I an interested in getting into Model Engineering and looking at my first "home lathe". I have a reasonable budget, but Myford is out of the question. I did an engineering apprenticeship back in the early 1980's and spent a month working with what I believe was a Colchester Triumph 2000. After my apprenticeship I moved into Electronics and finally ended up in IT where I am now. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain I hope are some residual turning skills. I have looked at Chester and Warco on the web, with the latter looking more attactive. However I am somewhat confused as to which direction to go in. Belt change or variable speed and what features are most desirable? No one product seems to offer what I consider the perfect solution. The Warco WM280V-F looks attractive as it offers a reasonable capacity and a power cross feed. The latter I could consider as pretty much essential from my previous experience. One concern I have on this model is the low end speed, 125 RPM. Is this slow enough? I would rather speed a little more and get something decent than get a machine that I "grow out of". I am not really up for refurbing a machine as it will be my first machine tool. A lot of the work I am planning will be model scale stuff, but the capability to machine larger items is atractive. Have I been "spoilt" by my turning stint during my apprenticeship and am expecting too much from a first lathe?
The advice of the group would be much appreciated
Stuart