Is an old domestic lathe worth the same as a new import lathe?

We have a wide spread membership, and many of our senior members are always willing to help newbies with their shop. If you don't know an experienced machinist, ask here - if we don't have anyone near you, we might be able to find someone to help you evaluate a lathe.

Very few people are lucky enough to get their lifetime lathe on their first try... If you are going to develop and progress in this hobby, equipment upgrades should be expected... This often happens in sailing (I've sailed for 30+years) - ever hear of 2-foot-itis?

One of the worst things of getting a poor quality lathe: it takes a lot of experience to do good work on them, and they are lousy to learn on. They are very likely to turn you away from an enjoyable hobby.
 
There must be some kind of connection between this "hobby" and sailing.

I live in an area where we have an awful lot of powerboaters, mostly pontoons and runabouts but some serious express cruisers and trawlers. I also belong to a very active sailing club that seems to host national championships every year. One of the things I love about both hobbies is they keep both mind and body active and you can get better as you age.

Perhaps that's why so many of us love the older machines, it seems like the effort you put into "old iron" is usually rewarded with better performance while newer "price point" machines you have to work on just to get them working correctly from the start.

While my San Juan 7.7 isn't the fastest boat in the fleet it's mine, paid for, and sails better than I can most days.

John
 
70 Chevelle SS vs. 2019 Honda Civic . Both get you from point A to point B . If I had the choice , bet you all know which I would purchase ! :big grin:
 
San Juans are nice boats. I currently have a Gulfstar 37 with an extended transom. I added the extension the last year I was cruising in Mexico.

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Lived aboard for over 10 years. Now I am back to being a dirt dweller living on 5 acres. And got into hobby machining for something to do.
 
I would strongly suggest that if you are new to, or want to get into machining as a hobby you take one or more evening classes at a local technical college. The odds of making a good decision on what machine(s) to purchase will be a pig in a poke unless you have some knowledge of what machinery is available and what the machinery is capable of. Just because a machine is new and shiny doesn't guarantee it is capable of making accurate parts. With most foreign built machines there is no or minimal guarantee that support or parts will be available after the sale. Like anything else you have to be somewhat educated on the subject before you can make informed decisions.

Keep in mind most old American iron was designed and built for the professional. That means it had to withstand millions of cycles over decades of time. It also was built to make parts accurate to within .0005" to .001" each and every cycle. Should repairs or replacement parts be needed they could completed and put back into service, not once, but multiple times before the machine was worn beyond repair.

I've had a couple foreign machines in the shop, and even though they failed when under warranty it took several months to get replacement parts. Fortunately these machines weren't critical, but still waiting for months for parts is disappointing to say the least.

On the other hand I have several American made machines dating from the early 1900's to the late 1980's. Parts for the earlier ones are still available from eBay or Craigslist, and parts for the newer ones can be found through professional repair shops and parts suppliers. In most cases it takes hours or days to get replacement parts rather than weeks or months. The nice thing is that repair parts are rarely needed.
 
Honestly as someone who’s gone both routes, it’s a wash. I’ve bought old American(Atlas), and I’ve bought new import (Grizzly4002), and I’ve bought piles of old American parts that made a lathe eventually(Atlas). 2/3rds of the time, I was happy with my decision.

But for a very first machine, I will never suggest buying a supposed diamond in the rough old American lathe. I’d say you’re money ahead buying a smaller new import to learn on. There are just too many variables at the beginning. And findin an old machine with a steady rest, follow rest, faceplate, and other basic lathe accessories seems unlikely outside of a major urban area. Buying a new one means you’ve got everything it came with, and nobody has done some janky old repair to the innards of the carriage 30 years ago, and then left it to rot til you came along. If you really believe that imports are junk, then my advice doesn’t hold. If you buy it expecting it’s garbage, you’ll find reasons enough to wish you’d have bought old American. The mind is tricky like that. I’m very happy with my import lathe. I’m very happy with my second Atlas lathe. Both were money well spent.
 
A never ending question for sure. Having lived in the Mid-Atlantic and now in Montana, I can definitely say that location plays a part into this decision. Old iron in the Mid-Atlantic was abundant and cheap. Here, a tiny Atlas lathe comes with a stupid high asking price and no tooling. So glad I didn’t sell my stuff. Now.... just need to find a way to get it shipped here.:confused:
 
I have to vote for the old American Iron, I've got a 70 year old Monarch that I've been through from stem to stern, it'll still hold good numbers, but you're right metric threads are a no-go. But it will take a good heavy cut, you can get down close quick then split hairs to hit the mark. It's not high speed by any means, spindle tops out at 1000rpm's.
 
mickri said:
San Juans are nice boats. I currently have a Gulfstar 37 with an extended transom. I added the extension the last year I was cruising in Mexico.

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Lived aboard for over 10 years. Now I am back to being a dirt dweller living on 5 acres. And got into hobby machining for something to do.
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Nice looking boat, I've heard it said that a boat is a hole in the water to put money in. And I believe it's true. I own a house boat on the River Murray in Australia. The river has a total navigable length of about 1900 Km, of which I have travelled in the houseboat about 1650 Km (1025m) My houseboat is 21m long and 8m wide powered by a 2.6L holden (Think small 6 cyl, chevy 1950's-60's era). motor driving a paddle wheel. At the stern Here we are with a group of friends taking a trip on the river around Jan 2014. That's me leaning on the BBQ. The boat is a 6 berth, al;though you can get 8 on board, a bit tight, but doable.
 
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