Time for a bigger Lathe

[SnakeyJ]

I'm thinking about upgrading from my old Portass Dreadnought to a 'proper' little lathe - Colchester Bantham 1600 Mk1 Condor (with Metric dials and leadscrew).    It's a nice compact machine, only marginally larger than the Portass's footprint with greater swing and substantially built (some 450kg).    This comes with a 3 Phase 415V dual would motor which and, rather than swap to single phase and rewire, it seems most people are running these through a 3 Phase inverter - though there seems to be a huge range in price and different types of inverter.

Can anyone offer any advice, or point me at a good guide on a suitable type?    I want to allow enough budget for the inverter and installing a new 240V fused supply to the workshop if needed (short 10m run from the fuse board)!

 

 

[Doc]

I have a Myford ML7 it's an imperial lathe from 1948. I would have loved a Colchester Bantham but didn't really want to spend a lot for a good copy. There are a lot of duds around. They hold their price really well. I've recently bought a 3 phase motor for the myford and hoping to get a invertor for it. So I've been looking and I agree with you they do vary so much in price.

I'm going to try the cheaper ones from E-Bay similar to this one:

0.75KW 1HP VFD

They look pretty easy to fit. You can even make up a remote pod to run it from. I was told by an electrian to get one similar in size to the Kw of your motor. So a myford is 0.55Kw and 3/4 HP. But as long as you don't go mad you can go the next size up. But remember you don't want to much power as your lathe might not be able to take it.

I also going to fit one to my milling machine as well. 

 

 

[SnakeyJ]

Browsing at Lathes.co.uk it seems I need the more expensive 240V 1 phase to 415V 3 phase inverter....

Like this one from Drives Direct - rated at 2HP for £460 pounds!    I'm thinking I can probably buy a cheaper inverter and 240V 3 phase motor for this sort of money....

[Bizibilder]

Newton-Tesla or Transwave (usual disclaimers) both specialise in inverters for the smaller lathe market.  Their prices and service are both good.

[SnakeyJ]

4 hours ago, Bizibilder said:

Newton-Tesla or Transwave (usual disclaimers) both specialise in inverters for the smaller lathe market.  Their prices and service are both good.

 

Thanks Roger, I had looked at some of the Transwave rotary inverters, but a big thank you for the introduction to Newton Tesla - these look really useful either for the Idrive2 or a new pre-wired motor and inverter.   Great pricing on these!

 

[Gina]

I don't need (or want) a bigger lathe than I've got but I would like one that was more sturdily built and hence more accurate!  These cheap Chinese lathes are rubbish!!   Even after all the upgrades I gave it, my lathe is still rubbish!  I have a 3D printer that's more accurate!

[SnakeyJ]

Well the good news is I'm now the proud owner of 960lbs of British engineering prowess!    Colchester Bantham MK1 with metric dials and gears 'Condor' spec.

 

Just need to break the news at home and clear a space ready ?