Taig Lathe

[bernie weishapl]

Well the deal for the taig lathe for $230 fell thru. Seems like his brother decided he wanted it at the last minute. Anyway decided I would take a look on ebay and see what was happening there. I bid on two used taig lathes with some accessories most of which I wouldn’t need. One went for $511 plus $85 shipping and another one went for $485 with $80 shipping. It had less accessories than the first one. Another one received no bids listed at $595 and $70 shipping. I can buy a brand new one with ER collets for $554.44 and he said they had free shipping from Dearmond Tool. What is going on with this used stuff? The one that really got me was a Taig that the bed was rusted with pitting, chuck which wasn’t a taig piece was rusted, the jacobs chuck and motor had rust all over them. It sold for $365 plus $50 shipping. They have another one listed for $250 with no motor or accessories and he says the bearings are pretty rough. Who the heck would buy that? Sheesssh.

Ok Rant is done. Guess Monday I will call Dan and get one ordered with the ER collets and steady rest. I figure like David said ER’s are more accurate than the collets they sell in the package so $55 more is pretty good.

[david pierce]

Bernie,
Mine has the ER headstock and it is very accurate. I believe that there is also an ER adapter to go with the standard headstock. This would tend to be a little less accurate than straight ER headstock but, the standard headstock allows the use of the larger 3 and 4 jaw chucks as well as the screw on adapter to hold slitting saws or a gear cutter. The reason I got the ER headstock is because I have other lathes and milling machines and do not need that versitility from the Taig. The good news is the headstocks are not horribly expensive and if you start out with the standard headstock, you can always purchase an ER headstock at a later date. If you are planning to use the Taig for clocks then the standard headstock will give you the versitility and accuracy you will need to make many clock parts. As far as a used machine goes, it is better to buy something that you can take out of the box and put to work. I buy a lot of used, rusted out machines that nobody else wants and spend hours and hours fixing them up. I have a small machine shop and many years in the machining industry and this is something I enjoy doing. If I simply needed a reliable machine to make clock parts I would buy a new one.
david

[chris mabbott]

Bernie you’re not by your lonesome, I’ve been noticing the same trend on the bay for over a year now, the amount of bids for anything watch related is crazy, two years ago you could perform a search for… Tool lets say, and there would be 50+ pages of results. Now, you’re lucky if you see 5 pages. Same for lathes/accessories etc
Have you considered looking at one of the Chinese made lathes?

David sounds like we have the same “condition” polishing and restoring that which has fallen into a state of unkeptedness 😆

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks guys. I will probably go new David and will look into the ER headstock. I think for what I need the regular headstock will be plenty accurate for what I need in clock work. I wouldn’t mind getting a machine that needed some work but don’t want to spend almost the price of a new one then tack on $50 to $100 shipping on top of that and then have to spend hours cleaning it up and making it work.

Chris I had looked at the chinese lathes but like David told me they wouldn’t be heavy duty enough for some of the parts I make for clocks. I have a Boley lathe with a pretty complete compliment of collets, 3 jaw chuck, two tailstocks (one holds collets), and lots of jigs I made for it. So for small precise stuff I use it. Chris I have noticed the same thing. I remember the day when you would find 20 to 30 watchmakers lathes, 5 to10 compound slides, etc and now you are lucky if you see one or two compound slides. I was just taken aback when I saw lathes used selling for as much or more than you can buy a new one. Watches, watch parts especially watch tools are the same way. Prices are just crazy. I agree finding watch tools on there is almost impossible.

Oh well thanks again. Just had to rant. Hadn’t been on the bay for a while. Seems like everyone is trying to get rich there.

[bobpat]

😯 Anybody know anything about a Super Adept lathe.. such as headstock size?, can I use collets?. taper of tailstock?. I cant find a thing on these. I bought one in excellent shape.. and would like to add some aftermarket pieces. HELP :

[arutha]

Hi Bobpat,
the Super Adept lathe is quite a simple hobby lathe, check out this link – http://www.lathes.co.uk/adept/
I dont think they ever made a collet set for this lathe, I did have one but sold it again as I couldn’t find parts for it other than a 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck. Check the headstock on it too as these often get overtightened and broken and are welded back together. I have a four jaw chuck for one of these but it is now mounted onto an 8mm collet to use in my watchmakers lathe
Paul.

[bobpat]

Thank You Arthur. I will be getting rid of this one also and buy another. Maybe Boley, or Levin

[arutha]

I think that would be a wise decision, the only downside is the cost of a proper lathe. Are you going to be working on watches, clocks or both?

[bobpat]

Just clocks, never tried watches,

[bernie weishapl]

The new Taig lathe is on the way. Can’t wait to get it set up as I have two mainspring wheel arbors to make. Hopefully it will be here by Wednesday.

Bobpat a friend of mine bought one of those Adept. He sold it right away as there are no accessories available for them. He bought a Taig and is quite happy with it. I just bought a Taig with the ER 16 collets for accuracy as David said. I do have a Boley with pretty much all the attachments and collets. When making some of the bigger parts for clocks which is also mostly all I work on these days the watchmakers lathes can be a little small. I have made plate pillars with the boley but it was a slow go and luckily it had a hole drilled for pinning and not threaded.

[chris mabbott]

Bernie, the anticipation is killing me, so you must be REALLY excited Can’t wait to see some photos when it arrives…

[bernie weishapl]

Chris I ordered it over well over a week ago thru DeArmond. I finally called them yesterday and they told me that their order for their stock had not came in. They called the factory and they were not shipping because they were out of mounting boards. Well it shipped yesterday as Dan had it shipped directly to me instead of to him and then to me which I greatly appreciated. Also at the time they were offering free shipping and I can tell you that is big. I was in the shop today and already wish I had ordered the milling attachment for it. 😆 Oh well will get my shopping list ready. I want to add ball bearings to my steady rest but need to mill down the arms flat to add the bearings. So the work piece will ride on ball bearings instead of the brass arms.

Oh well will get it done in time and yes Chris will post pic’s when it is set up.

[david pierce]

I never heard of the ADEPT LATHE before this post. From the looks of the picture that Paul posted the lathe appears to be a low precision machine that one might find in a carpentry shop to turn a wood handle on a chisel or screwdriver. It looks about a notch away from putting a power drill in a vice and turing the part in a drill chuck. A lathe with enough precision to make watch and clock parts will either have a ball bearing spindle (modern) or a cone bearing spindle (antique). For clock parts the TAIG will deliver the most lathe for the least amount of money. For watch parts only the Sincere will also be the most lahe for the least amount of money. These are both good machines, they are affordable and, affordable accessories are available for both machines.
david

[bernie weishapl]

Just got word this morning that the lathe will be delivered Thursday 3/20. Yippee.

[chris mabbott]

That’s a bummer Bernie, and usually what happens to me lol
I am getting better at waiting though as I know wait for colleagues to arrive here from the back home with my hoard of treasures haha, some eBay sellers charge more for P&H than the item is worth!

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