Buying your first a lathe...what you wish you knew?

[machPete99]

Machpete99,

In what way are they a step up? Will they machine faster and obtain better finishes?

From what I have seen they put more into the design as well as quality control. Better bearing/support systems, attention to details, etc. This translates to better precision and rigidness and better/deeper cut potential.

 

[silverchips]

I’m trying to decide. Other than size, what will I gain from it over the pm1030 if I do convert to cnc?

No sure what kind of CNC you have in mind to build but more bed size gives you more room & ease to rig the CNC set-up. The pm1127 has a much beefier and wider bed, so much stiffer than the pm1030, you also gain one more inch of cross slide travel which will be useful for CNC. CNC does an amazing amount of more cycles of movements over same area of bed ways than manual so important to find (for the long term) a bed way resistant to wear from that.

 

[gr8legs]

Size - bigger is better and you cannot add size later on. Your actual useful swing and distance between centers is probably half of the numbers published after chuck and swing over cross slide

Also understand the tradeoffs between lathe size (maximum swing) and maximum rotating speed.

Generally the smaller the swing the faster you can rotate a part. So, if you anticipate doing a lot of small parts that need polishing go for the smaller lathe. If hogging out big chunks from hefty workpieces is your main use then go with bigger / more powerful at the expense of rotating speed.

Every lathe is a compromise - that's why many here have more than one lathe depending on the work involved.

Stu

 

[Aukai]

All hobby, nothing exotic

 

[MrWhoopee]

What do you wish you knew before buying your first lathe?

I wish I knew that I was opening a bottomless money-pit.

 

[aaronthemeche]

Wow I have lots to think about. I definitely feel a little more confident that I’m making a educated purchase. Thanks to everyone for all your input.

 

[aaronthemeche]

I wish I knew that I was opening a bottomless money-pit.

I can see how that happens.

 

[macardoso]

One piece of advice I've heard and unfortunately found to be true is to expect to double your purchase price of a machine within a year or two as you add tooling and measuring equipment. This can be less if you already have a lot or you are buying a tooling package with the machine.

Within the first two years, I added a QCTP, holders, lathe tools, an 8" 4 jaw chuck, and a cheap DRO. Probably a whole bunch of other stuff I am forgetting too.

 

[silverchips]

I can see how that happens.

Don't forget about adding the procurement of the metal stock, storing it and machines needing to cut it. Not to mention metrology

Oh and then round two of same scenario is the mill. I have no regrets, well actually I do but that is for a different thread.

 

[ArmyDoc]

Machpete99,

In what way are they a step up? Will they machine faster and obtain better finishes?

Yes to both. Because they are a heavier, more rigid machine, they can take deeper cuts making them faster, and are less prone to chatter, making the finish better. Also, they are a step up because there are fewer change gears required.

Have you determined your budget? That's really the deciding factor. Without a budget limit to say where to stop, you can ALWAYS buy a better machine.
What is it that you want to do? I know that is easier asked than answered, because you may not have a solid idea of what you want to do / can do. But do you have any projects that you definitely want to do? They can help you determine your minimum size.

You may find yourself saying "if it's worth it" you don't mind spending a little more... which makes it harder. But still, ask your self what features you definitely want. For example, do you want to be able to do right and left hand threading? (If so, make sure the machine you get can do that) If you want to be able to work on longer bar stock up to 1 1/2 inch in diameter, then the spindle bore must be at least 1.5 inches. That rules out the 1022 and 10-30) What's the longest thing you want to work on? A rifle barrel? Probably will need 36 inches and 40 would be better, and a 1 1/2 inch bore will be minimum bore diameter.

These questions help, but sometimes the opposite question can help too: "What do you NOT want?" If you don't want to have to spend time changing gears to do threading. that rules out the 1127. Even the 1228 has some gear changes (for 13 TPI imperial and for metric). If you only want to do imperial threading, the 12 / 13 / 14 series machines will work and you won't really need to change gears. For metric, you still will. There are machines with universal gear boxes that can do everything by moving levers... they are expensive!

Read the manuals and be familiar with any machine you are thinking about buying. Sometimes you'll find things that will change your mind about it, and then you'll know what to look for in other machines.

Best of luck to you, and let us know what you decide!