Hi All
I am interested in getting into lathe work with a view to eventually do some smith jobs like chamber and fit a barrel.
I'll never be doing anything commercially it's just for me and will always be that way.
Anyhow I have been put off getting a secondhand lathe on account of seeing people ask many thousands of dollars for old lathes that look like they have been left out under a tree.:oo:
If I had more experience I might trust myself to pick a lemon when I saw one but my knowledge at the moment is limited to knowing that if I can find a pristine Hardinge hlv-h for sale for $5K I should probably buy it. :rotfl:
As far as new lathes are concerned I've been looking at the HAFCO AL-960B.
Short of that what are good lathes to look out for? Brands, models?
I guess I'd entertain things like a Hercus but it's a bit hard to wrap my head around paying as much for a lathe that has seen 40 years wear as a new Taiwanese one.
The cap on my budget is $5K and if secondhand I'm guessing that would need to have a reasonable amount of tooling.
Thanks