,..and like it…yes ?

Thanks everyone, for your patience above all else.
Randy

[arutha]

Hi Randy,
I have a 6mm wolf Jahn and have been using it for a couple of years now. I love it
The collets only go up to 5mm as opposed to 6mm on the 8mm lathe. This has never caused me an issue. The only problem I have found is parts don’t come up as often for 6mm lathes and when they do they are usually a touch more expensive.
With an 8mm lathe you can easily get a 3 or 4 jaw chuck brand new to fit, you wont be so lucky with a 6mm, if you do see a used one on e-bay its going to be expensive and most probably quite worn. Cross slides are expensive for either size lathe.
Paul.

[gerene]

David,

the sincere lathe really does look nice and affordable. I appreciate your knowledge about lathes and if you consider this lathe as being good then I can trust it will be. I would like to know what size collets are used and if they are interchangeable with for instance WW-collets used on Sherline and so. After all collets are a considerable investment when buying a watchmaker’s lathe.

Regards,

Jan

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