Lathe newbie/Buying my first machine

[TheClaw]

The shop is built, most of the bikes are in there and cool stuff is on the walls. Now I'm in the market for a lathe.

I'm not a machinist. I did take a lathe and milling class at the local community college a couple of years ago. Now that I have the space I'm ready to start practicing.

I realize I can ask the internet exept I wanted to come here first. As a beginner, what do I look for in a decent machine. I'm looking to spend $1000-$1500. There are a number of them on Marketplace. Is there another forum or site that's better to scroll through? I have 220V power but it's not conveniently located in the garage so a 110V machine is preferable.

Any advice would be welcomed.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Many (most ?) of the smaller imported lathe use a plastic gear train. If one of those gear breaks you are dead in the water.

Either get on that is belt drive or direct drive (DC).

 

[OccupantRJ]

I started with a Craftsman/Atlas 12” with quick change gear box In my 20’s. I paid for it by machining parts for automatic race transmissions for a builder. My 42 yr old son has it now and has added DRO. I found member Beyond1 a similar model about 10 years ago and he is happy with it. I see them in this area for $500-1000.

 

[cvairwerks]

First thing you need to do is define what you want to do with it and figure out the work envelope and the materials you want to use. After that, add 10-25% to the dimensions and you can start looking for something that will handle it. If you going to be working with soft materials, ie plastics, cast aluminum and others, that will dictate one direction to look, while harder materials are going to indicate another.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that tooling will end up costing as much or more than the lathe itself, unless you find a deal on a tooled up machine that will meet or exceed your needs.

 

[gorilla]

One thing to keep in mind when buying any used machine tool is that you can do mechanical repair like bearings , new lead screws. gears etc. You cannot repair geometrical problems like wear in the bed ways etc. A really good rebuild shop I worked with told me that regrinding the bed of my 10" logan would cost as much as boing a big Leblond.

 

[strength_and_power]

A 110v lathe won’t be able to do much, size wise or material. If you are doing small parts from plastic or softer metals like brass, you might be ok.

I wouldn’t buy a lathe, ( or any machine) unless it was under power unless the price is below scrap value or you know going into it that it will be a project before you can use it.

Bring an indicator and check for runout, wear on the ways, obvious signs of crashing a tool.

 

[rmack898]

First thing you need to do is define what you want to do with it and figure out the work envelope and the materials you want to use.

Until you get this first step done, any talk about machines, voltages, tooling, etc. is a waste of time.

 

[RoninB4]

-All of the above postings are good advice. You also need to define the level of precision (tolerances) you'd want to hold, what materials you expect to work with, and whether this will be repair/rework or new components.

-You budget is a bit thin but perhaps doable. Does the budget mean you already have measuring instruments ( OD/ID micrometer, a reliable dial test indicator, etc.). Do you have a good set of twist drills? You'll also need a decent bench grinder for sharpening those drills or any HSS lathe bits. Do you plan on single point cutting of threads? Boring the ID of bushings? What do you already have?

-I used to live/work in Chicago for about 20 years, there should be a fairly decent market if you're willing to search for it. Post any candidates you're considering for an opinion by the collective here.

 

[Nessism]

The 110V part limits your options. Most units like this will be china mini machines, or maybe something old like a Logan or Atlas/Craftsman. A South Bend 9 would be a reasonable target. Be leary of the china stuff; there are good machines out there, but many are junk.

 

[ADKAmateur]

I bought an Emco Maximat v7 from its second owner. They are 1970s Austrian made lathes. Bulletproof and the bonus is some of them come with a separate milling head attachment. They were built to the same tool room specs as the larger v10 and v11. So you get a compact lathe like a Chinese/Taiwan mini lathe but with real build quality, but for about the same price if you can find one. They are sometimes on FB for around $1500. I think that is what I paid for mine. As long as the ways are in good shape you can easily fix anything on the machine yourself. I think it is a 7x17 capacity. For what I am doing (learning how to machine) it is perfect.

 

[Mandres]

It depends a lot on your area/region. Around here, in that price range I'd look for a vintage Logan or a newer Enco/Jet import.

 

[MushCreek]

Around here, big lathes often go cheaper than small ones. The downside of a big old lathe is having room for it, being able to get it home, and usually very low spindle speeds. I have an 11" Summit that is built like a tank. It's OK, but parts are unavailable, and it has an oddball spindle thread. I'd have to make a mounting plate for different chucks.

 

[matt_i]

Ideally your first lathe should a) have all basic functions working/demo under power, b) come with some sort of chuck and tooling package, and c) not be ruined near the start or finish line by being tipped over onto the concrete. They are quite top heavy.

I started with a cheap lathe that plugged into 120vac. I struggled with finishes, could not part off and couldn't run in reverse due to the chuck unscrewing. I don't think I could single point a thread larger/deeper than a -16tpi due to lack of rigidity. This is why you will get advice to skip ahead to a "better answer" although that usually requires a bigger budget. I have better machines now, 30 yrs later, but had to develop significant capabilities with electrical and rigging/machinery moving along the way. The start with less desirable machines was helpful for a number of other reasons, learning work-arounds for some of the limitations, and grinding HSS tool bits.

Whatever you buy: Absolute Madness with a lathe that you care about turning to precision dimensions is to use any kind of sandpaper or Scotch Brite to polish parts. The grit goes everywhere and gets trapped like a lapping compound which is going to exponentially increase wear.

 

[CraigStu]

I have an old 1940s Craftsman 120V lathe. Any experienced machinist would say it's junk. But I can make bushings, spacers, etc and mod existing stuff so it works for me. I find that it is sloppy/flexible enough that if I expect to reduce a diameter by say .008, I will need to crank the setting by .010". And it's a lot easier to make things from aluminum or brass. But it works for me and I got it 10 yrs ago for $400.

 

[TheClaw]

Most of what I plan to do are making bushings for motorcycle spacers on Wheels and forks. Maybe some control bits, push rods or foot pegs.

Now that I think about it a little bit, I could move my 220 from the front of the shop to the rear of the shop with some surface conduit. I'm not an electrician but I can twist wires together.

This is all very helpful. Thanks very much.

 

[AEAdam]

Most of what I plan to do are making bushings for motorcycle spacers on Wheels and forks. Maybe some control bits, push rods or foot pegs.

Now that I think about it a little bit, I could move my 220 from the front of the shop to the rear of the shop with some surface conduit. I'm not an electrician but I can twist wires together.

This is all very helpful. Thanks very much.

My bridgeport has a 1hp motor wired 240 3 phase. I converted that to 20A 120v with a variable frequency drive and it works fine. You don’t absolutely need 220v. And you sure could buy an old industrial 3 phase machine.

Detail: I was able to do this because I had a 1hp machine. I’m not sure what would happen if you hooked my VFD up to a 3hp motor. It may not simply run with less power. Be sure to read up on it. But pretty sure all the higher hp motors can run with the right VFD on 220 single phase (dryer type receptacle)

 

[Firebrick43]

Most of what I plan to do are making bushings for motorcycle spacers on Wheels and forks. Maybe some control bits, push rods or foot pegs.

Now that I think about it a little bit, I could move my 220 from the front of the shop to the rear of the shop with some surface conduit. I'm not an electrician but I can twist wires together.

This is all very helpful. Thanks very much.

A 110v bench lathe, such a an 10x22 import, 10" atlas, 9" southbend, or 10" logan can turn steel just fine. Its slower but you don't absolutely need 220v.

The types of non production projects you have listed you will spend more time setting up, laying out, measuring, polishing, ect that you will spend time actually in the cut. HP becomes more important when you making a dozen or more of a part.

 

[Firebrick43]

Detail: I was able to do this because I had a 1hp machine. I’m not sure what would happen if you hooked my VFD up to a 3hp motor. It may not simply run with less power. Be sure to read up on it. But pretty sure all the higher hp motors can run with the right VFD on 220 single phase (dryer type receptacle)

One has to look at the HP rating of Nema receptacles. The 14-30R is rated up to 2 hp.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Too bad this is so far away in California.… Might be closer to what you are looking for

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/thousand-oaks-logan-lathe-12-swing/kTT2ptH7pNSmdFp3YntxMt

 

[vpd66]

I would say a good lathe to start with would be an older 10" lathe. I tend to stay away from Craftsmen/Atlas lathes has they seem lighter built and use a lot of die cast parts. South Bend, Logan, and Sheldon are nice lathes and they made them in the 9"-10" size.I had a 10" Sheldon years ago and when I bought my big lathe a good friend talked me out of my Sheldon and I regret it to this day! One thing to note is just because it says it's a 10" lathe and can swing a 10" part doesn't always mean you can machine a 10" part. Most 9"-10" lathe have a practical maximum swing of about 6". Also a lathe with a lot of tooling is a plus! You will spend more money on tooling then the lathe.

 

[GeoBruin]

Too bad this is so far away in California.… Might be closer to what you are looking for

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/thousand-oaks-logan-lathe-12-swing/kTT2ptH7pNSmdFp3YntxMt

I'm 15 minutes from that lathe and would buy it in a heartbeat if it had a tailstock.

 

[m.d.hunter63@hotmail.]

That's a turret lathe,

 

[milkovich]

I'm not a machinist, but I am advanced enough to recommend you avoid an atlas as they're overpriced for the quality of the machine. I sold mine for parts and still got way to much for it. Clausing, Logan, Southbend are all decent lighter weight machines. If you're doing motorcycles, you don't have to go crazy on the capacity or power but an accurate machine will pay pretty good dividends down the road as you get better. People hyper fixate on way wear but unless you're making long cuts, it's not as critical as people make it out to be. The spindle needs to be tight and have good bearings. I'd also skip anything that requires change gears, find a lathe with a proper gear box. If you're doing japanese bikes/modern bikes, being able to cut metric threads would be huge. Hardened ways, tight/accurate spindle, metric gearbox is going to be a pretty sought after lathe and there won't be much down in the $1000 range unless you really luck out, personally, i'd climb over a pile of "heavy 10's" for a newer Jet/Enco Chinese/Taiwan machine. You're in the Chicago area so you might be able to hunt one down at an equipment auction, but make sure you have the rigging figured out. I got a quote on my lathe and it was $2-3k.

 

[txvwnut]

OP's budget is a big limiting factor for a used lathe, at least in my area any used lathe that looked to be a decent rig was $3k and up. Don't buy into the it's gotta be this or that voltage, all of my lathes have been 120 units and they have performed very well. It's all about feeds and speeds anyway and you can overload a higher voltage lathe just as you could a lower voltage lathe. My current lathe is a Precision Matthew's PM1228 and its a 120 volt machine but uses a variable speed DC motor and I've taken some healthy cuts with it.

Any lathe you find that fits your budget and will do what you want it to originally will be a good lathe as it will teach you how to do certain functions and setups, as long as its not a totally clapped out pile of metal. As you progress with it and find things you wish it would do then you will have an idea of what you want to look for in your next machine.

 

[BombShelter]

I have a similar Logan, like above, nice machine that doesn't take up a ton of space but it is 220v. Get a clean machine, and hopefully a lot of tooling, and if you don't like it, they only go up in value, although slowly. An electrician should be able to to run wire for you. If your shop is detached, you'd have to rent a trencher, I think 28" deep is code?

Make sure you have a moving plan, I busted mine down onsite and put it on a truck using an engine hoist, I think the whole machine weighed 765 lbs., not too big. You might need a rigger for a larger machine, they can get very heavy.

You should have a field day looking in Chicago, don't forget to look at the machinery auction sites, you might get lucky and it will include a ton of stuff, here's a nice one.

Perfection Global - Hardinge HLV Super Precision Lathe

Used Hardinge HLV Super Precision Lathe for sale by Perfection Global. Perfection offers machinery financing options.

perfectionglobal.com