Advice on lathe for home shop

GSweldmech said:
what about tool holders for the aloris tool post?
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Unless he's getting out of metalworking entirely, those tool holders will move to his next lathe. The fact that the lathe has a real Aloris tool holder is worth a bundle by itself... I have found the Accusize tool holders fit my Aloris BXA perfectly, and are reasonably priced.

On lathe chucks...
If you are not in a hurry, you can find a used Bison or PrattBernerd for less that 2/3 of new, and a good deal will be half of new. Check that the contact points on the jaws are not too beat up, and that the jaws aren't loose in the T slot. If they are, even a little, then the chuck is worth 1/3 retail, or less. There's an outfit in Toronto that is selling 6" Bison 3J chucks for v. cheap, still in the original cosmoline (new old stock) - it would be an economical place to start.

On the headstock taper...
There's nothing wrong with L0 for hobby use; the Dx style is a little more convenient and allows for bigger through hole in the headstock. The L0 is far more rigid and positive than the Dx style. Be absolutely sure that the taper is free of nicks, bumps and roughness - pits are fine but volcanos make the lathe require a bit of tuning to get a chuck to run true. If you are a newbie, this can be daunting, but it is easier than it seems, just tedious to get right. Your fingers will easily diagnose this by spinning the headstock in neutral, and feeling for bumps.
 
LO tooling is quite easy to find as is Aloris tool holders . I happen to know where a lot resides . :big grin:
 
Well I called a local used machine tool outfit and described what I was looking for. He has a Harrison M300 13” lathe with a 25” length between centers for 2k asking price. im sure I could beat him up for a better price. What’s the general thought on these lathes?
 
25” would be a bit short for me, though the lathe specs look good otherwise. It’s not so much that the parts are that big, it’s the accumulated length of tailstock chuck, drill length, tap with holder and guide, etc.
 
We have a Harrison 15" that is identical to our clausing Colchester .
 
Well I just heard back from the owner of the Cincinnati, he’s told me it runs on 480 3 ph but the DRO runs on 220. He has no idea what’s needed to operate on the 230 3 ph that I have here. Does anyone know how involved the change over might be? I’m pretty capable but id be a lot more comfortable with a schematic from the OEM. he’s also told me the lathe is 10-12 feet long. I’m hoping he’s over estimating the length but if it really is that long I’m going to have to pass, I couldn’t devote that much footprint to a lathe I simply don’t have the amount of work to justify that footprint. I’ve asked the seller to please confirm the length and get back to me . Internet manuals show a 24” lathe as 84” long. If that’s true the lathe is 60” longer that the length between centers so a 60“ lathe would be 10 feet long, could the lathe in the picture I posted be a 60 inch lathe? I’ve wrong a couple times in the past but I was guessing maybe a 48” what do you fine gentlemen think.
 
Looks like a big'en to me , and it looks pretty nice . :)
 
Yes it does look well kept, all the original placards in place, no obviously bent/ broken controls, It hasn’t been repainted some stupid color(s) and it looks like way more lathe than I reasonably need. But I still want it, i just need it to be around eight feet long any bigger and I’m going to have to pass on it.
 
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