New Precision Matthews 12x36 vs. used HF 12x36.

AndySomogyi

AndySomogyi

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I've been shopping for a lathe for couple years now. I've WASTED literally months of my life driving out to check out used lathes. Sellers claim, "oh yeah, no bed wear", and get there after 4 hours of driving only to find clapped out trash with 30 thousands of wear.

I'm going with either a new PM12x36 or used HF12x36, I've absolutely had it shopping for a used lathe.

A used HF12x36 came up for sale, $2500, or a new PM 12x36 is $4000. In either case, that's a pretty sizable chunk of change for me.

If I go the HF route, I'd upgrade to precision class bearings ($120) and convert to 3-phase.

The PM has a 3-year warranty, and this is the absolute largest lathe size I have room for, literally not an inch more room.

So, thoughts about used HF vs. new PM.
 

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Your bearing cost estimate is way low. You will need to spend several times that for each bearing unless you get lucky on Ebay and find what you need.
 
Andy, we've followed your struggles and frustrations and I, for one, am glad to see you going for a new lathe. I know it will be a stretch or a longer wait but could you possibly afford a PM1236T instead? It is a Taiwanese machine of higher quality and given that the lathe will support your business (IIRC), it might be a better option. If it is a related business expense, perhaps it can be written off over time?

Regardless, if I were going new, I would definitely go for a Taiwanese machine and be done with it.
 
Such an easy decision: PM for the win, if only for the customer service factor.

The HF route could lead to appreciable regret on your part. You don’t see a lot of people out there touting the quality and customer service levels of HF.
 
mikey said:
Andy, we've followed your struggles and frustrations and I, for one, am glad to see you going for a new lathe. I know it will be a stretch or a longer wait but could you possibly afford a PM1236T instead? It is a Taiwanese machine of higher quality and given that the lathe will support your business (IIRC), it might be a better option. If it is a related business expense, perhaps it can be written off over time?

Regardless, if I were going new, I would definitely go for a Taiwanese machine and be done with it.
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Sadly the PM1236T is WAY out of my price range, even going this far is farther down the rabbit hole than ever imagined.

When I really think about what I want to make, car parts, possibly some prototype air-cooled cylinder heads, and things like ends of ball screws, etc... I almost think I could get away with a smaller lathe... maybe.
 
I bought a PM 1236T a few months ago, that size lathe has decent rigidity that the smaller lathes probably don’t have. Something else to think about is threading and how much changing gears you would need to do. For what I do an 11x27 probably would have been sufficient, but having to change gears so often on that class lathe put the final nail in the coffin. I also wanted a Taiwanese built lathe, the increase in quality was worth the cost difference, and this was a big stretch for me as well.
 
I suggest a conversation with your accountant. The delta between a PM1236 and a 1236T is $1k, how long do you expect to be in business? If a lathe or any other machine tool is purchased as a capital asset it will be depreciated as such.

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You may already know this and have discussed it with your accountant, banker or significant other but I'm putting this here for anyone who happens to be in your situation in the future.

Also, with business equipment bought on credit the interest is usually considered a deductible expense so if your credit it good it may be worthwhile to look into financing. The extra $1k amortized over 5 years might prove to be insignificant.


Obviously only you can decide what's right for your shop/business, but you should try to factor in what your time is worth and how much of it you want to spend working on tools vs. making parts. Doing this as a hobby is somewhat different than operating as a business and different considerations should come into play.

Best of luck on your decision but surely the folks on this forum want to see you happy with whatever path you choose.


John
 
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