Buying first shop lathe

jumunjo

jumunjo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi all

we're about to buy our first shop lathe for doing basic repair work.

we have looked at Hightower, Unique and Bassell products and wondered if there was any clear or distinct advantage over any brand these similar models.

what is in contention at the moment is the toolbox lathe III from Bassell. At some stage we would like to do tournament work. however the others state that they are fairly portable as well?.

So im looking for any feedback or suggestions, (although no haters please, too much of that going on lately)

Many Thanks

J
 
jumunjo said:
Hi all

we're about to buy our first shop lathe for doing basic repair work.

we have looked at Hightower, Unique and Bassell products and wondered if there was any clear or distinct advantage over any brand these similar models.

what is in contention at the moment is the toolbox lathe III from Bassell. At some stage we would like to do tournament work. however the others state that they are fairly portable as well?.

So im looking for any feedback or suggestions, (although no haters please, too much of that going on lately)

Many Thanks

J
Click to expand...

IMHO - for basic repair, you should also look at tsp&b - his repair models
are a lot of lathe for the money.

Dale
 
What do you want to do with it, you can make some basic repair lathes from taig parts and some 8020 aluminum extrusions

lowbudget2010.jpg

Sanding, cleaning ,polishing lathe

tiplathe008.jpg

Tip and ferrule lathe
 
Chuckpilegis

Thanks for the feedback. but we are based in the UK and will have trouble sourcing parts, so a stand alone unit is needed.

We are planning on using the lathe for tips, ferrule / tennon repair & cleaning etc

Regards

J
 
Ps

if youve put that together yourself, that is very tidy piece of kit.

:thumbup:
 
Just to Clarify.....

we are looking at:

Bassell - Cue box lathe III

Hightower - Micro Cue lathe III

Unique - Shop Companion III

Regards

J
 
repair lathes

I've used several, most are all good. Chris Hightower gives excellent service after sale. He responds to most questions you might have. Maybe the others do to?? No experience with them. Todd has a good unit for the price. He's a good guy too. I have a basic lathe of his.
 
jumunjo said:
Just to Clarify.....

we are looking at:

1. Bassell - Cue box lathe III

2. Hightower - Micro Cue lathe III

3. Unique - Shop Companion III

Regards

J
Click to expand...

Id say take #1 out of the equation out of the ones listed thats the only supplier thats ever had issues on here.

ive never seen a bad thread about hightower, and not one about the shop companion either but i used one for a while and i really liked the hightower alot better.

Just my opinion tho.
 
I think it really depends on what you want to acomPlish with your lathe.

I had a cue companion when I first started out. It did everything I wanted at that point.
It is a friendly to the knuckles lathe, due to the chuck design.
Also it is very portable.
If you want to get a little more serious I think Hightower builds a little heavier duty machine.
Chris Hightower has always been very helpful As well as Brian from unique, if he's still with unique, that's how long it's been since I had a cue companion.
 
My first lathe was a mid-size Cuesmith and I never should have sold it. Variable speed, one piece 4' bed, & portable. With the 4' bed you can slide the headstock clear to the right so you can support house cues to the left. This allows you to do tips, ferrules, and tennons on anything without any tooling hanging off either end. Very stable yet portable.

I moved up to the deluxe. With the addition of the 2’ bed extension out the left, it takes you from basic repair to shaft tapering and entire cue building. I’m sure guys do, but I wouldn’t want to drag it to a tourney although I would truly miss it.

If you don’t plan on building then the mid-size has my vote for a great starter lathe. Chris is our “ace in the hole” if you ever have a question. What’s the diff between a certified nurse and a registered nurse? The CN knows how to do procedures. The RN knows why they're doing those procedures.
 
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I like hightowers lathes, but if you are truly only going to use it for tips and ferrules, Todds lathe will work great also. I have seen the unique and its nice also. As for everything else, I agree with Trent, I have never seen a thread where someone had any issues with Chris. He even offered to help me fix my cheapo lathe thats pretty much copy of his that was made by someone else. Good luck with your search.

Joe
 
sorry bout the updates guys, having to take a few days off for a family bereavement.

back in a few days.
 
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Hi Guys

thanks for the feedback and PM's i have just pulled the trigger on the Unique Lathe. Hopefully should arrive in the UK for around Xmas and i'll post photos of our new Q shop which will be open for trade first week of the new year.

Thanks all
 
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