Who's got lathes?

[joe.striper]

Just put a deposit on this Ames Lathe tonight. 36" bed 8" clearance. 1" headstock also got 29 collets, 1/8th to 1". My first oathe. I'm pretty excited!

 

[mtechgunman]

Here's mine. Recently purchased. Haven't even taken delivery yet. It's a one owner 1978 LeBlond 15"x60" servo shift. Never been refinished, it's in phenomenal shape. 2 chucks, collet adapter with 26 collets, steady rest, etc etc

 

[ilovevocs]

Here's mine. Recently purchased. Haven't even taken delivery yet. It's a one owner 1978 LeBlond 15"x60" servo shift. Never been refinished, it's in phenomenal shape. 2 chucks, collet adapter with 26 collets, steady rest, etc etc

That's a nice looking piece. Congrats..

 

[shawnspeed]

Once you have a big lathe....it is hard to go back...
I have 3...16X60, a 12x 42, and a 9" southbend....the 16x60 is the go to...

I have 3 lathes, my favorite by far is this monster VDF. I found it for sale ($600) locally when looking for a 14x40. I ruined my trailers 7000 lb suspension, but it was worth it. I added the DRO, a taper attachment, and VFD 1 phase input 5 HP. It has metric and imperial threads up to 14 inch pitch - yup 14 inch pitch! Also has all pipe pitches. I think it is just post WWII, primo German engineering and manufacturing.

I have had an Atlas 12x36 since I was 17, I'm on my third one now! I also have a 12 x 48 Rockwell wood lathe from a school that shut down the shop.

I have made hundreds of parts, and even more repairs! Screwed up threads, to actual parts from scratch to save a machine. I also used it to twist iron square bar for railings I built!

I said I would never move it once I unloaded it from my trailer, but now I have a new shop out in the back. I need a crane to load it on the upgraded trailer (now 14K gooseneck). Hope my car lift will pick it up off the trailer!

 

[1953mercury]

Here is my old Atlas and my new to me TOS. 400 lbs on the Atlas versus almost 4000 on the TOS. Mike

 

[jfleisher]

I'm restoring this Atlas 6x24 right now...

 

[A_Pmech]

That's a pretty Regal. It'll serve you well.

Here's mine. Recently purchased. Haven't even taken delivery yet. It's a one owner 1978 LeBlond 15"x60" servo shift. Never been refinished, it's in phenomenal shape. 2 chucks, collet adapter with 26 collets, steady rest, etc etc

 

[joe.striper]

So glad this is finally done and setup. Happy beyond words. !!!

 

[zkling]

Here's mine. Recently purchased. Haven't even taken delivery yet. It's a one owner 1978 LeBlond 15"x60" servo shift. Never been refinished, it's in phenomenal shape. 2 chucks, collet adapter with 26 collets, steady rest, etc etc

That's nice. A little newer than I like style wise, but a real workhorse!

That's a neat machine Joe, but not the most practical without lead screw and longitudinal feed. What do you primarily plan on using it for?

 

[dcmus]

I just put a deposit on a 19x120 Summit. Hope to pick it up tomorrow but will have tto store for a few weeks while I finish lighting, insulation and install a jib crane. It must be fun or I wouldn't do it

 

[joe.striper]

That's a neat machine Joe, but not the most practical without lead screw and longitudinal feed. What do you primarily plan on using it for?

Z, as I like to say everything in life is a compromise. This lathe is a compromise between price, features, quality and size.

As you probably know, I restore vises and I was getting tired of paying $120 for vise handles for my bigger pieces. This lathe will turn my handles for me as well as make the odd piece for my vises, Wilton **** Caps, swivel lock-downs etc...

In 1942 this BC Ames lathe was the most accurate lathe you could buy. I only paid $400 for this one, it runs on 110 (detached garage no 220), will handle 1" stock through the headstock, came with a ton of tooling, it is completely original, bench and everything, and it was fully restored and setup by a guy who did this for 40 years at Hamilton Standard. All I had to do was to plug it in and go.

I would have liked a Southbend, but they are running 800-1,500 and many, many of them are not setup and are rusty etc.. Since I know NOTHING about lathes I could easily get stuck with a bad machine.

The seller was great and he told me in stark detail everything about it's limitations, I knew exactly what I was buying. This BC Ames Lathe will do everything I need, it is rare enough that I will NEVER lose money on it if and when I outgrow it and move to a better machine.

 

[BlueBomber]

I've posted this elsewhere, but here's my Craftsman/Atlas 12"x54" lathe, acquired from an estate sale for the princely sum of $300. Included three chucks, six tool holders, and lots of tooling. I was in the right place at the right time.

 

[coby65]

That deserves a You **** for the smoking deal!

And what no three jaw chuck I the deal just for GP.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice score. That 6-jaw chuck alone is worth the $300.00. It's hard to tell from the markings but it appears to be a Buck chuck, or possible a Pratt Burnerd.

Lathe looks to be in great shape.

Mike.

 

[Falcon67]

That Craftsman is quite a score. Nicely bought.

 

[realsteel34]

I have a 13 X 60 South Bend. Poor thing gets little rest.

 

[TS3g]

I'm so jealous of everyone is this thread. I've been searching for a lathe for about 8 months now with no luck. Everything I find is either ridiculously overpriced, or is priced right but is way too big for my itty bitty garage.

Soon....

 

[larry_g]

I've posted this elsewhere, but here's my Craftsman/Atlas 12"x54" lathe, acquired from an estate sale for the princely sum of $300. Included three chucks, six tool holders, and lots of tooling. I was in the right place at the right time.

In the very bottom of the picture is what looks to be a Jacobs Collet chuck, Did you get the collets for it? If not hurry back and see if they are still around.

http://www.stevensmachine.com/used/2015/05/25/jacobs-model-50-collet-chuck-10-collets/

The above is not your model but it shows the collets.


lg
no neat sig line

 

[BlueBomber]

In the very bottom of the picture is what looks to be a Jacobs Collet chuck, Did you get the collets for it? If not hurry back and see if they are still around.

http://www.stevensmachine.com/used/2015/05/25/jacobs-model-50-collet-chuck-10-collets/

The above is not your model but it shows the collets.


lg
no neat sig line

Larry, I did indeed get two cases of collets for the chuck. I've never used a cillet system before, so I look forward to the opportunity.

 

[BlueBomber]

Nice score. That 6-jaw chuck alone is worth the $300.00.[emoji106] It's hard to tell from the markings but it appears to be a Buck chuck, or possible a Pratt Burnerd.

Lathe looks to be in great shape.

Mike.

Thanks. It is indeed a Buck chuck.

 

[maddawg1952]

I fell into a good deal on this 9" Logan Model 1400 last spring. It's a small utility lathe ,wish it had quick change gear box , but it does what I need. So far after buying some basic tooling I'm into it for around $400

 

[gaetano]

I fell into a good deal on this 9" Logan Model 1400 last spring. It's a small utility lathe ,wish it had quick change gear box , but it does what I need. So far after buying some basic tooling I'm into it for around $400

That looks like an Atlas lathe. I have an Atlas 12X36 Great little lathehttp://www.garagejournal.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbup.gif

 

[sailah]

Finally got my lathe parked in its final spot and leveled. It's an Enco TurnPro 14x40, 3hp plan to add a DRO this year

 

[MoparTrucks]

Man I am jealous you guys. I have saved $1000 from side jobs for a lathe, I have the space, but these rarely come up on CL around here and the two I have looked at have been junk with high prices. I am almost ready to pull the trigger on a Grizzly G4000 but I would much prefer an older lathe.

I do have a question though, I am retired and live in my "forever" home so I would never have to move it but how do you guys move those large lathes when you move? Do you have to hire someone special to move them or do the movers do it for you?

 

[sailah]

When I lived in the MidWest I would routinely attend auctions and engine lathes came up for sale frequently. $1000 in your pocket went a long way buying a good machine that wasn't hammered. Larger machines typically went for scrap, smaller single phase machines were priced high for Johnny Homeowner, ie South Bend. It's all about being in the right place at the right time. Put the feelers out and ask around shops, every shop has a ******* in the back they might part with for short money.

Regarding moving, I've always moved my own stuff. My lathe weighs a couple thousand lbs, so it's totally doable by myself with the right leverage. I can only imagine the looks on movers faces if they opened my garage and were asked to move my stuff with a dolly and hand truck. My machines are too valuable to me to risk your typical movers but not worth having a rigger move it. I just moved a lot of my tools about 800 miles using a heavy car trailer and patience behind the wheel.

It really depends on size. I have a 14k lb equipment trailer I could load up with some beast lathe, but really don't have the equipment at home to safely unload something that big. If I bought a 6000 lb milling machine, I would probably pay a rigger to transport it for me because they have the big forklift, straps, chains etc to make the move safely. About the biggest thing I would consider moving myself is a Bridgeport. I factor that into the price I pay as well, riggers don't give their time away and their fees can often double the price of a machine.

A couple auction sites that have worked well for me are auctionzip.com and bidspotter.com. The first is better for finding local auctions and you can search for keywords like lathe. The second is much larger industrial auctions but I've had plenty of luck there as well. It's also very regional. In Pittsburgh I'd be tripping all over lathes and machine tools every week at auction. Here in MA, they happen but not nearly as often as the midwest and prices reflect that.

Oh and budget for tooling. A bare lathe is worthless to me. When I bought the above lathe my machinist buddy said during the pickup, be prepared to spend twice what you spent on the lathe for tooling. I laughed because I had just paid $2500 for basically a new lathe with the typical 4 jaw, faceplate, steady rest combo. He was wrong, it was more like 3 times...lol. So I guess I'm saying if you are on a budget, buy one with as much tooling as you can. I tend to buy large lots of tooling at auctions, like 100 times more than I need for short money. I'll horse trade others for tooling that I don't have to build up my stock. You have to be loaded to buy tooling at catalog prices, much better off to buy lots of it at auction an sell off what you don't need. At least that's what I've found to be a good way.

 

[macgyver37]

Mopar, moving a lathe is easier than paying for it for me. I'll admit that I have moved a bunch of them and I have done it many different ways. I have only had help on one which is my big one at 12,000 lbs. I don't have a trailer to handle that much just yet.

It depends on what machine you get, a 1920's or older with the sewing machine legs will be different to move than one with a more integral base or larger foot print legs. I have used a cherry picker to move my old SB 14.5, not preferred but I made it work. I have a forklift now so that is first option for me now.
I have a bunch of machines that my lift can't pick up, I have a 6500lb mill and I use a pair of ramps made of 5" angle iron that are 7ft long. I will get the machine up onto plastic strips that I have (3/8" thick polypro) that allow it to slide very well and use my winch to pull the machine to the trailer. i then get the ramps under the machine base and start to winch it up the ramps. I have a long trailer and I can raise the front with the jack and it puts the dovetail almost on the ground. A more normal 16ft utility trailer would probably not make this as nice to do. I then ratchet strap the ramps to the machine and winch it all to the middle of the trailer. Once to the shop I will just reverse the procedure. I also have machine skates if it looks like these are going to work well, but I really like the plastic as it is only 3/8" off the floor and is much easier to handle by myself.

The easiest though was when I had my rollback wrecker, it made moving machines very easy. I had it all of 2 months and it was stolen, but I did get to move a handful of my machine with it.
I would suggest talking with a local the has a roll back wrecker and see if they would be willing to move one for you. Be careful though as there are operators that are very good and can make their equipment do things they weren't designed for and then there are ones that can tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet. I'd want to get some idea of how good they are before I had them move a machine for me.

 

[zmotorsports]

Man I am jealous you guys. I have saved $1000 from side jobs for a lathe, I have the space, but these rarely come up on CL around here and the two I have looked at have been junk with high prices. I am almost ready to pull the trigger on a Grizzly G4000 but I would much prefer an older lathe.

I do have a question though, I am retired and live in my "forever" home so I would never have to move it but how do you guys move those large lathes when you move? Do you have to hire someone special to move them or do the movers do it for you?

I too live in a machinery desert. I looked for nearly a year for a good used lathe and milling machine. I had a smaller benchtop top style 3-in-1 so I wasn't in a huge hurry but I was wanting to upsize as I was passing up on some jobs that were too big for my smaller machine.

That said, I finally bit the bullet and bought the best new equipment I could find. I opted to go Taiwanese machines because they are steps ahead of the standard Chinese machines that are currently on the market. I also wanted machines that I could use right away. I did NOT want a project lathe or mill that would take a year or more to bring back to usable condition.

As far as moving, I don't plan on moving so that was not as big a factor for me as space limitations and being able to set them up in my shop without having to rent large equipment. My 13x40 lathe and 9x35 Bridgeport style machines were definetely at the heavy side of my capabilities at home but I was able to get them setup and in place without incident. Patience is the name of the game and having a plan long before even attempting to move anything.

Mike.

 

[Falcon67]

Man I am jealous you guys. I have saved $1000 from side jobs for a lathe, I have the space, but these rarely come up on CL around here and the two I have looked at have been junk with high prices. I am almost ready to pull the trigger on a Grizzly G4000 but I would much prefer an older lathe.

We moved in the fall of 2010, brought all the machinery on a flat bed car hauler. Biggest issue was moving the mill/drill on and off because the base made it a bit top heavy. Other than that, no issue. My 12x36 came in a shipping crate. The trucking company parked it on the trailer and I used my engine hoist to gently move it off.

Your G4000 target is a regular 9x20 type. Lots of similar units around - I have the HF model. I got mine cheap, back in the era of HF sales plus 25% off coupons. They are a decent piece with a few mods. Depends on what you want to do - but look hard at the newer 10x items because many are way more capable. However, there is a TON of info out there on tuning up the 9x20s, and many are projects that would help you get started using the machine. Pretty good when you can use the machine to improve the machine.

If you do find your 9x20, consider this bench for a mount - lots of storage space. Got this bench at Sams Club. (yea, I'm a machine pig now - two lathes. ) Fits perfect, puts spindle at a comfortable height. Easy enough to move around. An upgrade would be to cover the top with 1/8 or 3/16 steel plate.

X2 on the Tooling - 4 jaw, QCTP, bits - it goes on. Littlemachineshop.com is a good place for 9x20 supplies.

 

[Perrorojo]

I have one as of Saturday

 

[spooler41]

Perrorojo, I've got a mate to your lathe. I purchased it at a bldg. demolition
sale about 14 years ago. The demolition contractor had it sitting with a pile of metal scrap, when I asked about it they told me it could be had for $150.00
and there were also 2 pallets of parts and accessories that went with it.
After inspecting it , I told them to consider it sold. I had fallen in love with
the art deco cast iron legs and had to have them.
After looking at your pictures the only difference I can find is the shape and size of the belt and gear guards. Mine has the same motor support arm, motor gear box and belt tensioner and operator controls. The pallets of parts included
a pile of drive gears 3 and 4 jaw chucks, a 15" face plate, tool holders ,center support , live and dead centers for the tail stock and wrenches for the chucks, tool holders and tail stock lock. The only name plate on it says" FLATHERING"
and I believe it was manufactured pre WW-I ,aprox. 1912 -1914 era.
I don't do any precision work with this machine, but have used it a lot for
other noncritical projects. I have never seen another machine like it until now, also I've found very little information on the Flathering name.

Get back to me if you care to compare notes. .............. Jack

 

[Boilerhouse]

Perrorojo - that thing is a brute. Looks like it could swing a horse.

 

[BoneChop]

I do have an Enco Lathe I would like to sell. It was in a trade school that shut down part of its machine shop. When I got it, it still had the cosmoline(sp?) on it with wood and plastic chips. Runs on 220v and I have some other accessories for it that go with it.

My work computer won't let me load pics but feel free to call or text with questions...
219-670-2663

It's currently located in Schererville in NW Indiana. Asking $1300 OBO

 

[Perrorojo]

Spooler41

I paid $150 for it. I's a Monarch. It was owned by a guy named Jan Appenzeller who was pretty well known in restoring Hudsons, Auburns and Duesys. He was restoring a 49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible when he passed away this summer. I got an extra 3 and 4 jaw chuck as well as another new tool post and about 4 boxes of tooling. His wife was happy it didn't go to a scrapper. He had to make a lot of the parts because of the rarity of what he worked on. He had a beautiful old belt driven South Bend lathe that went for $500. I regret not getting it as well. They said the motor was rewound this spring and everything on it is tight. I'm excited to get it set up.

Boilerhouse - I know a Bobcat 753 won't pick up the light end. That's why we had to call the flatbed. Luckily my Case 1845 will lift it about 5 inches off the ground before it tips.

 

[magrahamkp08]

I picked up this southbend 13" from a trade school along with some attachments for it. I only recently got it wired up. But it's looking like I have to move it to a new location. I would love to know how people move these things from garage to garage



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bmxdad]

I have an opportunity to get a 12X36 Enco 110-2075. Been in storage for awhile, covered but unheated, so there is some rust on the ways and some corrosion. Not a lot, but noticeable. Cross slide has no slop, but the feed screw has a lot of build up. Runs on 220, 3 wire, but looks like it should be a 4-wire. Not shown, but there is a brand new 4-jaws still in the crate. Lot of the tools shown look unused.

Wants around $1000 .... worth it?

 

[justanengineer]

This is my latest, a 1961 Clausing 6329 that I gave $400 for it with a ton of tooling, taper attachment, collet rack, etc a few years back. I used it a few years then started repainting spring 2015 and had it mostly torn apart but havent gotten into the apron yet nor done anything with the drawers (hence the color difference). Took this tonight after emptying the collet rack in preparation to move it cross country with me.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[justanengineer]

Wants around $1000 .... worth it?

Unless its suffered obvious abuse or was overused in a commercial shop that's a fair price, not a steal but not overpriced IMHO. Its not what anyone would call a high end industrial machine but they're popular with hobbyists and will do good work if taken care of.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have an opportunity to get a 12X36 Enco 110-2075. Been in storage for awhile, covered but unheated, so there is some rust on the ways and some corrosion. Not a lot, but noticeable. Cross slide has no slop, but the feed screw has a lot of build up. Runs on 220, 3 wire, but looks like it should be a 4-wire. Not shown, but there is a brand new 4-jaws still in the crate. Lot of the tools shown look unused.

Wants around $1000 .... worth it?

I'm not certain but I think that is the same one that Chris (Falcon67) has a few posts above. You may want to shoot him a message and ask him as he would have first hand experience and things to look at in particular.

Mike.

 

[Nelson58]

I have an opportunity to get a 12X36 Enco 110-2075. Been in storage for awhile, covered but unheated, so there is some rust on the ways and some corrosion. Not a lot, but noticeable. Cross slide has no slop, but the feed screw has a lot of build up. Runs on 220, 3 wire, but looks like it should be a 4-wire. Not shown, but there is a brand new 4-jaws still in the crate. Lot of the tools shown look unused.

Wants around $1000 .... worth it?

I'd be happier at $750.00, if he will drop the price. It would be a real deal at that price.

 

[bmxdad]

Yea, did some googling ... I'll offer him $650, and see what happens. I'll set my limit at $800.

Thanks all ...