I think Mark Wallis is probably right. My lathe, badged Warco, made in 1981, was a copy of an Emco 9x18" and it was made in Taiwan. The emco itself was fairly revolutionary, being much cheaper to produce and yet containing more features than contemporary products.
3 years ago | 3
I have a Warcop 180 super mini lathe. Bought new last year.I have practically rebuilt it. If you buy one don't make my mistake I tried making a few parts for my project. Wasted more material than I should have. Strip it from day one and learn about your machine. I'm in love with it now its brilliant.
2 years ago | 0
Its interesting how much variation in quality there is in the mini lathe. Mine came with metal gears from the factory and the gibs were quite good. Once Ive adapted it with taper bearings its a decent machine. If you treat them as almost ready to run then I think theyre fine for what they do. I had heard the rumour that they were originally russian but not sure how true that is
3 years ago | 1
The Emco that was made in Taiwan is a great machine I'd say top of the line in mini lathes.
3 years ago | 0
Ade, it was a Russian (Soviet) watchmaker lathe originally I believe. Stanko was the brand I think.
3 years ago | 0
It's a common lathe design, nothing special, the origins in the DDR hobby lathes, like hobbymat, unimat and so on
3 years ago | 0
I believe the original design was Russian - have a look at various posts by Ketan Swali (Owner? of Arceurotrade) on www.model-engineer.co.uk and elsewhere.
3 years ago | 0
ADES WORKSHOP
Having started the Mini lathe project , I am wondering where the basic design originated . The vast majority of this type of machine are made in China and have become cheapened and the attention to detail is dreadful . I know that the are made to a price and totally understand the concept. I am not saying that Chinese goods are inherently bad , I am aware that some excellent products can be made. There has often been a culture of copy a product but make it cheaper. This culture certainly has its place and opens up ownership to those with a lesser budget. I am well aware that my machinery comes from that part of the world and due to the fact that it is made to a higher spec than the generic stuff , it is fine with a few quality improvements . Basically my Question is . What was the original brand mini lathe ? before it got to China to be badly copied. It would be interesting to know the origins . Cheers Ade.
3 years ago | [YT] | 65