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August 23, 2013 at 4:39 am #53138
@Arutha wrote:
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.Thanks Paul…just the answer I was looking for !
Best regards,
Randy
August 23, 2013 at 8:38 am #53139The one thing I would say Randy is if ever I need to turn something a little bigger than 5mm in my Wolf Jahn I turn a piece of the material down to 5mm on my vario-lux lathe so I can then fit it into a 5mm collet on the Wolf Jahn. I just recently made a new ball top to hold the handle for a carriage clock, turning this sort of stuff I find much easier with a hand graver and because the base was 6mm I just turned a section of the 6mm brass rod down to 5mm first. There are always ways around problems, its just coming up with the solution that can be taxing
So what did my experience do for you? Will you be buying it?
Paul.August 23, 2013 at 9:29 am #53140Thanks again Paul.
I’m pretty well convinced that I can do what I envision for my watch craft, using the lathe I’m looking at.
I have no desire to turn a case, or to work on clocks, so I just feel that I’m going to be able to cover a lot of work with it.
It is a complete kit…includes the safety pully and centers for using as a turns, has the jacot drum, etc, etc.
It has a three jaw chuck as well.Yes,..you’ve convinced me that this is a safe decision…thank you very much.
All my best,
Randy
August 23, 2013 at 9:43 am #53141Good stuff
Look forward to seeing some pictures and if you do end up with any duplicate 6mm collets I could well be interested in buying them
Paul.August 23, 2013 at 8:59 pm #53142If there are any spare collets…you’ll be 1st on my list !
August 25, 2013 at 8:50 am #53143Well…I got sniped at the last minute..maybe a good thing, as the seller wouldn’t accept returns
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190887690130?ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1435.l2649
Oh well..just keep searching fro another one !
August 25, 2013 at 8:25 pm #53144Randy,
Check out the Sincere lathe and accessories. It is a good machine and is far more affordable than the European lathes and accessories. Boley, Wolf-Jahn and Lorch made great stuff but they went out of business years ago. The Sincere lathe is still made and comes with a cross slide and collet holding drilling tailstock. The gear cutting milling head is around $250.00 and the dividing plates around one or two hundred dollars. The chances are you can’t even find this stuff for the other lathes. For around $50.00 you can get a conversion kit to turn the lathe into a sensative drill press. I have Wolf-Jahn, Lorch, Bergeon, Boley lathes and others and all of them are good machines. The Sincere Lathe is also a good high quality machine and can turn pivots, make gears and do what needs to be done to make watch parts.
davidAugust 26, 2013 at 4:58 am #53145Randy:
Although I have a Levin 8mm which I love, if I had to do it all over again, I would go the Sincere route. By the time you add up all of the costs of tooling up (of which the lathe is negligable), you will easily spend more and get less – and that less (with the exception of three and four jaw chucks) will be used. I think Starrett is still making 8mm collets but when I finished off my set several months ago, the dealers where in a funk because everything was on back order.
However, if you decide to go the used route there is no better time than now as there are so many Horologists in Europe retiring (or even worse) and their stuff is everywhere for sale. Once this glut is over however, that’ll will probably be the end of the market.
If you are a member of NAWCC, they have a great video on the ins-and-outs of buying a used lathe. 728 – HOW TO BUY A WATCHMAKERS LATHE which may be found on their site at Video Resources/Digital Video Archive.
Just my 2 cents…
Good luck!
TomAugust 26, 2013 at 12:14 pm #53146Thanks guys,
I get it, that the Sincere lathes are a good bargain….I’m just really interested in the old lathes for some reason.
I have a few resources that show how to buy a used lathe, etc,..just looking for personal experiences to back up what I see,..what I desire.
I may have to put aside my sentimental “view” and just buy new gear….Thanks to all of you for the encouragement and the insight.
Best,
Randy
August 26, 2013 at 12:38 pm #53147I have to be honest Randy, if I were starting out again I too would buy the Sincere Clocks lathe. Everything is so much cheaper and new! I have bought a few used items that have seen better days, trying to build up a good kit ends up costing a fortune. I am even toying with the idea of selling everything I have and starting again with one of these, if you check out the price of their complete kit I think it still comes out under £1000, try building a complete kit around an old lathe for that!
I am with you on loving the older tools but it does bug me when I could really use a 3 jaw chuck and I don’t have one, or a pivoting attachment and I don’t have one.
Just my 2 cents
Paul.
p.s. this question is for David – how accurate are the sincere clocks collets? have you run a gauge on them?
Paul.August 26, 2013 at 2:04 pm #53148Paul,
I already had collets so I did not buy any from Sincere. The thread on the regular Sincere collets are metric and will not fit the .275-40 tpi standard. When I bought my lathe I had to run a tap into the drawbar hole so it would accept the standard collets. Sincere now offers drawbars to accept the standard WW collets and they may now also offer collets with the standard thread but I don’t know. I do know that the lathe is extremely accurate and produces a beautiful finish. As with any Geneva style lathe they are designed for small parts and should not be pushed past their limit.
davidAugust 27, 2013 at 12:52 am #53149Thanks for the reply David.
I don’t have a set of 8mm collets and it is the one thing that worries me about investing in a Sincere lathe. I would hate to invest and then find out the collets are not up to scratch. I think unless we can speak to someone who has a set to see if they are ok, it could be worth finding a good set of 8mm collets first before buying the lathe. I would have no difficulty making up a drawbar to suit whichever collets I ended up with. So many of the used collets knocking about now have been mistreated and its always a bit of a gamble buying them used unless the seller is willing to accept returns.
Paul.August 27, 2013 at 1:28 am #53150@david pierce wrote:
Paul,
I already had collets so I did not buy any from Sincere. The thread on the regular Sincere collets are metric and will not fit the .275-40 tpi standard. When I bought my lathe I had to run a tap into the drawbar hole so it would accept the standard collets. Sincere now offers drawbars to accept the standard WW collets and they may now also offer collets with the standard thread but I don’t know. I do know that the lathe is extremely accurate and produces a beautiful finish. As with any Geneva style lathe they are designed for small parts and should not be pushed past their limit.
davidDavid,
if I understand this correctly, one can use standard WW-collets in the Sincere lathe by adapting the drawbar. I worried that the collets would also differ in other dimensions than the thread on the drawbar. I would not appreciate to buy all new collets, since I do own WW-collets already.
Thanks for the information.Jan
August 27, 2013 at 4:33 pm #53151Jan,
That is correct. Mine works with standard Starret collets after I retapped the drawbar. When I bought mine they did not offer the .275-40 drawbar thread. It is a fine machine and from what I can tell the only drawback is the stigma attached to it because it is made in China. A German company buys these machines, puts them in a wooden box, jacks the price up, and sells them as a German product. You can see one of these on Youtube.
davidAugust 28, 2013 at 12:40 am #53152@david pierce wrote:
Jan,
That is correct. Mine works with standard Starret collets after I retapped the drawbar. When I bought mine they did not offer the .275-40 drawbar thread. It is a fine machine and from what I can tell the only drawback is the stigma attached to it because it is made in China. A German company buys these machines, puts them in a wooden box, jacks the price up, and sells them as a German product. You can see one of these on Youtube.
davidThanks for the information, I will definitely look into this lathe. Does anyone have any experience in ordering from China and having it shipped to Europe?
Jan
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