My first lathe

RCGuy

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May 22, 2018
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Hi all, new to the forum and the hobby.
Looking for my first lathe, Grizzly looks good, but then this came up. I can probably get it for $1,000, but it's a 6 hour round trip. Looking at turning, boring and threading, nothing real big.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mark

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Where I live that would be a good deal, depending on condition. The killer for me would be the distance, especially if it isn't up to spec. Photos unfortuneately don't show wear.

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Ask if the tailstock is a replacement. Could just be the first of an intended repaint, but I'd check to see if the height matches the headstock. Horizontal can be tweaked, but vertical is a bit harder. If it's in good shape, those are good lathes.
 
Looks suspiciously like John Deere green (on the tailstock)
Mark
 
It looks like a decent one from photos, but (as has already been stated) photos can lie. I would want a closer look at it. In particular, the ways are what you want to check for wear. I would seriously consider it, even with the long drive. It looks like it could be a good entry point.

That said, if you wanted a grizzly, get a grizzly. You might find yourself regretting the amount of work to bring this back into functionality if you don't like restoring things. It really comes down to two things :

1) do you like taking old things and making them work?
2) do you want to instantly start making chips?
 
You might find yourself regretting the amount of work to bring this back into functionality if you don't like restoring things. It really comes down to two things :

1) do you like taking old things and making them work?
2) do you want to instantly start making chips?
Great post, that's the dilemma many of us faced when shopping our first lathe, I myself didn't spend much time over this question and went straight for a new one.
The old ones are great if you are sure it is not worn out or abused, it's a gamble no matter how you look at it.
 
Regarding Hawkeye's comment about the tailstock, it looks like to me, that there are homemade shims between the bed and tailstock... If that's the case, there's nothing wrong with that as long as it centers with the headstock. Bill W.
 
Silverhawk does make a great point. After considering, I'm going for the Grizzly. Maybe in the future I could get into refurbing a lathe. I do classic minibikes now, hoping to be able to make some of the obsolete parts.
Thank you all for your input.
Mark.
 
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