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9th Jul 2019, 09:31 AM #1Novice
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- Jul 2019
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- Texas
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- 15
looking for advice on first lathe purchase
I am looking to buy my first lathe for my garage. I'd like to keep the cost to around US $1,000. I am perfectly happy buying an old one that may need a little work, but I don't know what the most important features are, or what usually comes standard. If I bought an old one, I would probably do a series of videos of the restoration, which for me is a plus. What kind of mechanical issues are fixable, or not fixable? Hopefully I can get some ideas that are on things to look for, things to avoid, etc...
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9th Jul 2019, 09:56 AM #2Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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- Feb 2006
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- Perth
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- 7,189
This is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. The degree of restoration possible depends on what you buy, your skills, access to machining equipment, local access to machining gurus etc. Obscure makers are less likely to have fewer or no parts available. Once you identify a lathe see if you can find a drawings or photos of the same lathe so you can compare these to the lathe to identify missing bits etc
Some of the other usual (obvious) things to watch out for
Make sure all the bits that should move actually move, preferably smoothly.
Put centres in the head and tail stock and push the tail stock up to the head and see how well the centres align - it may even pay you to buy a set of centres for yourself and use them when you go to check out used lathes.
Check the lathe bed, gears and chucks for wear, chips etc
If possible run the lathe at all available speeds and listen to the headstock for odd noises and vibrations
Run the lathe saddle up and down under power and make sure it moves smoothly.
Carefully check out the amount and quality of the accessories, tooling, extras that comes with the lathe, as this can sometimes make or break the deal.
As for a restoration video - (unless its an unusual moving complex part - most people would know how a lathe moves) I MUCH prefer a series of clear photos accompanied by brief explanatory text that I can study in detail at my leisure, magnify up if needed etc. If you want to see really good photos look at what Anorak Bob produces.
eg https://metalworkforums.com/f189/t20...is-table-stops
Most videos are way too long and I'm sick of constantly having to stop and replay videos to try and catch bits of interest, and as my hearing is poor trying to understand what the often hopeless narrator is saying.
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9th Jul 2019, 10:27 AM #3Golden Member
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- Jun 2007
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- Vic
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I am not too sure if you have seen this link?
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9th Jul 2019, 10:40 AM #4Most Valued Member
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- Jun 2007
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- sydney ( st marys )
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From your country of origin I would suggest that you look at one of the many used Southbend lathes available, they come in many swing and bed sizes, and from what I have seen prices are quite reasonable for what you get and availability of parts does not appear to be a usual problem.
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9th Jul 2019, 12:32 PM #5Novice
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- Jul 2019
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- Texas
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9th Jul 2019, 12:37 PM #6Novice
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- Jul 2019
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- Texas
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Funny you post that video. I have been looking on Craigs list for over a year for a reasonably priced lathe that doesn't look like it came from before electricity was discovered. I have never had the luck that guy has had. All I can ever find is some beat up piece of crap that's missing large pieces like the tail stock or the motor or something else completely unusable. I even saw one that was all of the pieces except the lathe bed. What use is all of that junk? I just want something that will fit in a standard 2 car garage (without the cars) with the rest of my gear. Anyway, the hunt continues.
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9th Jul 2019, 02:35 PM #7Golden Member
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- Oct 2008
- Location
- Cairns, Q
- Posts
- 666
There is some comprehensive advice on buying a lathe (or mill) here:
Lathe Milling machine shaper collet parts
Frank.
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9th Jul 2019, 03:08 PM #8Novice
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- Jul 2019
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- Texas
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- 15
Frank, that was a very useful link. Especially the part about klunkers. Now I just need to find one...
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
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9th Jul 2019, 03:41 PM #9Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Location
- australia
- Posts
- 57
Maybe you should joint the following site, -- The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop Magazine's BBS ---- ask question over at that forum as it's in your backyard and persons on that forum, would know where something is hiding, more so than on an Aussie forum/site.
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9th Jul 2019, 04:11 PM #10Novice
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- Jul 2019
- Location
- Texas
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- 15
Thanks for the tip. I'll try that site. I've found that a lot of places are snobby and don't share information with new hobbyists. Very much like, don't bother asking us questions as we have already answered everything you could possibly think up. Just go search our old posts and don't bother us with your novice problems. You are nice people, and friendly, so that's why I would rather spend time here.
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9th Jul 2019, 08:42 PM #11
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15th Jul 2019, 03:20 AM #12
When I was looking for my first lathe, I did a fair bit of research to see what size I wanted, features etc. so when I found something I kind of knew if it was a good deal.
After searching the classifieds for months and not finding anything, I decided to be proactive and started calling around all of the machine shops within 100km of me to see if they had an old machine sitting in the back corner that wasn't being used. This is how I found 2 of my lathes. I met some nice shop owners and was given some great raw material and tooling with the purchases.
Good luck!
Cheers
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15th Jul 2019, 05:52 AM #13Senior Member
- Join Date
- May 2019
- Location
- Picnic Point, Sydney
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- 77
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- 314
The bigger the better
I'd look for the biggest machine that fits your workshop. With the smaller hobby type or bench lathes you're limited with the size of work it can handle. A decent size hollow spindle is what I look for too.
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15th Jul 2019, 10:05 AM #14Most Valued Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2011
- Location
- Australia east coast
- Age
- 71
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- 2,713
Agree. You really can't have too big a hollow spindle. Though my take on it is, if you have the space & money, it's better to have 2 machines, a smaller high precision one with a high spindle speed for those smaller jobs, and the bigger lathe for the rest. 80-90% of my work gets done on my Colchester Chipmaster but the other 20% wouldn't fit. OTOH the big Monarch is a lot heavier to use and doesn't have the high spindle speeds for collet work on small diameter stock.
Home - Practical Machinist : Practical Machinist is a good site but can be very unforgiving is you don't READ AND FOLLOW the stickies about what is and isn't permissable to talk about. No hobby grade machine tools for example which is basically all the small Chinese ones and a number of US made ones (Atlas for example). There are a number of people from Texas, New Mexico and Arizona who post there and would be good contacts for tool leads if approached the right way. Any trace of attitude though and you'll be history......
PDW
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15th Jul 2019, 03:46 PM #15Most Valued Member
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- Nov 2007
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- melbourne australia
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- 3,228
Agree with getting the biggest spindle bore you can find/afford. It seems lathe size increases in proportion to the spindle bore. It would be nice if they made a hobby sized lathe with a 50mm spindle bore. Although rigidity might be an issue with larger stock. Two lathes would be great, but sadly not an option for those of us with a suburban garage workshop.
Chris
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