What lathe?

[Garpike]

I am sure this question has been posted a bunch of times, but not by me so here goes. I am going to be getting a lathe in the very near future, but the more I look at lathes, the more unsure as to what lathe to get I become. I do understand that when buying tools, you should always get the most you can afford. I also understand that there are times when you shouldn't do that, and you should wait until you can afford more. Anyway, at the moment I am waffling between either the Grizzly g0765 or a Sherline. I love the looks of the Sherline, and the out-of-the-box precision, but...it is rather small and the accessories you can get with it are very expensive. I also like the looks of the Grizzly...it is in the size realm I will need, and the accessories and such are reasonably priced. My problem with the Grizzly is a lot of bad reviews, along with a lot of good ones. When spending over a grand on a machine, I kinda hate tossing my cash into a crap shoot. So back to the point: I am asking for any advice on purchasing a mini-lathe, in the sub $1500 price range.

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[Garage Dog]

As a fellow newbie I asked myself the same questions. I was back and forth on a mini lathe or finding an old Craftsman 101 or similar. I settled on a mini lathe from Little Machine Shop with is basically the same as the Grizzly you are considering. The Grizzly is showing 2 features mine doesn't have which is a tach and a steady rest which would be nice to have.

I choose the mini lathe for parts availability. also those of support on the web. Not knowing where to source parts for a vintage lathe seemed like a good reason not to got there right now. I did some random searched for parts for vintage lathes and they can be quite pricey! Once I learn more about this hobby I may go to an older and more capable machine.

Having the lathe for 4 weeks here is what I think. Keep in mind I have never owned a lathe before and completely new to this.
Plan on disassembling the lathe completely when it arrives, it will be covered with protective nasty coating of oil. I knew this would be the case so I was not surprised and frankly it gave me a good sense of how the lathe worked. I had watched TONs of videos on YouTube about these lathes and that really helped. These lathes are capable of doing some nice work given time to "tune" them properly and improving your skills. Right now I am spending most of my time making improvements to the lathe. I have already made a carriage lock and improved the tail stock lock, which were fun projects. I still have a lot of improvements to make.

One thing I have found which I kind of expected is the lathe is only capable of light cuts, at least at this point of my skill level. Same for drilling. It will do it but you just have to take your time. I'm making a die holder out of 1 1/2" 1018 and bored a 1/2" hole through it about 2 1/2' deep starting with smaller bits and working up but it did it and turned out fine.

Oh, forget about using a parting tool for right now. LOL. It can be done but it seems to be a skill all to itself and I ain't there yet.

 

[markba633csi]

One thing you do not want is a lathe that is too short- 16" minimum (18" or more is better)
When you need to drill using the tailstock the longer the better if you want to use standard drill bits
Grizzly and LMS are good vendors
PM (Precision Matthews) also

 

[mickri]

Make a list of everything you would like to make with a lathe. Then make another list of what features the lathe must have to make the things you want to make. I call this a statement of requirements. SOR for short. Next prioritize your SOR in order of importance with the features that the lathe absolutely has to have at the top of the list. Use the SOR to look for a suitable lathe for your purposes. Only you can make these decisions.

When I went shopping for my lathe the first priority on my SOR was a distance between centers of at least 30". Limited budget was also at the top of my SOR I ended up with a Craftsman 12x36. I spent a year looking for my lathe. My lathe came with virtually every accessory in the Craftsman catalog except for a turning attachment. I spent over my budget but in the long run I saved a lot of $$$ because of all of the accessories that came with the lathe.

 

[Garage Dog]

My lathe came with virtually every accessory in the Craftsman catalog except for a turning attachment. I spent over my budget but in the long run I saved a lot of $$$ because of all of the accessories that came with the lathe.

This is a great point. I looked for lathes for several months before I decided on my mini lathe. I never came across one that was usable with lots of accessories for a price I could afford...until about 2 weeks after I already bought mine. I knew they were out there but I'm not sorry I bought my mini lathe.

 

[nobog]

Of important to note is bore size thru the chuck - if you plan on making 1" dia parts but your thru hole is 7/8" - that's not good. The bigger the better.

edit; I had an old machinist friend that once said "you can make very small parts on a big machine but you can't make big parts on a small machine". Just a thought ...

 

[Garpike]

One thing you do not want is a lathe that is too short- 16" minimum (18" or more is better)
When you need to drill using the tailstock the longer the better if you want to use standard drill bits
Grizzly and LMS are good vendors
PM (Precision Matthews) also

Thanks. I would love a PM...but that is way past my budget. I will look up LMS...never heard of them before.

 

[Garpike]

Of important to note is bore size thru the chuck - if you plan on making 1" dia parts but your thru hole is 7/8" - that's not good. The bigger the better.

edit; I had an old machinist friend that once said "you can make very small parts on a big machine but you can't make big parts on a small machine". Just a thought ...

That has been on my mind. Most of my parts should be under .75", I make clocks.

 

[Garpike]

Make a list of everything you would like to make with a lathe. Then make another list of what features the lathe must have to make the things you want to make. I call this a statement of requirements. SOR for short. Next prioritize your SOR in order of importance with the features that the lathe absolutely has to have at the top of the list. Use the SOR to look for a suitable lathe for your purposes. Only you can make these decisions.

When I went shopping for my lathe the first priority on my SOR was a distance between centers of at least 30". Limited budget was also at the top of my SOR I ended up with a Craftsman 12x36. I spent a year looking for my lathe. My lathe came with virtually every accessory in the Craftsman catalog except for a turning attachment. I spent over my budget but in the long run I saved a lot of $$$ because of all of the accessories that came with the lathe.

Thanks...but I must ask, you mention a "turning attachment"? Now, I might be a little slow, but if it doesn't do that, isn't it something other than a lathe?

 

[Garpike]

As a fellow newbie I asked myself the same questions. I was back and forth on a mini lathe or finding an old Craftsman 101 or similar. I settled on a mini lathe from Little Machine Shop with is basically the same as the Grizzly you are considering. The Grizzly is showing 2 features mine doesn't have which is a tach and a steady rest which would be nice to have.

I choose the mini lathe for parts availability. also those of support on the web. Not knowing where to source parts for a vintage lathe seemed like a good reason not to got there right now. I did some random searched for parts for vintage lathes and they can be quite pricey! Once I learn more about this hobby I may go to an older and more capable machine.

Having the lathe for 4 weeks here is what I think. Keep in mind I have never owned a lathe before and completely new to this.
Plan on disassembling the lathe completely when it arrives, it will be covered with protective nasty coating of oil. I knew this would be the case so I was not surprised and frankly it gave me a good sense of how the lathe worked. I had watched TONs of videos on YouTube about these lathes and that really helped. These lathes are capable of doing some nice work given time to "tune" them properly and improving your skills. Right now I am spending most of my time making improvements to the lathe. I have already made a carriage lock and improved the tail stock lock, which were fun projects. I still have a lot of improvements to make.

One thing I have found which I kind of expected is the lathe is only capable of light cuts, at least at this point of my skill level. Same for drilling. It will do it but you just have to take your time. I'm making a die holder out of 1 1/2" 1018 and bored a 1/2" hole through it about 2 1/2' deep starting with smaller bits and working up but it did it and turned out fine.

Oh, forget about using a parting tool for right now. LOL. It can be done but it seems to be a skill all to itself and I ain't there yet.

thanks