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Opinions On This Lathe
- Thread starter pertyfly
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2014
- Messages
- 182
For me, the presence of all the tooling makes it a "buy" in the $800-$1000 price range as a beginner hobby lathe, based on the headstock bearings being able to turn without any noticeable play. All that stuff arranged on the floor in photo #3 represents about $1000 if bought after-the-fact.
The presence of the iron legs clinches the deal. However, in actuality you will probably end up mounting this lathe to a new hardwood-topped work bench so that the motor (and moving belts) can be moved to the rear for increased safety.
If you can find a brand name on the lathe, such as Southbend or Logan, then the value might be more to you, but for the purposes of the purchase I would not offer more. The increase value coming from the fact that the problem of finding replacement parts will be greatly reduced.
I say "beginner hobby lathe" because these older units can, but hardly ever do, get to the point where they can be used to chase threads or do other highly detailed jobs.
The presence of the iron legs clinches the deal. However, in actuality you will probably end up mounting this lathe to a new hardwood-topped work bench so that the motor (and moving belts) can be moved to the rear for increased safety.
If you can find a brand name on the lathe, such as Southbend or Logan, then the value might be more to you, but for the purposes of the purchase I would not offer more. The increase value coming from the fact that the problem of finding replacement parts will be greatly reduced.
I say "beginner hobby lathe" because these older units can, but hardly ever do, get to the point where they can be used to chase threads or do other highly detailed jobs.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Messages
- 8,854
To me condition (and therefore usefulness) is a much bigger concern than who made it. I'd rather have an "unheard of brand" lathe with little spindle runout and ways that are tight for the entire length than a sloppy well-known name. You can do so much more with it.....if it doesn't need major parts.
Of course in the real-world it's usually not one or the other but somewhere on the spectrum and you must consider cost, condition, accessories, availability, space, weight, size, knowledge, etc.
Wobbles is right about ballpark cost for my local market, too.
The lathe above looks mostly complete, maybe excusing change gears, but even if odd-ball gears they can be made at home (with some additional equipment). Sure it is nice to know the manufacturer so that you can look up what face-angle the gear teeth are, but really once you have it you can figure it out and then seek/make more.
The manufacturer will reveal itself eventually......I'm actually a little surprised that no one has positively identified it yet.
I suspect the right person has not read this thread yet.
Good Luck!
-brino
Of course in the real-world it's usually not one or the other but somewhere on the spectrum and you must consider cost, condition, accessories, availability, space, weight, size, knowledge, etc.
Wobbles is right about ballpark cost for my local market, too.
The lathe above looks mostly complete, maybe excusing change gears, but even if odd-ball gears they can be made at home (with some additional equipment). Sure it is nice to know the manufacturer so that you can look up what face-angle the gear teeth are, but really once you have it you can figure it out and then seek/make more.
The manufacturer will reveal itself eventually......I'm actually a little surprised that no one has positively identified it yet.
I suspect the right person has not read this thread yet.
Good Luck!
-brino
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2013
- Messages
- 1,448
I'm a fan of older tools, if the price is right and the condition is reasonable I would not be afraid of it. I suspect the legs may be older than the lathe. The lathe looks a little bit like Champion Blower Forge but I didn't find an exact match. It also shows some similarity to Dalton lathes but again no good match.