Help me get over the hump

I you buy a used, good condition lathe, you've already worked down the depreciation curve. Question would be why is the seller getting rid of the lathe. With a used lathe, if you don't beat it up, you should get market price when/if you sell it.

Buy new and you'll have a warranty, but will spend a bunch tooling it up. Go to sell it to upgrade and you'll take it on the chin, maybe get 60% of your money back.

Guess if I was in your shoes, I'd look for a used 10 x 24 or 12 x 36 lathe. Once you have it, you will probably find other uses than what you mentioned above. Regardless, if you want it and your better half approves, go for it! My wife lives by the motto, "if it doesn't burn gasoline or have blond hair, she doesn't worry about it". However, I'm super lucky to have my wife . . . If you find it's not to your liking, you should be able to get out of it what you put into it.

Consider using www.searchtempest.com to do some eBay and Craig's List shopping in your area. It's a really nice search engine where you plug in a search title, price range, location, etc. and up pops the list. I've got a few options listed below in your relative area.

Good luck and welcome to the madness . . .

Bruce


Atlas 10x24 $950
https://frederick.craigslist.org/tls/d/lisbon-atlas-metal-lathe/6788506969.html

Atlas 12x36 $1050
https://delaware.craigslist.org/tls/d/townsend-craftsmen-atlas-12-inch-lathe/6788571027.html

Grizzly 14x40 G0709 $4900
I have the same lathe, really like my machine. I'd guess for what's there, it should be more like $3500-$4000
https://reading.craigslist.org/for/d/orwigsburg-lathe/6785629483.html

Harbor Freight 7 x 14 (?) $400
https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/tls/d/camp-hill-metal-lathe/6778252467.html

Atlas 12x36 $600 - looks a little beat up. QCGB knobs are broken off, half nut lever is on backwards. Might be OK, but . . .
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/tls/d/mooresville-small-atlas-engine-lathe/6790461354.html

Enco 12x36 $1400 - looks to be missing some stuff like change gears, steady rest, etc. I'd ask the seller what else he might have.
https://greensboro.craigslist.org/tls/d/staley-1985-enco-metal-lathe/6777653641.html

There were some other matches out there but I only listed the ones that are hobby sized and have a quick change gear box.
 
Lowlyslows said:
Exactly why I asked on this forum!! Looking for a biased response:)

I can afford $2500 for a lathe right now and I intend to start with HSS blanks and make my own tooling initially, I heard that's a good way to go when learning to machine. The Precision Matthews 1022v fits the class you suggest and has, IMO for what it's worth, lots of features. I never thought of making my own axles, maybe down the road (still unsure how to do the splines!).

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. I have been researching machines for the past month.
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Something to consider with the size of a lathe, the nominal size (10x22" in the case of the PM) is theoretical, in practice you are limited to parts about 1/2 the stated diameter for unrestricted use.

In length 22" is not the length of work, it is the working area. You have to consider the tooling that may be used as well, throw in a 3 or 4 jaw chuck, and you lose a few inches, if you are drilling, you lose a few inches for the drill chuck and then a couple more for the drill bit. Depending on what you are doing, out of that 22" you may only be left with 12-14" for the piece you are working on.

The nice thing with a lathe, most of the work is contained within the foot print of the lathe so you don't need a ton of room around the machine.


Buying a new lathe can be a big help for someone coming into this with little experience. The old machines can be better, but they also require some knowledge up front to find a good deal. The PM lathes have a pretty good following here, and you rarely find them for sale used. If you later wanted to go bigger you could probably move that one along quite easily.
 
derf said:
Do you know what your'e getting yourself into? Buying a lathe is like a "gateway drug".....;)
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Ain't that the truth! I started wanting to make little stuff on the lathe. Ended up with a much bigger lathe than I initially thought I wanted, tooling, grinding stuff to make tools...

Then I found a nice old bridgeport mil... The cycle continues there.

Loads of fun though. The wife thinks I'm insane, but she thought that before and she's not wrong. :)
 
Lowlyslows said:
I can afford $2500 for a lathe right now ... the Precision Matthews 1022v fits the class you suggest and has, IMO for what it's worth, lots of features. I never thought of making my own axles, maybe down the road (still unsure how to do the splines!).
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See, this is what I meant about features. All lathes have a lot of features but some are okay and some are much better. For example, look at how the chuck mounts on a 1022 vs an 1127 or 1236. The latter uses a D1-4 camlock spindle so any D1-4 camlock chuck will fit on it; not so with the 1022. You get better, more precise headstock bearings and spindles and a separate saddle feed bar with the larger lathes. They are also heavier and, in the case of the 1236, more rigid. If you are going for a lathe in this class, I would take a good look at the PM1127 and 1236 lathes.
 
mikey said:
See, this is what I meant about features. All lathes have a lot of features but some are okay and some are much better. For example, look at how the chuck mounts on a 1022 vs an 1127 or 1236. The latter uses a D1-4 camlock spindle so any D1-4 camlock chuck will fit on it; not so with the 1022. You get better, more precise headstock bearings and spindles and a separate saddle feed bar with the larger lathes. They are also heavier and, in the case of the 1236, more rigid. If you are going for a lathe in this class, I would take a good look at the PM1127 and 1236 lathes.
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I see what you're talking about. The 1127 is a better lathe. However, is this the "at least buy this" mind set? I can always go to the next size up which can be a better lathe as well. It's almost $1000 more than the 1022/30 lathe. Wouldn't I be fine with the 1022/30 lathe? Or is the D1-4 camlock worth the extra $$ amongst the other features?

I also plan to mount the unit on top of a tool chest with a thick top. It can handle 1,100 lbs and would be great to keep all the tooling co-located with the unit.
 
With a 14x40 or larger lathe you can do things like turning drums and rotors And much more.
 
You see how it goes? You come in thinking 1022, and you're up to a 14 x 40 already. The folks
around here are like drug dealers... :)
 
Indeed. I do really like my PM1127 though.
 
No matter how big of a machines you get there will be many times it is to small for what you have at the time. :mechanic:
 
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