How to purchase a new mini lathe in Northern Europe

[Rachel Riley]

Hi guys, I just moved to Helsinki, Finland with my family. It is difficult for me to find a store or online shop to buy mini lathe because I am not quite familiar with stores in Finland.

I don't know if anyone could give me some advice where to buy a lathe in Finland or other countries in Northern Europe. By the way, I am a beginner so an easy-to-use mini lathe is nice.

Thanks!

 

[Wizard69]

That is a tough one Rachel, hopefully by bumping this thread somebody from that area of the world will chime in.

Given that I wouldn't be surprised if the answer comes down to taking a road trip or plane flight. Even here in the USA to get beyond the Harbor Freight junk I have to take a road trip to find equipment. This especially with quality tools.

You could try the bigger catalog companies doing business in the USA. I'm not sure how many of them would ship overseas though. For hobiest: https://www.micromark.com more commercial oriented businesses: https://www.travers.com/ (these are just examples that came to mind). Your big problem is that the lathe would likely ship as freight. A lot of these companies will not do international for some reason so you will have to call.

The third option is to go to China and have something shipped from Banggoods or another online retailer.

If you are thinking a real small lathe like a Sherline or a Taig, I would contact those companies directly in the USA for advice. They may ship or may be able to hook you up with a retailer.

 

[oldboy]

Try contacting Optimum or Weiss in Germany. They will put you in touch
with their distributors.

Barry
Australia

 

[XD351]

Try :
https://koneboss.fi/ they are the distributor for optimum machinery in Finland according to the optimum website . Optimum are based in Germany but the machines are made in China to optimums specifications .

Or
http://www.lunaexport.com/
http://www.smaskin.se/
They are sieg distributors in Sweden according to the seig website .
Sieg are a well known manufacturer of machinery from China .

I had a look at koneboss and smaskin and they both show optimum machines in their catalogue but as i cant read Swedish i can't work out anything on the lunaexport site as they don't show pictures !

Hope that helps !

 

[bobs7-62steamair]

Hi guys, I just moved to Helsinki, Finland with my family. It is difficult for me to find a store or online shop to buy mini lathe because I am not quite familiar with stores in Finland.

I don't know if anyone could give me some advice where to buy a lathe in Finland or other countries in Northern Europe. By the way, I am a beginner so an easy-to-use mini lathe is nice.

Thanks!

Rachel: I would certainly try Alibaba.com as they can connect you with multiple mainland China manufacturers that will ship you a lathe anywgere.

Hi guys, I just moved to Helsinki, Finland with my family. It is difficult for me to find a store or online shop to buy mini lathe because I am not quite familiar with stores in Finland.

I don't know if anyone could give me some advice where to buy a lathe in Finland or other countries in Northern Europe. By the way, I am a beginner so an easy-to-use mini lathe is nice.

Thanks!

Rachel: I would contact Alibaba.com who will put you in contact with multiple manufacturers in mainland China. They will ship anywhere in the world. I have previously owned a Grizzly lathe and currently own a Seig that I like a lot better for quality and accuracy. most of those lathes are made on the same frame casting with different bells and whistles and sometimes just paint color to satisfy the customers request. It depends on what you want for features, I would highly recommend that you get one with variable speed drive. Harbor Freight products would be near the bottom of my choice for lathes. If you can spring it get the largest swing and bed length size lathe your workspace will accommodate. The UK has a multitude of suppliers of imported tools and should be able to ship for less freight than from china. Machine Mart and other UK dealers have a good selection. If you have access to Model Engineer magazine there are plenty of Mini Lathes adds contained in their pages of any current issue.

 

[e.picler]

Rachel,
At koneboss.fi take a look on Optimum TU2004V it is a lathe with 300mm betwen centers. I have one and I recommend it.

Tks,

Edi

 

[rockets]

Rachel,

Warco in the UK will ship to European destinations and are regarded as one of the better suppliers of imported mini lathes and equipment.
For tooling, it's hard to beat the pricing of Bangood, I use some of their stuff and I've had no problems so far.
Rockets.

 

[deverett]

As you are a beginner, I would not like to recommend you try purchasing directly from the Far East.

The prices of a machine may look cheaper, but if - more than likely you have to pay VAT and Customs duty, it will probably be more expensive than going to one of the suggested European dealers.
Another good UK dealer is ARC Euro Trade https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk
They come well recommended on the Model Engineer website.
The good thing about buying from a European dealer as against USA or the Far East is that you have some redress if things go wrong with the sale.

 

[rockets]

I would agree with those comments, buying direct without a dealer for an actual machine is a risk. I'd personally avoid that certain dealer like a nasty rash but that's personal opinion.
Rockets.

 

[dkwflight]

Look up Warco in the UK and Amadeal also in the UK
Good luck

 

[The_Druid]

Rachel, Good day,

I own a Sieg Baby C0 lathe purchased from ARC at a show, and a Very useful size for hiding in a cupboard, but good enough for you to keep, even if you later buy a larger lathe. (I also have a Myford and two Boxford CNC’s)


I would agree with the previous post and thoroughly recommend UK dealer ARC Euro Trade https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk.


The lads from ARC are all very helpful but I see that the SC2 is the smallest lathe they sell now, shame. https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Cata...ue-Mini-Lathe-Belt-Drive-with-Brushless-Motor


The Seig Baby C0 is still available from Axminster at

https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-model-engineer-series-c0-micro-lathe-505100



Or you could look at the Warco Mini lathe (also by Seig)

https://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes-metalworking-lathe-machine/302922-mini-hobby-lathe.html


All three of these companies are very good, helpful and reliable.

Regards, Dai

 

[KenC]

I live in SW France where we have no suppliers of small engineering machinery. I bought my Super Mini Lathe from Warco in the UK. The shipping cost from UK to France was just £95 added to the basic price of £599 for the lathe. I recommend Warco, their service was good and the lathe was well packed. No problems at all. They will supply to anywhere. Their lathe is fairly unusual in that most minis with a brushless motor do not have a back gear, but the Warco Mini with its brushless motor keeps the back gear that is a feature of the brushed motor designs. This means that it has much more torque at low revs, low torque at low rpm being a common complaint against all other mini lathes.

 

[XD351]

OP was 3 months ago , I don’t think they are coming back !

 

[barryc]

Best bet by far is WARCO in the UK. Get your tooling from eBay or Arc Eurotrade - also UK. Best of luck.

 

[SmithDoor]

Look for shipping company
As time goes you same shipping company for other tools too.
Most stores that sell lathe will box the shipping and use your shipping company.

At time I in my life I was shipping both way from 100lb to 100 tons
It shipper is key not ware you buy

I like 9" at lest 18 cc. with quick change about 500 pounds

Good luck
Dave

Hi guys, I just moved to Helsinki, Finland with my family. It is difficult for me to find a store or online shop to buy mini lathe because I am not quite familiar with stores in Finland.

I don't know if anyone could give me some advice where to buy a lathe in Finland or other countries in Northern Europe. By the way, I am a beginner so an easy-to-use mini lathe is nice.

Thanks!

 

[peter2uat]

if a 7x12" lathe will be enough for your needs then have a look at this Chinese newcomer -
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Metalldrehm...h=item41e6794655:g:KlsAAOSwLS5bPHd2:rk:5:pf:0
features a 600 Watt motor, tapered roller bearings, all metal gears, digital RPM display
BUT prior to ordering ask if it is metric or imperial!

 

[Niels Abildgaard]

if a 7x12" lathe will be enough for your needs then have a look at this Chinese newcomer -
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Metalldrehm...h=item41e6794655:g:KlsAAOSwLS5bPHd2:rk:5:pf:0
features a 600 Watt motor, tapered roller bearings, all metal gears, digital RPM display
BUT prior to ordering ask if it is metric or imperial!

I bougth this from Holland.
Tranport was around three days and 100€ to my living room in Denmark.

https://www.hbm-machines.com/produc...ldraaibankensub/hbm-250-profi-metaaldraaibank

It was 999€ two months ago.

I have fallen deeply in love with it.
I have thrown a WM 210 out.
The 210 was worse than lousy.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/lathe-performance-testing.30215/

 

[blanik]

Have a look at Arc Euro Trade (https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/). They have a wide range of equipment, at good prices. They are located in the UK. Occasionally, they have free shipping within Europe.

 

[goldstar31]

Please read the 'runes' or whatever it is. The poster has not been seen since September!