Sears Craftsman 6" Metal Lathe Model # 109 20630

Any of you kind folk make a recommendation on this machine. I am looking for a med to sm lathe to support my rr hobby 1/87 to 1/8 scale. is $4.50 too much to pay for one in fair to good condition/

The 6" Craftsman lathes are ok for small machining, the cross slide on mine does not have graduations on it so I am installing a digital read out on it, if you can get one for $4.50 and not $450 then I would buy it, you can also find info in Yahoo groups. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atlas_craftsman/?yguid=248101580

Mike

The machine is a good little machine as long as you remember it is a little machine. I have one and do alot of aluminum work with it. it can do light work on steel but it isn't ridgid enough for anything heavey. $450.00 is top dollar unless it is in top condition and has multiple chucks, all the gears for threading, new head bearings, live center etc. I would convert the motor to a 2 hp treadmill motor and it will resolve the motor issues as well as keep you from tearing it up when you gear it down for low speeds. The treadmillmotor setup is worth an extra 75.00.

Mine has all the above and i am currently considering putting on a DRO set. The hieghest I've ever seen one go for was about 650.00 on ebay and it was loaded and restored. I bought one on the other end for $125.00 that was complete but needed cleaned up. It also is the 28" bed version.

You may want to consider the forieghn lathes although they typically get a couple hundred worth of work done to them from what i see in the modification sites. the 109s are all metal with no plastic.

My 2 cents worth

I would suggest that that $450 is a bit on the steep side for this machine. It was the entry level model makers lathe back when Sears was selling three lines of metal lathes. A stretched mini-lathe is a better choice than this. The "standard" Craftsman 6" with the Timken roller bearings (early models had bushings) is a nice little late for the scale you are working on. http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman6inchmk1/
The "Mark 2" variety of this machine is also a decent small lathe.

These models can compete well with the mini-lathes provided they are in good shape. You should be able to find one for not much more than the asking price for the model you list. There were a lot of milling, drilling, accessories made for this little lathe. There are plans for a quick change box for home shop construction. I still have one of these little machines which I use frequently as a back up for my Asian 14" X 40". It comes in very handy.
G. Morgan

I think $450 is ok for this lathe but $300 would be a better deal. The thing that I love about Craftsman's and Atlas lathes is that although they are not stiffer or better than many lathes parts are available 24/7 via eBay.You could break half of the machine and never run out of parts. If you are looking for a craftsman use http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman/index.html and get the Atlas made 6 inch not the Dunlap one it is much beefier and better quality than the Dunlap one. Also many additional parts like milling attachments and steady rests are easy to get for this machine. If you don't mind a larger size the 12" inch rocks and is relatively light weight and easy to move.

I saw one go out of a garage sale here in NJ for $60, a few months ago. Had the chuck, lantern toolpost, a couple of cutters, a woodturning tool rest, and (I think) a faceplate. May have had a couple of centers too. It was mounted to a homemade stand with the motor hanging off the back, with a neat homemade idler arrangement to disengage without turning the power off -- oh, and it had a reverser too.

Biggest problem, as several other posters have pointed out, is that it's a very small, light lathe. The spindle is only about 1/2" diameter, and it's bored out, thus reducing the mass. The tailstock center is MT 1.

I had one of these at one time, and the spindle was bent -- which was why the previous owner gave it to me. He tried to take too heavy a cut, and the workpiece rode up over the cutter, twisting the spindle. Sears didn't have the part (this btw was about 40 years ago), but they did send me an engineering drawing for the spindle, so I'd have been able to make one, IF I'd had access to another lathe. (Sorry, I lost the drawing years ago.)

If you mean "$450" and not "four dollars and a half", I'd say you can do a lot better. But if you DO get it, beware of over-powering it. Anything more than about a 1/4 or 1/3 hp motor is apt to be too much. And SOME lathe is better than NO lathe.

Hi. I bought one of these lathes. I have a friend who has bought a lot of machines, and he has one with a full set of change gears that he said he will sell me for $150. He told me that he thinks that these lathes are not even worth it for free unless they have all their parts, since parts are expensive on Ebay. I would agree with the rest of the folks here that $450 is excessive. I see them selling in my area for $200-$300 on Craigslist and they go fast. I think that I see what my friend means. If you see one for $150 that is missing the change gears, toolpost and it has a bent spindle (according to him, this is common), it will cost $200 to $300 to get a working lathe, and you will be better off getting a more substantial machine.

Almost done with mine, a1941 -- 703 . Definitely detail differences from following production. I will photo, and describe in detail when finished. For your information: I paid 60$ for it,and it came with most of its bits and pieces. Spent leisurely weeks buying the other stuff on EBay, including some wrong parts for about 150$ . Sawed and filed brass Gibbs etc. As everyone will tell you, if you don't fit everything, it will destroy itself,your work,and your temper. Buy a copy of the thin Manual - I believe it corresponds with your lathe. Take photos, measure, take notes and ask questions of those who came before. Don't let disparagers put you off- an old Porsche is just a VW with money injection. .......BLJHB

I had one of the 6 inch lathes for 25 years rebuilt when I got worked it pretty hard at times broke a few tool bits never had a problem , mine had Timken bearings . it had a lot bigger then a 1/2 spindle
sold it a few weeks ago had all gears chucks even had both armature chucks

Not an AA 109 ,but Sears/ Atlas ( Better Lathe ) ..........BLJHB