Experience with a King 14x40 lathe?

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Theflyingwrench

Active Member
Hi All,
Brand new to this group and considering buying a used lathe for some upcoming engine projects. It would be my first lathe. I was looking at a new cx701 for a while but have a line on a used king 14x40 and like the larger spindle bore, nice option. Can anyone on here speak for the quality & accuracy of this lathe?
Thanks in advance!
 
Susquatch

Susquatch

Ultra Member
Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Welcome! Can't speak for the King itself but 14x40 is a great size in my opinion. It's big enough to do big work and small enough to move around if you need to. Most that size are well made. The market is too small and too picky to be able to sell junk. Not saying you won't have problems but they will probably be manageable.
 
A

Aliva

Super User
I've had a King 12x36 for 6 years now and have never had an issue. I did break a shaft in the saddle but it was my fault, I had the cross slide in auto feed and it went beyond its limits. Other than that it's been a good machine. 14x40 is a good size, at times I could have used a larger lathe. Parts are easily gotten from King, they have a large warehouse in Montreal. I also have A King 9x42 mill. I had a couple of questions concerning operation. I called their service department in Montreal, they were very helpful and solved the issue quickly. From my experience I wouldn't hesitate on the King lathe. Of course a lot depends on price and condition. KBC has the 14x40 listed at $9700.00 Federated Tool in London shows $9000.00
 
ducdon

ducdon

Super User
Premium Member
I have a Modern Tool 14x40. The last time I looked at a King they were identical. Different paint, different name but otherwise the same. I've had it for over 15 years with no issues.
 
kevin.decelles

kevin.decelles

Jack of all trades -- Master of none
Premium Member
ducdon said:
The last time I looked at a King they were identical.
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I also have a Modern 14x40 and agree that most of the 14x40 have similar lineage (Modern/KBC/King/Precision Mathews). There are some variances but for the most part they are identical. If King had a depot/dealer in my city (Calgary) I wouldn't hesitate. Modern was 15 minutes away and delivered into the shop for free -- no brainer.

My modern has been good to me, it is what it is. I'd probably like it more if it could eat a sandwich or two and gain 1000lbs of weight. I find myself changing gears more often than I'd like, so try and determine your threading requirements and understand whether it can do those threads without gear changes etc......

Taper attachment and DRO are nice add-ons to look for.
 
P

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
I have a King 14x40 circa 1998 I believe, made in Taiwan, distributed by Modern Tool at the time. The same machine from same factory can be found under different paint schemes/labels. I've generally been happy with my lathe for my purposes. I haven't looked in a while but I believe King's 14x40's are still Taiwan, but other models made in China.

What year is the King lathe you're looking at? Only reason I mention is that some parts are getting harder to find. Couple years back I went on a mission for some specific parts & learned from reliable sources the factory has been long gone for many years. What's remaining is in the hands of a secondary parts distributer. Some parts from other lathes will work here & there but its not guaranteed. In that regard, I found King to be not great to deal with over maybe 4 separate inquiries over the years. Others have had a better experience, so maybe it depends on the machine or who picks up the phone.
 
Dabbler

Dabbler

ersatz engineer
The complexities of the offshore lathe market. 14X40 lathes can be from 1300 lbs to 3200 lbs. There are hundreds of brands and many more models, apparently if made in Taiwan are made by only a handful of manufacturers. Modern' C0636 lathe has seen 5 major revisions over the years, and getting parts for the old ones is just as hard. (ask me how I know) The parts guy won't even look unless you sen him your serial # sticker, as almost every shipment they have seen changes. That's just for one vendor, that tries to be extra careful.

That said, most parts are ultimately findable or makable,...
 
ducdon

ducdon

Super User
Premium Member
Dabbler said:
The complexities of the offshore lathe market. 14X40 lathes can be from 1300 lbs to 3200 lbs. There are hundreds of brands and many more models, apparently if made in Taiwan are made by only a handful of manufacturers. Modern' C0636 lathe has seen 5 major revisions over the years, and getting parts for the old ones is just as hard. (ask me how I know) The parts guy won't even look unless you sen him your serial # sticker, as almost every shipment they have seen changes. That's just for one vendor, that tries to be extra careful.

That said, most parts are ultimately findable or makable,...
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My lathe is the C0636. A while back I damaged one of the little oilers and Modern insisted I bring the machine serial number to order a replacement. I didn't realize running changes were that extensive.
 
Dabbler

Dabbler

ersatz engineer
ducdon said:
I damaged one of the little oilers
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These are commodity items, but they were being extra careful. In the past they've assumed that certain parts were interchangeable and were wrong. This cost them a bundle before the current policy. I'm a fan of Modern Tool, but I haven't bought any machines *directly* from them, but I own 3 machines they imported.

I've bought parts and gotten repair advice from their techs. They even hosted Canadian Hobby Metalworkers meet-up at the Calgary location.

I just wanted to illustrate that these offshore lathes are always being changed (and mostly improved), but makes the parts thing a nightmare.

Mills are a different matter. Almost everyone uses the Bridgeport pattern, and most parts can be changed, at the parts level or the subassembly level.
 
T

Theflyingwrench

Active Member
PeterT said:
I have a King 14x40 circa 1998 I believe, made in Taiwan, distributed by Modern Tool at the time. The same machine from same factory can be found under different paint schemes/labels. I've generally been happy with my lathe for my purposes. I haven't looked in a while but I believe King's 14x40's are still Taiwan, but other models made in China.

What year is the King lathe you're looking at? Only reason I mention is that some parts are getting harder to find. Couple years back I went on a mission for some specific parts & learned from reliable sources the factory has been long gone for many years. What's remaining is in the hands of a secondary parts distributer. Some parts from other lathes will work here & there but its not guaranteed. In that regard, I found King to be not great to deal with over maybe 4 separate inquiries over the years. Others have had a better experience, so maybe it depends on the machine or who picks up the phone.
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Hi Peter
It's a 2002,being sold by a machine shop dealer. It's in a different province so they Sent me photos and video. It's missing a 4 jaw chuck and a follow rest. It's a 3phase 2 horse. Do you think a 4 jaw will be hard to find for it (D1-4)?
Thank you for your input
 
P

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
As @TorontoBuilder shows, 4-J D1-4 chuck should be easy to source. Some guys opt for 6" for smaller work + slightly lower cost + possibly bit smaller minimum diameter holding. But you can swing 8" & it might provide more options chucking larger/irregular pieces. Personal preference. It would be nice if you can see the chuck you're buying in person. The internet pictures are always nice & pretty. But better yet is hands on how the jaws feel in the slots, how do pinion gears turn etc. They are expensive boat anchors to return if you don't like it. Some of the early baddies apparently had bad spindle nose taper fit issues but overall I think they are getting better? Grill them for face plate, tool kit, anything else that should have come along for the ride.

The 3-phase powering options are above my pay grade but lots of experts here. Maybe VFD or maybe phase converter. I suspect depends on wiring & a few other details.

Follow rest, you might be able to source a current model Chinese. Nice thing about these beds is standard 45-deg on rear bed rail & flat on front, quite common across the Asian machines from what I can tell. If you don't use it a lot, invest the money in a DRO imho.
 
T

Tecnico

(Dave)
Dabbler said:
Mills are a different matter. Almost everyone uses the Bridgeport pattern, and most parts can be changed, at the parts level or the subassembly level.
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@Dabbler would your comment that mill parts being the BP pattern (and therefore interchangeable?) apply to the King VS942 I'm looking at? I checked with King and they no longer support that model so parts support is a concern for me if I get that machine.

Tks.,

D:cool:
 
Dabbler

Dabbler

ersatz engineer
Nobody did significant redesign on the old BP pattern. So if all else fails you can just bolt a new power head on it. For instance, the entire power down-feed parts list is completely interchangeable with the original BP, the Modern I have AND the Hartford.

They mic the same, to just over a thou (in the gears I've tried) - probably the original BPs were about that different, as well.

I do know that the common thing is to have different bearing choices at almost every bearing location. For instance the X and Y bearings where the hand wheel is, and the thrust bearing at the other end of the Y lead screw are much bigger than the Hartford or the Modern. The Hartford is a pretty faithful BP clone.

HW machine repair has a lot of experience with real BPs and their clones - for a clone unknown to them you have to disassemble and send them photos and dimensions to get them to send you parts.
 
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