Advice on metal lathe

[foggy1111]

I owned an EMCO MAIER Super 11 (?) lathe which is made in Germany. I feel these are one of the best small toolroom / precision lathes available. I had it for 15 years. It had a 24" cast iron bed, gear head, various chucks and 5c collet closer and was all quick change. I could hold under .001" on most set ups. I used it to make prototype products and for maintenance.

I sold it when I sold my business. Sure miss it.

If you can find a good used machine like this....you would be a happy camper....IMO.

 

[5030]

I owned an EMCO MAIER Super 11 (?) lathe which is made in Germany. I feel these are one of the best small toolroom / precision lathes available. I had it for 15 years. It had a 24" cast iron bed, gear head, various chucks and 5c collet closer and was all quick change. I could hold under .001" on most set ups. I used it to make prototype products and for maintenance.

I sold it when I sold my business. Sure miss it.

If you can find a good used machine like this....you would be a happy camper....IMO.

Another well made machine.

I look at my machine tools as lifetime investments, not something to recycle.

I have 1 machine that is used everyday in a production enviroment that was built in 1943, before I was born and it still holds a half thousandth and one of my Bridgeports is a late 50's model J head that has no readable TIR on the spindle and runs original Timken bearings, never replaced.

The Grizzly or Northern or HF or any low cost oriental stuff will be residing in a landfill or remelted for scrap long before.

We manufacture products that bear the 'Made in USA' logo and are manufactured primarily on American made machines. It's how I run my business, my personal ethic.

I don't really care how a person spends their money. Iknow how I spend mine. I want and demand quality built machines that last with little or no problems other than routine maintenance, machinery that goes the distance and then some and holds it's value.

 

[charlz]

The OP didn't say where he is located, used machine tool availability and price varies greatly by location. Here in this part of Idaho machines are few and far between with much higher prices than other parts of the country. I just upgraded from a Atlas/Craftsman 12" benchtop lathe to a free standing 80's vintage South Bend 13". I had to drive over 500 miles roundtrip to fetch the South Bend back from close to the Oregon coast area. When I see the machines and prices on the Portland, OR Craigslist I have to keep a roll of paper towels handy to mop up the :drool: Guys in other parts of the country buy nice machines for scrap prices.

The Atlas/Craftsman is a good learning machine. I made a few parts I have used while building stuff for my tractor. You find the limitations pretty quick as far as 'speeds and feeds'. It is light duty and can take light cuts, this is fine, just takes longer to get things done. The belt drive is nice because when you screw up the belt just slips Single phase power so you can just plug it in an go. I added an AXA quick change toolpost to it and that helps a lot in speeding up your work where tool changes are involved. No quick change gear box which really slows you down when working on something where you want a slow feed for a nicer finish but then need to switch gears to thread etc.

While the 13" South Bend is still belt technology it is light years better than the Atlas/Craftsman. Three phase power but I got a rotary phase convertor with it, took a bit to get things wired up. I can take much, much heavier cuts than with the Atlas, so far I haven't been brave enough to find the edge of the cutting envelope This one has the 1 3/8 through hole in the spindle and camlock spindle. The bigger the through hole the better. It does have a quick-change gear box which is nice. Spindle speeds are still low by today's standards but fast enough for me.

Practical Machinist and Home Shop Machinist are both good resources to read about various machines, just don't ask questions about Chinese/import machines on Practical Machinist... they are a banned topic.

Do your research and don't be afraid of Craigslist. Just beware of the guys who think just because it is a lathe or old or 'South Bend' or whatever that it is gold-plated under grey paint You have to do some research to find out what prices should generally be for your part of the country. Tooling gets expensive fast so the more you get with it the better.

 

[deereman75]

I am looking to build a mini lathe, there are plans for a tiny model making lathe on vintage projects.com, it wont be as good as an old southbend, but better then a used chineese lathe. If I was going to buy one, it would be a 1940s-1950s southbend 7x24, in good condition.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Another well made machine.

I look at my machine tools as lifetime investments, not something to recycle.

I have 1 machine that is used everyday in a production enviroment that was built in 1943, before I was born and it still holds a half thousandth and one of my Bridgeports is a late 50's model J head that has no readable TIR on the spindle and runs original Timken bearings, never replaced.

The Grizzly or Northern or HF or any low cost oriental stuff will be residing in a landfill or remelted for scrap long before.

We manufacture products that bear the 'Made in USA' logo and are manufactured primarily on American made machines. It's how I run my business, my personal ethic.

I don't really care how a person spends their money. Iknow how I spend mine. I want and demand quality built machines that last with little or no problems other than routine maintenance, machinery that goes the distance and then some and holds it's value.

Folks, many of you have lost sight of the OP's questions. They pertain to HOBBY machines. If you want to brag about your production machines, you're in the wrong thread. "Bridgeport" and "hobby" do not belong in the same thread when giving advice on what to buy. I cannot think of any machine I would rather NOT have than a Bridgeport or any other two ton machinist tool.

 

[Travelover]

Folks, many of you have lost sight of the OP's questions. They pertain to HOBBY machines. If you want to brag about your production machines, you're in the wrong thread. "Bridgeport" and "hobby" do not belong in the same thread when giving advice on what to buy. I cannot think of any machine I would rather NOT have than a Bridgeport or any other two ton machinist tool.

:laughing: Maybe someone should start a thread titled, "My lathe is bigger than your lathe."

If it works out, we could expand it to generators .

 

[5030]

Folks, many of you have lost sight of the OP's questions. They pertain to HOBBY machines. If you want to brag about your production machines, you're in the wrong thread. "Bridgeport" and "hobby" do not belong in the same thread when giving advice on what to buy. I cannot think of any machine I would rather NOT have than a Bridgeport or any other two ton machinist tool.

Not true. In fact, I know of several hobbyists that have B'ports or Tree's or Wells Index mills. The guy down the road has a Monarch 10EE in his garage for the sole reason of making parts for his hobby, restoring stean threshers. Certainly not a business for profit.

A machine tool, any machine tool, is only as accurate as the mass it presents against deflection by a cutting tool. That applies universally and you, if you are experienced in the trade should know that. Light weight machines are also light weight in accuracy.

Finally, a base Bridgeport weighs about 1300 pounds.

 

[EdK]

I'm rather new at this game but just purchased a hobby lathe of my own and am looking forward to working with it. Really, it is hard to pidgeon-hole what a hobby lathe is or should be. For me it was something I could make a tractor part (smallish) on if I wanted to although not the primary use. For the well-heeled boss of my machinist friend (and tutor) it is a 5-axis CNC machine (yes, hobby-only use)! It didn't take me long to figure out weight counts for a lot with respect to tractors - maybe even more than HP. The same for machine tools. Interestingly the motors are smallish.

I think one needs to look at what is out there in relative terms: if you do not "need" a full Bridgeport but can acquire one for the same price as a HF mill/drill then why not? I found a clean, used 13" SB in my local Craig's list with some decent tooling: Buck chuck, Aloris tool post, half dozen holders and a set of Hardinge 5C collets. The only less expensive lathe Grizzly even offers is this one:

G8688 7" x 12" Mini Metal Lathe

I can't see any reason to buy it over the SB.

 

[psj12]

If you look at used lathes, get one with as many accessories and as much tooling included as you can. You can spend a small fortune just gatering the stuff to make the lathe usefull.

 

[ultrarunner]

I owned an EMCO MAIER Super 11 (?) lathe which is made in Germany. I feel these are one of the best small toolroom / precision lathes available. I had it for 15 years. It had a 24" cast iron bed, gear head, various chucks and 5c collet closer and was all quick change. I could hold under .001" on most set ups. I used it to make prototype products and for maintenance.

I sold it when I sold my business. Sure miss it.

If you can find a good used machine like this....you would be a happy camper....IMO.

I had a tour of the Emco facility just outside Salzburg Austria...

They were very proud of their small scale CNC machines and worried about a rising Euro would negatively impact their profitability... that was about 10 yeas ago...