My first lathe purchased in 1986 was a Hobbymat MD65, then a relatively recent offering in the small machine tool market. This suited my requirements at the time since the available workshop space solely comprised of a bedroom cupboard into which a bench was squeezed supporting the said lathe and a 1/2 inch drilling machine. I also subsequently added a milling attachment to the lathe and this set up served me quite well for a number of years. The MD65 was a well-made and sturdy machine and was capable of producing good quality work. However it was quite noisy and its 65 mm centre height I found rather limiting at times. A replacement was therefore sought which offered a greater capacity along with more conventional design which could fit the available space and be somewhat quieter in use within a domestic environment. The eventual answer to this was the Conquest mini lathe as popularly marketed by Chester UK.
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