Advice on metal lathe

[b2910]

I have been trying to read the threads on metal lathes but never seem to get a final thought on what is the best approach for my situation. I was considering a hobby lathe but it seemed that there were a lot of mixed opinions on this ranging from not worth the cost to being acceptable for small projects. It also appeared that several brands are all made in the same overseas factory and painted differently and sold with large variations in price.

So my questions are:

1 Is a hobby lathe suitable for turning items under a 4-5" in diameter with any accuracy?

2 Is there a USA made hobby lathe that anyone would recommend? Or how about European, such as German? Looking for quality not just low cost.

3 Is it possible to get a good new lathe for under $2000, I am not a CL person, no interest in going that route.

 

[MikeD74T]

I ask machinist questions here: Practical Machinist - Largest Manufacturing Technology Forum on the Web - Powered by vBulletin. They have an antiques section for older used stuff (which can be a bargain) and a for-sale/buy section. MikeD74T

 

[DanD78]

A good solid Atals or old Craftsman lathe can be around $1000 for a 9". Don't be afraid of a used lathe if it's a good brand name. The best place for tooling is ebay.

Dan

 

[Taylortractornut]

A friend of mine just bought out a machine shop, Im letting him store a few of the machines here. Monarch and Lodge and Shipley Lehmann, Logan, South Bend, Atlas, Cincinatti, Leblond, and a few others made great lathes that can be had fairly resonable. Govdeals.com had some buys in college and HS shop lathes.

 

[ultrarunner]

A good used American Lathe will last you a lifetime...

Geared Head will usually cost a little more than a belt drive...

Sometimes the larger lathes will cost next to nothing because they are too big for most home owners to use and almost always require 3-phase power or alterations to work in a home shop.

You can get accuracy even from the cheap imports...

The better the lathe is made the more rigid the construction allowing repeatability when taking larger cuts...

Larger roughing cuts save time... there is nothing that says you can't achieve the same result on a given item by taking 10 smaller cuts or a larger roughing cut and a finish cut.

Most of the Lathes I see are found on Craigslist... I think you are eliminating 90% of the market... also, Ebay has some, although, not to practical unless the item is located where you are.

You might want to take someone with you that is familiar with machine tools...

Some common problems could be damage from abuse or accident... like a broken part or missing tooth or a sway back from years of use or slop... which can almost always be corrected by tightening the gibs... (Shims and other adjustments found on quality machine tools)

Just as important to ask is what tooling if any comes with it... a lathe needs tooling to be useful... basic is a 3-jaw and 4-jaw chuck... a collet holder is nice for small round and square stock...

Anything that can help you get started is a plus... tool bits and tool rest.

Sometimes a lathe is offered with tooling worth more than the lathe... sometimes it is just the lathe...

I have a 10" Southbend that can do 90% of what I need to do even if it takes longer... I have made pump shafts, car parts and used it to repair lots of small things together with my Bridgeport Tape Mill...

Always wanted a 13" Regal Leblond Lathe... never found one at my price point when I was looking and it is much larger and heavier.

 

[bearcreek paul]

A good old southbend can be had cheap.The old belt drives last forever and can be found in my area for 400 to 1000.00.Just check the ways and cross slide for wear.If you have a good straight edge check the ways with that.The cross slide for slop and backlash.

 

[Redneck in training]

Many used lathes come with the tooling. Overtime the tooling will cost you more than the lathe so if you can get it with the machine that is the real bargain.

 

[troutsqueezer]

The mini lathes are easily accurate to .001". There many machinists who use them, including myself. Go to this website for a detailed description of the Seig mini lathe. It is the same one sold by Grizzly, Harbor Freight and other suppliers.

mini-lathe Features

I made these two engines with one. One is steam powered the other is internal combustion.

 

[ultrarunner]

Wow is all that I can say...

I admire anyone with the talent, patients and wherewithal to create something like this.

Very well done!

 

[b2910]

The mini lathes are easily accurate to .001". There many machinists who use them, including myself. Go to this website for a detailed description of the Seig mini lathe. It is the same one sold by Grizzly, Harbor Freight and other suppliers.

mini-lathe Features

I made these two engines with one. One is steam powered the other is internal combustion.

Now that is what I am interested in creating, small things, not tractor parts so much. I will check out that web link, hopefully the picture will become clear to me what I should be considering. I am not a machinist and would not expect to make something so highly detailed and finished as your engines but what an inspiration. I did another web search and picked up on Sherline for hobby lathes: Sherline Lathe, long bed, inch - Blue Ridge Machinery and Tools but now I am wondering if a lathe like that can even produce what you have shown even with someone with the knack and talent using it.

I considered looking at some machinist forums but since I am more familiar with the members here, their post styles and the fact that they are not all machinists thereby closer to my thinking (non-machinist limitations) in these terms, I felt that this forum could result in some good advice. There is a tendency to go whole hog with a lathe, a good option if that would be my final destination for a lathe at the moment. Replacing 3PH motors with conventional motors is not what I want to address at this time. Thanks to all for your advice, right now I think I will lean towards troutsqueezer's advice, the proof is in the pudding. That is some beautiful work.