My lathe has a MT4 taper for the spindle. So I guess I would need something between to use it.
I'm not unhappy with my little CX706. Just this morning I made a precise fit bushing and was able to match it to the shaft to probably 0.0002" or so with minimal taper basically a perfect fit for me. That being said I'm on the prowl for a nice (11-12") Standard Modern. My friendly machinist neighbour helped me machine a really hard ballscrew last night (I'm easily impressed when he starts quoting taper in microns), so I have SM envy. Perhaps I should look beyond the SM lathes, how do Colchester compare? Others that are similar quality?
You guys should have warned me that this hobby is addictive, just another 100HP, just another 50 cubic inches should do it, wait that's the other never ending (read expensive) hobby. ;-)
Yer gonna have to make your choices based on the actual condition of the individual machines, over their make and model numbers, simply because you can have no idea, really, just how hard the machine may have been worked, or maintained in it's (possibly several) prior ownership. But if you familiarize yourself with the basics, you should soon learn that (if there is no fuckery afoot!) usually, what looks good, is good!
If you have not yet found
www.lathes.co.uk, I suggest screening a LOT of your targeting info through the Archives there, as the site owner, who makes a (good enough I suppose) living, selling manuals and other information about machine tools, his archive is choc-a-block FULL of GREAT info about almost any hobby and home shop size machine tools that are or were out there!
I would suggest that if you are looking into it, steer away from lathes built down to meet a price point, and aim to pick the best you can find, from among the lathes that were built up to an at least, reasonable standard! In my estimation, the single most powerful tool out there has been that the ready availability of seriously cheap Chinese machine tools, has (despite that it also drove many good companies out of business!) dragged the used value of some truly epic grade machine tools, down to a level that us regular folk can afford to pay!
I have a Colchester Master 2500, 13x40 lathe in my shed that I bought as Military surplus. It's ugly, been hit with what was then the standard Military porch paints of different colors to mark out the levers that made things move, etc., but I was able to see that the crumpled tin (damage from an ignorant of needs, forklift guy), and the crappy paint, was the worst of it, and the lathe had not really ever been worked all that hard. It came with a LOT of stuff too!
We had a Standard Modern 1340, at one unit I was posted to, that when it came up on Crown Assets, I bid higher than I really could afford. Someone beat me to that one by about $60... It also was in near mint condition, although I would suggest that it was a bit lighter built than the Colchester is.
But a new set of spindle bearings for My Colchester, will set me back far more than I paid for the whole lot... Yay Gamet! <spit>
Condition in machine tools, is like Location, in Real Estate!
And, as a counterpoint to above, you really should read the essay titled "In (modest) praise of Clunkers"
http://www.mermac.com/klunker2.html It may open your eyes to basing your wants on actual needs, rather than perceived ones. Worth a look!
