Harrison M250

Any comments on the Harrison M250 lathe? 1997, 750mm bed version?

Reply to
Ian Robinson
Loading thread data ...

Ian,

I have a 20 year old M250 and I love it. One reason might be that it so much better than the lathes I had before. Replacement parts are expensive, at least here in the US. After replacing the start relay I found the problem could have been corrected with a simple adjustment. Ouch! Other than that problem it has been 100% for two year. The machine came with a set of 5C collets and a closer. It was my first experience with collets and they work great. Oh yes, it came with a DRO too. Frankly, the Harrison was such an upgrade from what I was using before it is hard for me to be objective.

Rich

Reply to
dogpoint

"Ian Robinson"

I have used an M250 almost every day for the past 9 years at work. I have also used Colchesters, Myfords, Schaublins, Lorch, TOS and various Chinese/Taiwanese machines. The Harrison is a good lathe. Though not as good as a Schaublin ( possibly only a Hardinge would equal that ) its a mile ahead of any Chinese machine I've used and more sturdy than a Myford. Its a bit noisey at high speeds and the quality of finish on some parts that dont affect its accuracy is a bit rough for a machine in this price range. But I'm just picky !

It has reasonably good 'feel' when taking cuts by hand but I'd prefere the saddle wheel wasn't so highly geared. Its a bit too coarse for me. Because it has a geared head you sometimes get a geared pattern coming through on some work when attempting fine surface finishes. The head runs in an oil bath and so is low maintenance. One small complaint is that the cross slide handwheels ( on my 1996 version anyway ) are not balanced. A smaller handle attached at 90 degrees to one side of them can cause the wheel to turn slightly in certain positions and can be annoying. I'm going to modify mine one day.

Overall, if you can get an M250 in good condition it should be a good buy. And I think the factory has stopped making them now - you can only get the M300 which is bigger.

Hope this helps, Dean.

Reply to
Dean

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.