Help me get over the hump

[Dabbler]

Just to echo Mikey and Mark and others. On another forum I was asked a similar question, so I opened up my lathe drawers, and here's my result:

I bought my lathe 38 years ago, for just under $2000. Over the years I have purchased a lot of tooling, much of it 30 years ago.
At purchase prices, from many years ago, I guestimate that I have put more than $4000 in tooling for it, and am getting ready to add a chuck and some other tooling getting close to an additional $800.

On the mill it was worse, with rotary table, etc...

 

[savarin]

I believe the old adage of if the only tool you have is a hammer then every problem seems like a nail.
Once you have the lathe you will find a myriad of things to do with it, most of which you would never even have dreamed of before.
I think the advice to get the largest you can afford is correct, my little 9x20 has been pushed way beyond its comfort zone and many times I wish it was larger, more rigid, had better controls etc etc but its amazing what you can do with a little "outside the square" thought.

 

[TQA222]

I have to issue an official wallet health warning at this point. If you get into REALLY using your lathe to rebuild old cars. You will soon decide that you MUST HAVE a Bridgeport milling machine.

I did that a lot back in the 60s and 70s in Scotland. At this time people were virtually giving away old Italian cars because there were no spares available and mechanics hated the metric nonsense. We were buying Alfa Romeo 2.6 Spyders with a broken engine for a few hundred

We had a couple of lathes and a vertical spindle milling machine. They came out of ships that were being scrapped at Rosyth dockyard. They were belt driven and gave the factory inspectors fits when they saw them.

Yup the Bridgeport will be on your wish list in weeks.