New to machining, is lathe tooling interchangeable

[Whitworth]

A small lathe will be nothing but an exercise in frustration. They are too light and underpowered. The castings can't absorb vibration, the chuck and spindle are so small the work piece will deflect, and the small hp leads to chatter.

1/4" diameter delrin, probably fine. 2" diameter steel, no way. Some materials will work harden and require a fast, fairly deep cut. Other material comes with mill scale.

You will be limited to single point turning. Not enough HP for forming bits, or large diameter drill bits. And nothing but the smallest threading. Cut off blades (or inserts) will be a nightmare.

My manual lathe is about 1500 lbs and I consider it entry level.

 

[sansbury]

There's been some good general advice here but I also disagree with a lot of what's been written. Not so much that I think what people are telling you will give a bad result but rather that their suggested approach is not the only way to succeed. So I will give my alternative take.

1. New Import vs. Old Iron: While old machines can be great, for a complete newbie they present a lot of opportunities to make bad choices. Sure, if your elderly neighbor down the road offers to sell you his clean 10EE or HLV-H that just happens to be sitting perfectly preserved in his barn for a couple grand, jump on that with both feet, *if* you are prepared to deal with a ton or more of machine that might require 3-phase power.

Meanwhile good examples of vintage home shop machines like the Atlas or sainted South Bend 9 often command very healthy prices due to their popularity, but in functional terms are equivalent and sometimes inferior to an import machine of similar size. And if they are worn, they will either be just as much of a project to tune up as a Harbor Freight special, or suitable mainly as a source for scrap iron. So take a look near you, if there is a deal out there it might be worthwhile, but if you don't find anything, don't be ashamed of going to HF or Grizzly and spending your time making chips instead of bargain hunting.

2. "Make sure you get all the tooling with it!": I disagree with this for two reasons. First, depending on what you are going to do with the lathe, a beginner might happily make parts for *years* with nothing more than a 3-jaw chuck, drill chuck, and a couple HSS tool blanks. My advice here would be to think of five parts you'd like to make, repair, or modify, and find out what tooling is actually needed to do those. I almost never use a 4-jaw chuck and have never used my faceplate or traveling steady, for instance, and I've made a lot of parts.

The second reason I disagree with this advice is that *most* tooling is not that hard to find or expensive, unless you are looking for something very specific for an older/rare machine. Yes, the deal will probably be better if you buy a clean old machine with a cabinet full of goodies than a naked SB Heavy 10 and then immediately go looking for a 6-jaw chuck, set of 1/64th collets, and a taper attachment, but if you found a nice clean heavy 10 with nothing but a chuck for a good price, I wouldn't tell you to pass on that. Everyday tooling for newer import machines (and most older ones) is generally pretty easy to come by at a variety of price and quality points to suit your needs.

However, I do agree with this advice in one respect, which is that if a lathe uses change gears for threading, then I would be cautious about buying a machine that didn't come with its full set. In that case, I would first verify whether replacements are available at reasonable cost.

3. "Always buy the biggest lathe you can": My first lathe was one of the ubiquitous Harbor Freight 7x10 specials, and the only thing I ever wanted to do on that machine and failed at was busting through the case hardening on some rolled ball screws. I made 1.5" toolholders from 4140 bar, 3" parts in 6061 that had great surface finishes, and so on. Buying and tuning up one of those will teach you a lot about what makes a lathe good, better, and best, and when you outgrow it you will have no trouble selling it for a reasonable value to the next contestant.

Also, they're small and weak enough to be extremely unlikely to kill or maim you. Step up to a 12" lathe and that is abolsutley not true, and even my little 10" demands a lot of respect. I am not saying that you should use a 7x lathe after drinking a six pack without any safety glasses, or that using a 10" lathe is extremely hazardous, but rather that the smaller the lathe, the bigger the margin for error. In many cases on the 7X even a full on crash would often only stall the spindle, whereas on the 10X the odds of breaking the tool and scrapping the workpiece was much higher.

Now, if you know that your parts definitely need 8" of swing or 30" of length, or you know you're going to be doing hard turning, etc., then no, don't buy a tiny little lathe and expect to do anything more than learn the basics with it and trade up. But if your work would fit in a 3" chuck and is mostly a few inches long, then no, you don't actually need a 10" lathe.

4. Minimum Basic Tooling: As I alluded to above, if you are just making basic turned parts, you probably don't need very much besides the following:

• 3-jaw chuck: An independent 4-jaw can give you more accuracy and allow a much wider range of operations, but telling a beginner to start by mastering the 4-jaw is just hazing. Get a 3-jaw, make some parts, have fun, and then get a 4-jaw when you need it.
• HSS tool blanks: More on this below but a half dozen blanks and a bench grinder will enable you to do almost everything except boring and internal threading. Look for M2 HSS rather than cobalt, which generates more hazardous dust when ground.
• 4-way tool post: I would want at least a 4-way post so I can have a turning/facing, threading, and maybe a cutoff tool set up at the same time, versus a lantern-type single tool holder. The imported quick-change AXA/BXA/CXA holders are a relatively inexpensive and useful upgrade that can be added at any time.
• Tailstock: for drilling and supporting long parts
• Drill chuck with arbor to fit the tailstock
• Live or dead center to fit your tailstock, to support longer parts (either type is likely fine)

Again, your work will be your guide here. If you are going to be doing a lot of repair or modification of existing parts, then something like a 4-jaw or faceplate may be necessary. Likewise, if you're going to do more work on long shafts, then one or more types of steady rest may be very important. But

In addition, you will find that you want or need some basic supporting shop equipment like some type of metal saw to prepare stock, a bench grinder for tool shaping and sharpening, and measuring equipment like calipers or micrometers. In a pinch you can get rudimentary but usable versions of all of these at Harbor Freight for $100 or so if you just use a hacksaw (but you'll get sick of that quickly!)

5. Carbide vs. HSS: As you dig into this, you will probably see a lot of chatter about carbide versus HSS cutting tools. This is one area where I will split the difference with the old-school curmudgeons. When you are starting from nothing, I think that learning to grind your own HSS tools is good both because it's cheap and works well, and also because it teaches you about tool geometry, which is important to understand. However, particularly if you get a 9" or smaller lathe, you will also see a lot of people saying things like, "that machine isn't rigid enough to use carbide" which I consider to be complete horse hockey. What is true is that HSS works perfectly well, is cheap, and relatively easy to wrap your head around. Leave insert tooling for later, not because you can't use it to good effect on a little light machine, but because you probably don't need it just yet.

 

[Hank11]

The book “How to Run a Lathe”, although dated, will give you some good background, and especially if you have never done it before.

There are lots of you tube vids on the subject as well. Like most things internet, some discernment of reality will help you choose.

 

[ericm]

Some parts of the country, especially in the west, don't have all that many old machine tools for sale. The ones that do come up are often overpriced.

 

[tbirkey214]

Some parts of the country, especially in the west, don't have all that many old machine tools for sale. The ones that do come up are often overpriced.

Yes arizona was pretty crummy, with tucson being a terrible place to source tools. Dfw on the other hand has so blown me away with the ammount of good and decently priced tools that I am going nuts buying myself a full machine and fab set up. I just picked up a pratt and whitney punch press with over 50 dies for 200 bucks.

 

[whateg01]

A small lathe will be nothing but an exercise in frustration. ...

1/4" diameter delrin, probably fine. 2" diameter steel, no way.

Don't tell that to all the people successfully making parts on their basement with something less than a 10ee!

2. "Make sure you get all the tooling with it!": I disagree with this for two reasons.

I support getting as much tooling with the machine as possible simply because it's the least expensive tooling you're typically going to find. A guy can always sell what ends up not being used but having to go look for it later and buying it separately can get expensive.

The second reason I disagree with this advice is that *most* tooling is not that hard to find or expensive, ...

Maybe not hard to find, but paying $300 more now for a pile of tooling is going to be less expensive than $50 here and there for stuff later on.

4. Minimum Basic Tooling: As I alluded to above, if you are just making basic turned parts, you probably don't need very much besides the following:

• Tailstock: for drilling and supporting long parts
  • Drill chuck with arbor to fit the tailstock
  • Live or dead center to fit your tailstock, to support longer parts (either type is likely fine)

Always get the tailstock with the machine it came with. Less so on lesser machines, but the ts is frequently scraped to fit the machine, specifically the head stock height.

 

[thunderskunk]

Yikes this thread blew up quick…

I paid less than that for my Hendey 14-40. I have a big static three phase converter, but if I didn’t I’d get a VFD sized for this application: infinite spindle speed adjustment and does the 3-phase conversion.

 

[thunderskunk]

A small lathe will be nothing but an exercise in frustration. They are too light and underpowered. The castings can't absorb vibration, the chuck and spindle are so small the work piece will deflect, and the small hp leads to chatter.

1/4" diameter delrin, probably fine. 2" diameter steel, no way. Some materials will work harden and require a fast, fairly deep cut. Other material comes with mill scale.

Weight is indeed a wonderful thing with lathes, but we do parts larger than 2” on south bend 9” lathes all the time. It’s a pain, but not impossible. Good, well oiled spindle bearings and solid clamping are a must. There’s guy’s who have made entire miniature locomotives on those little things.

Not to encourage anyone to get a small lathe. Get the biggest dang machine that fits with all the goodies you can afford. You deserve it.

 

[sansbury]

Maybe not hard to find, but paying $300 more now for a pile of tooling is going to be less expensive than $50 here and there for stuff later on.

Absolutely, if you have that choice take it, but the used market can sometimes be feast or famine, and people online often make the perfect the enemy of the good. There is always someone in a thread who got a creampuff machine from a master tool and die maker for scrap iron prices who is either clueless or bragging about how lucky he was.

My POV is that you are better off making chips with a machine that checks 85% of your boxes than spending months shopping for one that gives you 95%. And you have a much better chance of making buying the right “forever lathe” as your second machine, after you’ve learned a bunch about machining and what you really want to do. That is why I think the cheap small import machines can be a great first step.

 

[Aaron_W]

OK yall, i might go take a look at this instead. I just need something to get going to make simple stuff and something that I can sell easily when I'm ready to move on to a bigger machine.

I have used lathes a bit before at makerspaces for what I need and I have never used more than a drill bit in the tailstock and a carbide cutter.

I am starting to understand how important all that other stuff is, and am starting on having ideas on why I would need it. This is helping a ton

If a small lathe will do what you need, the 6" Atlas is a decent choice. $1000 is definitely on the high end, but not outrageous if it is in good shape. It does have all the basic needs except for a steady rest. Parts and accessories are easy to find, although not always cheap. It does include the milling attachment which can sell for $200-300 alone (not worth it to me, but that is what they sell for).

I have the same lathe but under the Craftsman brand. I paid $650 a few years ago and got more with it. In good shape but required disassembly and clean up as it hadn't been used for several years. Clean and shiny doesn't really add much real value, but it does tend to bump the asking prices up.

Small lathes get crapped on, mostly by people who NEED a bigger lathe. It is true that they are terrible for doing work beyond their capacity, but that is true for any machine. In fairness for a guy with a 14" lathe, their chuck alone weighs as much as the Atlas so it can be hard to imagine a tool like that being useful for anything but holding down papers.

If your needs are mostly things under 2" diameter, using "normal" materials (mild steel, aluminum, brass, bronze), this may be a decent choice. They absolutely can turn steel with a sharp HSS cutter. I've turned steel on my 3" Sherline.


Another nice thing with something the size of the little Atlas is even if you out grow it, they can be nice to keep around for small parts, or second operations if you get a bigger lathe. Small lathes are also always in demand so not difficult to resell down the road. I know a guy with a 16x40 lathe and he uses a 6" Atlas for making the small screws and fittings he uses for his hobby stuff, simply because it is a lot easier to leave it set up for that stuff and leaving his big lathe available for the bigger work. They can also cut a large range of threads with the change gears.

Something else I like about the Atlas vs a 7 or 8" import is almost all the accessories that were available for the larger 10 and 12" lathes were available for the 6". Milling attachments, collet closers, taper attachments. They even offered an accessory for working on electric motors. Most of the small imports are rather limited in options beyond chucks.


I don't know if the Atlas will be the right tool for you, but worst case it will give you a better idea for what you do need.

 

[LopezBart]

When I left graduate school in 1984 I picked up a 10" x 36" Atlas lathe from the 1940s.... nicely equipped. About 400 lbs or so... It wasn't a machine suitable for carbide tooling, but well sharpened HSS toolbits worked very well indeed if you took your time and didn't push it. I used that machine and a Rong-Fu mill drill to convert an old refrigeration compressor into a steam engine, and it powered our 19' steam launch for 15 years or so.

I have a 15x40 now w/ a 5 hp motor... but for small parts, that Atlas was great - I just didn't have room to keep both.

 

[RoninB4]

-Perhaps I shouldn't add to this thread, I've already been long winded enough in my first post. The OP didn't qualify his post very much and I couldn't estimate his experience, needs, or plans so I went overboard. After reading more of his posts I have to adjust my opinion a bit. I'll try to be brief this time.

-First off I agree with almost all of what @sansbury and @Aaron_W posted. The dead center, however, is an almost useless item IME.

-Secondly, while I usually agree with those advocating the largest lathe your budget allows it's not a good idea for the OP. He's renting and that just about guarantees he's going to need to move it some day. Plus, he's only making small(?) pins and bushings. Even a lathe with a 10" swing is larger than he'll need. Sure it's nice to have a more capable and larger capacity lathe but after checking the prices on FB for his area the asking prices for lathes are in the "optimistic" range. I mean $2000 for a worn machine to polish pins and make a few bushings? Most of the smaller lathes I saw for sale were filthy, buried under **** and had likely been neglected for years.

-For the pin/bushing/polishing duties I feel the OP could spend a LOT less and still get the tasks done with a used mini 7x12. Even a brand new 7x12 can be delivered for $450 with the 3 jaw chuck, tailstock, and a set of change gears for threading.

-I don't like Chinese lathe shaped objects very much either, the lathe is underpowered, ergonomics are for tiny hands and feels clumsy to use but they can be put to work. For what the OP is doing I can't see spending double/triple the cost on a larger/heavier machine he'll probably not need the capacity, or expense for tooling when he doesn't even really know what he'll need. A 7x12 weighs about 100 pounds. The OP can either keep the 7x12 for secondary ops or sell it when it's time for a larger machine.

-Rather than disagree with those that claim a lathe that size is useless/frustrating I'll submit one of my own examples. I had to sell off my larger machines and was in the same rental purgatory the OP is in. I retained only the machines I could move myself. Those machines were the tiny 7x12 lathe and equally tiny mill-drill from Horrible Freight. I turned the front fork lower legs OD for my ZRX 1100 in the lathe to accept a fork brace I designed/made. I used both the lathe and the mill to make the brace below. Screen images of the CAD model and the completed brace. Real work can be done if you work within the limitations of the machine.

 

[My Old Tools]

My first lathe was a Logan 210, 10x24 with only the half nuts for feeds. I played around with it, learned a little, read a lot with a hands on lathe to play with. Then I bought a 13x72 South Bend out of a college maintenance shop at auction, cost $1100. I still have it, now fully tooled, mostly from eBay. It gets used quite a bit and is a pleasure.

The other thing I recommend for smaller lathes is HSS insert tooling from A. R. Warner. It looks just like carbide inserts, but more forgiving HSS. I can grind blanks but I never do anymore. Unless I need a form tool, there is no need.

By the way, a 13x72 South Bend is easily moved by one man with a simple wheeled engine hoist. I've done it many times.

 

[jfleisher]

There’s nothing wrong with a small lathe for making small parts.

 

[sansbury]

The other thing I recommend for smaller lathes is HSS insert tooling from A. R. Warner. It looks just like carbide inserts, but more forgiving HSS. I can grind blanks but I never do anymore. Unless I need a form tool, there is no need.

I bought a set of those years ago. Happy to support an American company, but that aside, I didn't love them due to the lack of rake, except in brass which likes a flat tool. They're certainly no cheaper than carbide.

I think most of the trouble people have with carbide insert tools on smaller lathes is due to using the wrong shapes and grades, which to be fair is easy for the novice as inserts come in at least 23,751 varieties. This is an example what I liked to use, and is suitable for both turning and facing:

5/16" RH SCLC Small Screw Lock Positive Insert Tool Holder

www.shars.com

Inserts are classified by shape (diamond, circle, triangle, etc.), size (technically usually referring to an inscribed circle, larger number means bigger insert. The size often also denotes a tip radius, so you might see a 21.5, 21.51, 21.52, which refer to the same overall size but progressively larger tip radiuses), and carbide type or grade, which dictates what types of materials and uses it is suitable for. So a holder will typically take one shape and size of insert, and you can then get inserts in different grades to use for different materials.

For hobby use on a small lathe, I used two kinds of inserts: CCGX for aluminum and plastic, and CCMT for everything else. The CCGX style have a very sharp rake and are polished, and in my experience they generally work just as well in aluminum as a sharp HSS tool. While a CCMT insert will certainly cut 6061 it will not give the best results because of the edge shape. You also see a lot of the cheap triangular TPG insert tools around, and I would steer people away from them as much better is available for a little more money.

With all that said, I do recommend beginners also grind some HSS tools because doing so is a great way to learn about rake, clearance, radius, and all the other things concerned with tool geometry. Understanding this is fundamental to tooling selection and getting the best results from your equipment.

I will also say that on a mini-lathe, hand ground HSS can give a superior finish, particularly on steel and CI or workpieces over 2" diameter. If I wanted the best possible finish short of grinding, I would use a carbide tool to get to within .005" or so of finished size and then shave it down over 2-3 passes with a very sharp HSS tool. This could give a near-polished finish even on a less than perfectly tuned machine.

 

[Hooterville]

There's been some good general advice here but I also disagree with a lot of what's been written. Not so much that I think what people are telling you will give a bad result but rather that their suggested approach is not the only way to succeed. So I will give my alternative take.

1. New Import vs. Old Iron: While old machines can be great, for a complete newbie they present a lot of opportunities to make bad choices. Sure, if your elderly neighbor down the road offers to sell you his clean 10EE or HLV-H that just happens to be sitting perfectly preserved in his barn for a couple grand, jump on that with both feet, *if* you are prepared to deal with a ton or more of machine that might require 3-phase power.

Meanwhile good examples of vintage home shop machines like the Atlas or sainted South Bend 9 often command very healthy prices due to their popularity, but in functional terms are equivalent and sometimes inferior to an import machine of similar size. And if they are worn, they will either be just as much of a project to tune up as a Harbor Freight special, or suitable mainly as a source for scrap iron. So take a look near you, if there is a deal out there it might be worthwhile, but if you don't find anything, don't be ashamed of going to HF or Grizzly and spending your time making chips instead of bargain hunting.

2. "Make sure you get all the tooling with it!": I disagree with this for two reasons. First, depending on what you are going to do with the lathe, a beginner might happily make parts for *years* with nothing more than a 3-jaw chuck, drill chuck, and a couple HSS tool blanks. My advice here would be to think of five parts you'd like to make, repair, or modify, and find out what tooling is actually needed to do those. I almost never use a 4-jaw chuck and have never used my faceplate or traveling steady, for instance, and I've made a lot of parts.

The second reason I disagree with this advice is that *most* tooling is not that hard to find or expensive, unless you are looking for something very specific for an older/rare machine. Yes, the deal will probably be better if you buy a clean old machine with a cabinet full of goodies than a naked SB Heavy 10 and then immediately go looking for a 6-jaw chuck, set of 1/64th collets, and a taper attachment, but if you found a nice clean heavy 10 with nothing but a chuck for a good price, I wouldn't tell you to pass on that. Everyday tooling for newer import machines (and most older ones) is generally pretty easy to come by at a variety of price and quality points to suit your needs.

However, I do agree with this advice in one respect, which is that if a lathe uses change gears for threading, then I would be cautious about buying a machine that didn't come with its full set. In that case, I would first verify whether replacements are available at reasonable cost.

3. "Always buy the biggest lathe you can": My first lathe was one of the ubiquitous Harbor Freight 7x10 specials, and the only thing I ever wanted to do on that machine and failed at was busting through the case hardening on some rolled ball screws. I made 1.5" toolholders from 4140 bar, 3" parts in 6061 that had great surface finishes, and so on. Buying and tuning up one of those will teach you a lot about what makes a lathe good, better, and best, and when you outgrow it you will have no trouble selling it for a reasonable value to the next contestant.

Also, they're small and weak enough to be extremely unlikely to kill or maim you. Step up to a 12" lathe and that is abolsutley not true, and even my little 10" demands a lot of respect. I am not saying that you should use a 7x lathe after drinking a six pack without any safety glasses, or that using a 10" lathe is extremely hazardous, but rather that the smaller the lathe, the bigger the margin for error. In many cases on the 7X even a full on crash would often only stall the spindle, whereas on the 10X the odds of breaking the tool and scrapping the workpiece was much higher.

Now, if you know that your parts definitely need 8" of swing or 30" of length, or you know you're going to be doing hard turning, etc., then no, don't buy a tiny little lathe and expect to do anything more than learn the basics with it and trade up. But if your work would fit in a 3" chuck and is mostly a few inches long, then no, you don't actually need a 10" lathe.

4. Minimum Basic Tooling: As I alluded to above, if you are just making basic turned parts, you probably don't need very much besides the following:

• 3-jaw chuck: An independent 4-jaw can give you more accuracy and allow a much wider range of operations, but telling a beginner to start by mastering the 4-jaw is just hazing. Get a 3-jaw, make some parts, have fun, and then get a 4-jaw when you need it.
• HSS tool blanks: More on this below but a half dozen blanks and a bench grinder will enable you to do almost everything except boring and internal threading. Look for M2 HSS rather than cobalt, which generates more hazardous dust when ground.
• 4-way tool post: I would want at least a 4-way post so I can have a turning/facing, threading, and maybe a cutoff tool set up at the same time, versus a lantern-type single tool holder. The imported quick-change AXA/BXA/CXA holders are a relatively inexpensive and useful upgrade that can be added at any time.
• Tailstock: for drilling and supporting long parts
• Drill chuck with arbor to fit the tailstock
• Live or dead center to fit your tailstock, to support longer parts (either type is likely fine)

Again, your work will be your guide here. If you are going to be doing a lot of repair or modification of existing parts, then something like a 4-jaw or faceplate may be necessary. Likewise, if you're going to do more work on long shafts, then one or more types of steady rest may be very important. But

In addition, you will find that you want or need some basic supporting shop equipment like some type of metal saw to prepare stock, a bench grinder for tool shaping and sharpening, and measuring equipment like calipers or micrometers. In a pinch you can get rudimentary but usable versions of all of these at Harbor Freight for $100 or so if you just use a hacksaw (but you'll get sick of that quickly!)

5. Carbide vs. HSS: As you dig into this, you will probably see a lot of chatter about carbide versus HSS cutting tools. This is one area where I will split the difference with the old-school curmudgeons. When you are starting from nothing, I think that learning to grind your own HSS tools is good both because it's cheap and works well, and also because it teaches you about tool geometry, which is important to understand. However, particularly if you get a 9" or smaller lathe, you will also see a lot of people saying things like, "that machine isn't rigid enough to use carbide" which I consider to be complete horse hockey. What is true is that HSS works perfectly well, is cheap, and relatively easy to wrap your head around. Leave insert tooling for later, not because you can't use it to good effect on a little light machine, but because you probably don't need it just yet.

Excellent advise. I would maybe add to consider swing-over-cross slide if doing longer parts.

 

[ez-duzit]

...Your buddy told you to get one with a lot of tooling. What he meant to say was to get the cutting tools, tool holders, QC tool-post, and live centers...

Excellent post. But I think you missed it on the mind reading part.

Cutting tools, tool holders and live centers can amount to real money (well, maybe not live centers), but not when compared to the cost of adding: collet closer, taper attachment, steady rest, toolpost grinder, DRO, (etc), plus all the support equipment one needs, like micrometers, indicators, etc. Often the rest of this can amount to many times the cost of the lathe. And buying a comprehensively equipped lathe is a very real possibility, unless one becomes overexcited and simply HAS to buy the first thing that pops up.

OP--virtually everyone initially envisions only making some small bits and pieces. But reality sets in once you discover how very often you actually find real uses for it.

 

[Aaron_W]

OP--virtually everyone initially envisions only making some small bits and pieces. But reality sets in once you discover how very often you actually find real uses for it.

Yes. I have been 100% satisfied with my tiny Sherline for the things I wanted to make when I started out. Where I ran into trouble was all the new stuff I discovered I wanted to do once I had a lathe.

 

[RoninB4]

Excellent post. But I think you missed it on the mind reading part.

-It's always possible that I missed or misinterpreted.

Cutting tools, tool holders and live centers can amount to real money (well, maybe not live centers),

-So for a relative newbie just wanting to make pins and bushings just how many cutting tools and tool holders do you suppose will be needed? I can see ONE for turning/facing and ONE for a parting blade. Even a "lantern style" tool post can handle that. Even a boring bar for bushings needs to be sized to the expected diameter needed. While multiple tool holders and a QC toolpost is nice I don't consider this a requirement to get started. The OP doesn't even know IF the lathe will enhance his fabricating or IF he'll enjoy using a lathe. He may decide that using a lathe isn't what he thought it would be.

but not when compared to the cost of adding: collet closer,

-Not every lathe can use a collet closer so that limits his choices. I have a nice German lathe that uses collets but not with a closer. I don't feel limited or find myself wishing I had a different lathe. Furthermore, the added cost/value of a machine with a collet closer bumps the cost. I feel that getting a machine in good working condition is far better than some worn out Southbend with all the attachments.

taper attachment,

-In 35+ years of professional employment I've only had 1-5 instances of possible use for a taper attachment. Nice to have, would still like one for my lathe (just because...) but it's a little used attachment from my experience. Insisting on a lathe that has one really limits the field of choices when on a limited budget. The majority of lathes in shops I worked at didn't have/need one either. They're somewhat rare on the used market. Making a taper is really a different discussion if it's a working taper and not just a clearance feature.

steady rest,

-Unless you're doing shafts this is another piece of tooling that's nice to have but seldom used. I wouldn't consider this a deal breaker. A lot of the steady rests I've seen (except REAL industrial grade lathes) are rather flimsy and inadequate for doing real work. I've seen several shop-made steady rests that were good. The OP has a BP and welder that could be enlisted if shaft work was regular enough.

@ez-duzit says toolpost grinder,

-Tool post grinder? They're used more as a last resort than a first choice. Grinding grit on everything that acts as lapping compound? I wouldn't want a lathe that's had a TP grinder used on it much. Yes I've used them several times on the job, I even made an attachment for a Dremel to use on my crappy 7x12. I still prioritize a lathe in good condition over a worn out lathe with a TP grinder, the grinder is probably a main reason the lathe is worn out.

DRO, (etc),

-Nice to have but the OP isn't shopping for a Hardinge HLV-H class lathe. Machinery purchase is what the budget allows, the OP doesn't have much. The only real reason to have a DRO on a lathe IMO is for travel along the bed (Z axis). For shorter cuts the compound slide on even tiny lathes should handle 2" of travel. A DRO is yet another thing to verify for accuracy, there's problem potential with used DRO's. Just because it lights up and changes numbers with travel doesn't mean it's accurate any more.

plus all the support equipment one needs, like micrometers,

-....which need to be sized per the work (useless range?) and verified for accuracy. Does the OP need a 2-3" mic? Does the OP know if the brand is worth the added value or is now an adjustable "C-clamp"? Is a SOMET mic better than a Cheng-Shin? A newb wouldn't know.

indicators,

-I appreciate what you're trying to say but a used indicator is a really bad example. Indicators aren't durable and what kind of life it's lived determines whether it's useful or a broken watch movement. What brand? Is a Last Word (Starrett) a good one? No it's not. How about a sticky Interapid? Useless until it's been serviced and verified, OP can do neither. Does the OP need an indicator? When concentricity is important or trying to dial in a part for a skim cut. Otherwise it's not critical IMO. Indicating for concentricity without a 4 jaw chuck is somewhat difficult, perhaps the OP should ask for advice before being stampeded into equipment/expenses not really needed.

etc. Often the rest of this can amount to many times the cost of the lathe.

-That's quite true and I'll agree with that. Buying a worn out lathe with useless tooling is even more expensive too.

And buying a comprehensively equipped lathe is a very real possibility, unless one becomes overexcited and simply HAS to buy the first thing that pops up.

-All the more reason to NOT buy a candidate based upon the included tooling. Far better IMO to have a sparse selection of tooling on a lathe in good condition than a lot of tooling with a lathe that has a headstock that needs repair or bed-ways/slides no longer capable of holding any accuracy. Used machinery is like buying a used car, you really need to know a few things or it can be a bad purchase.

OP--virtually everyone initially envisions only making some small bits and pieces. But reality sets in once you discover how very often you actually find real uses for it.

-That reality, for beginners, doesn't come until AFTER they become familiar with what they need and what they don't have. Sure, spot purchasing equipment, tooling, instruments can be expensive. Being selective, asking advice, and tailoring purchases to needs still seems a better approach than trying to check all the boxes on a wish list. I don't like the tiny 7x12 Chinese lathes but if the OP can have a brand new one delivered for $450 (I checked) then that certainly leaves a lot more cash in pocket than dropping $2,000 on a used lathe in unknown condition. When it's time for the OP to decide on a better lathe then he'll be a more informed shopper. This is all JMO.

 

[sansbury]

I don't like the tiny 7x12 Chinese lathes but if the OP can have a brand new one delivered for $450 (I checked) then that certainly leaves a lot more cash in pocket than dropping $2,000 on a used lathe in unknown condition. When it's time for the OP to decide on a better lathe then he'll be a more informed shopper. This is all JMO.

+1 to everything you wrote. I’ve been machining for 15 years now and have never had need of anything beyond basic tooling. There have been times when I might have used an exotic attachment if I had one, but in the end I did not truly require them.

My guess is that the accessory OP will discover a need for most quickly won’t be a TPG or taper attachment, but a milling machine. I spent years making very functional parts on benchtop machines that weighed under 200 pounds, and even converted them to CNC to make very complex parts. And I used the manual machines to make the parts to convert them to CNC.

I would not necessarily do that again today but only because there is a new generation of small CNC mills starting to appear (like the Nestworks) that are probably the future for that. One of those and a small manual lathe would be a very capable mini machine shop that could live in a closet.

 

[RoninB4]

My guess is that the accessory OP will discover a need for most quickly won’t be a TPG or taper attachment, but a milling machine.

-If I read/remember correctly the OP has a Bridgeport turret mill.

I spent years making very functional parts on benchtop machines that weighed under 200 pounds, and even converted them to CNC to make very complex parts. And I used the manual machines to make the parts to convert them to CNC.

-Interesting projects. I had wanted to do this with a small mill too but life took a different direction and I'll probably not complete it.

I would not necessarily do that again today but only because there is a new generation of small CNC mills starting to appear (like the Nestworks) that are probably the future for that.

-Had a look at Nestworks, small work envelope but it might just be large enough for many. The footprint, integration of CAD/CAM, and the inspection/probe seems like one stop shopping for some. I'd still prefer a BP but that's more about the size of work I anticipate than anything else.

One of those and a small manual lathe would be a very capable mini machine shop that could live in a closet.

-Not everybody has the need or the space for larger machinery. For those wanting desktop machining it might be a better solution. I've been retired for a few years, out of a regular machine shop for even longer. My needs are confined to the machinery in my basement now but it does appear that desktop machining is going to reach a market for some. Thanks for posting this.