popsracer

I have seen some of the Layshaft Lathes in operation and they do indeed have less vibration. But, I have examined Coms cut on both and you really can't see the difference in the cuts. The Bearing guides are fine as long as you lube them once in awhile.
Unless you are at the Top levels of racing, ANY Com lathe should be just fine. Buy what YOU like and can afford.

Peter Busch

For around $180.00 you can get the Cobra with a diamond bit and a battery box. These are very simple and work very well. Has anyone tried the Cobra Vari Drive?

seaball

iTrader: (9)

just an fyi...

this was a big thread i think back in rctouring days. carbide bits, and perhaps diamond bits, can be found on www.mcmaster.com for under $4 each (carbide). i got a few of them and they work well. yes, the carbide wears quickly, but with a couple of them you can sharpen some while using the others. either way, i don't like to have to sharpen at all. i just wanted to let you know of a slightly cheaper option over the diamond bit.

later.

dalem

I have the Cobra w/Vari Drive. Great for powering the lathe & breaking in motors. You can adjust the voltage using a dial on the front and there are jacks on the front to plug in a voltohm meter to read either volts or amps. You really need a VOM to tell what voltage you've got dialed in.

newracer

I have the Orion lathe, I really like how easy it is to set up for different arms and no need for a pinion on the end of the arm. It also comes with everything you need, slave motor, wires, switch, etc.

picco007

iTrader: (99)

Since your in Asia, The Hudy is probably your best bet. I have a fantom but they are hard to get right now. I like the cobra or xipp lathe too.....hope this helps.

sonneteer

I had Team Orion and it sucked, within a week I swapped it for the Hudy, good but goes out of tolerance after a month and I had to to re-adjust.... I borrowed my friend's Cobra motor builder lathe (the one with the rubber bellows to protect the mechanism from copper shavings and it gave me such a fantastic cut with a carbide tip I could not believe, he then tells me it is several years old and it is a club lathe so he has cut hundreds of coms with the samelathe same bit.... so I am selling my Hudy... I think they are over-rated.... (the basic one anyways IMHO)

Manticore

a carbide bit give more shinny cut. it is because carbide is not as hard as diamond and the "shinny" surface is result from the worn tip of carbide bit pressing the comm surface. a diamond cut is very different from a cut with carbide.

sonneteer

I meant it was a clean and there was no resonance causing the comm to grain up... It was simply a clean cut and not shiny polished.... My complaint with Hudy was mainly due to the Hudy resonates easily compared with the Cobra, not with the tip.

teamAE

the shiny look is something you do not really need. The dimond bit does give a very shiny look when new but it is just so the bit last longer( the dimond) as long as the comm is perfectly round is what you want. Things like a rubber matt or something to keep everything as smooth as poosible will do great.

Jack Smash

iTrader: (35)

Just remeber that the most important factor in lathes is how round they cut the commutator. If it looks like crap but is perfectly round your still good to go. If a the cut is too smooth it will take forever to break in the brushes.

dalem

I have always wanted to avoid paying $12 each for carbide bits from my LHS, but didn't want to order them from a machinists catalog for $4 and get the wrong one.

I was looking at page #2327 of McMasters catalog and it looks like the 1/4" AR/AL bits in C-2 carbide would be the correct choice, any thoughts?

newracer

that is correct but depending on your lathe you need the AL or AR. what lathe do you have?

dalem

I have the Cobra lathe. If you are facing the lathe the comm is on the right. I believe that means I need a 'left' bit, or at least thats what it looks like from the picture in the catalog.

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

Seaball, do the mcmaster bits come sharpened ?