Lathe on craigslist

[wildcatvette]

What do you guys think of this:
http://ksu.craigslist.org/tls/5264464106.html

would it be a good place to start for someone who has never done any machining?
Bart

 

[iajonesy]

It's pretty small but the price is good. You might have a little trouble finding parts and tooling to fit, so if you get it, get all the tooling and extra parts you can from the seller.

Mike

 

[Maui]

That is a very small lathe. You would very likely outgrow it quickly so I would recommend going bigger. A lathe with a belt drive, quick change gear box, and a 9" swing is a good place to start. The Clausing, South Bend, Hardinge, Stark, and Logan name brands at 9" swing or bigger are all good choices. Atlas and Craftsman lathes in this size range are also OK, but not as well built in my opinion.

Maui

 

[Alchymist]

If not all worn, pretty good price. As to "The Clausing, South Bend, Hardinge, Stark, and Logan name brands at 9" swing or bigger are all good choices", no argument there, but they are not in the $250 price range.

 

[rlitman]

While that might appear to be a good size for a hobbyist, the headstock is surprisingly small in that machine, and the tailstock takes a non-standard morse taper.
It is a Craftsman Dunlap if you want to look it up. I had one that I seriously tuned up, but it's not really a machine I'd recommend.

 

[woody 73]

like others have said a great learning lathe and a very good price, although buying tooling for any lathe gets expensive. Yes you will outgrow it very fast but since you bought it for a low cost getting your money out of it when you sell it should be easy.

Your money your call like Maui said the bigger the better.

 

[exmaxima1]

What do you guys think of this:
http://ksu.craigslist.org/tls/5264464106.html

would it be a good place to start for someone who has never done any machining?
Bart

Depends on much time you want to spend learning, as opposed to actually working with the lathe. I wouldn't buy a lathe without insert holders, or x & y feeds for that matter. If at all interested in getting a lathe, invest in something that will make quality parts and minimize frustration.

 

[rsanter]

For learning and for doing small stuff that lathe would work just fine

Unless there is more stuff than I see that goes with it I would be in the $150 range and perhaps push it to $200 if I really wanted it

You will be suprised at how much you can do even with a small lathe, it just goes so much slower than the larger lathes

Bob

 

[wildcatvette]

Thank you for all the great responses. ..sounds like I should skip this one.

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

 

[Gary in NY]

I have one just like it (as well as several South Bend and a couple others). I think you will find you would be quite limited as to what you could do with it. I can't remember the last time I actually used mine for something. I think I would try to find something around a 9" swing to begin with.

 

[zkling]

Run away

 

[Alchymist]

One has to start somewhere, and if the bigger bucks are not there for a bigger machine...... even the little 7X10 from HF is over $500. I did own one of the HF 7X10s, and for a starter lathe, not bad. No, you can't make large parts or take heavy cuts, etc, but it did work quite well for the smaller stuff, and when I obtained my SB, I sold it for almost what I paid for it after using it for 3 years.

Anyway, some Dunlap info:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman/page4.html

 

[gungatim]

well I would jump on it if I would have seen that a few years ago. I bought the HF 7" lathe for almost double that to learn on. I think that one is a bit better..maybe a lot, if you are just thinking of a small, gotta start somewhere type of machine...

I know most guys on here expect you to start with a huge lathe the size of a car, but if you snag that for $200 and decide to move up, you could always sell and recoup the cost.

plus it would look awesome if you restored and painted it...

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I wouldn't mind having that unit... Most of what I'd be looking to do, I could probably get away with it....

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Here's one I just found... (You could probably resell it and make a buck.)

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/tls/5263759677.html

 

[Alchymist]

Here's one I just found... (You could probably resell it and make a buck.)

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/tls/5263759677.html

The XY cross slide is worth big bucks by itself.

 

[1950mercury]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat that's worth double that around here. The bench is worth 80

 

[Tim338]

Don't buy it look for a real lathe.

 

[Alchymist]

Don't buy it look for a real lathe.

Do it - Tim will pay the difference!

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Looks like that lathe is limited to very small work. You wouldn't be able to cut threads either. My advice would be to study on brands, sizes and capabilities before buying one. That way, you would buy one that would last you for years. I'm also not to comfortable with the Craftsman lathes. IMO: I'd rather save an extra $1000, and buy a South bend, Causing, Logan, or Jet.

 

[justanengineer]

That one might be good for sharpening pencils....

+1 on what others have said. Learning to run a machine is kinda like learning to weld, using a quality machine that doesn't create extra challenges makes it MUCH easier.

 

[BlueBomb]

I had that exact lathe. Bought it about a year and half ago with a bunch of tooling. Played with it for about 6 months and sold it for double what I paid and stepped up to a 12" Atlas. Yes you will outgrow it fast but you will also learn fairly easy with it. And who knows, you might not like machining as much as you thought and you got minimal investment in. But trust me, once chips start flying there's no turning back.

 

[Fretters]

+1 on what others have said. Learning to run a machine is kinda like learning to weld, using a quality machine that doesn't create extra challenges makes it MUCH easier.

Conversely, starting out with a recalcitrant ***** of a machine makes you learn to work with what you have, teaches you to think and improvise etc.

IMHO, machines like that are good starter machines as they make you think and learn about what you're doing, rather than just having everything easy from the start and then being in the **** if you ever have to work with something lesser later down the line. Better to learn the hard way and learn well, in my opinion. It's all valuable experience, and using that machine the OP would know what he wanted from a lathe, hence what to look for in a lathe, if the time ever came to upgrade.

My first lathe would have tested the patience of God himself, but I liked that thing. It makes you understand just how important simple things like sharp tooling and suchlike are too.

 

[spongerich]

The AA/Craftsman 109 is a fairly terrible lathe.
It's suitable only for non-precision work in aluminum, brass, or plastic.
You can cut threads with it (assuming you have the right gears, and if you don't, be prepared to pay a couple hundred bucks for a full set).

The biggest trouble (aside from the lack of rigidity, the weak damage-prone spindle, and the non-standard 0MT tapers) is the lack of dials on the cross slide and compound. Without them, there is no way of knowing how much of a cut you're taking. Yes, you could setup an indicator, but that's a PITA.

Watch my video tour if you want to see the details of this little lathe.

Unless you're making pens, look for something a little more capable.
Atlas 618's can be found for not a lot more money than that and they're worlds better.
Here in the NY Metro area, $300 will buy you a 10" Atlas if you're patient... your mileage in other parts of the country will vary.

 

[Bigbandguy]

I have the Craftsman AA which is what that is... #2 Morse taper, which is smaller than most anything else. It works but not very useful. I also have the HF 7x10 which is a much heavier machine. Sometimes the HF can be found used from someone moving up. I would go for at least that. The craftsman would be a good freebie or very cheap. I paid 20 bucks for mine but it was some years ago. Pain in the **** to find a chuck for.

 

[Tim338]

Hey, I am a nice guy but not that nice. I have bought several Southbend lathes for that money. Granted they needed work but your starting out with a better machine. The right deal will come along if you wait.





_

Do it - Tim will pay the difference!

 

[Alchymist]

I have the Craftsman AA which is what that is... #2 Morse taper, which is smaller than most anything else. It works but not very useful. I also have the HF 7x10 which is a much heavier machine. Sometimes the HF can be found used from someone moving up. I would go for at least that. The craftsman would be a good freebie or very cheap. I paid 20 bucks for mine but it was some years ago. Pain in the **** to find a chuck for.

Are you sure the Craftsman MT was not a #1?

The SB 9" series use a #2 MT in the tailstock, as does the HF 7X10. I sold my HF 7X10 a year ago for what I paid for it, after using it for several years. It brought $450 with the accessories I let go with it, which weren't many.

The HF 10X18 wood lathe (65345) also uses #2 MT head stock and tail stock. Nice that collets are interchangeable between lathes, although I had to make the draw bar for the HF (10 minute job). Once you reach MT #3, you are into some serious machinery.