Buying my first lathe

So this Meuser M0L ~1840 (230mm/1000mm I think in Euro-speak) just turned up around here at an asking price of about two songs and a hot dog. I went to have a look, and what a beauty she is.
Comes with a three/four jaw chuck and a steady rest, maybe some other tooling. Four post toolholder. The quick-change gearbox cuts just about any thread, metric or imperial. The spindle bore is 47mm or ~1" 15/16. The motor is a 3ph 600V beast, probably 5.5 or 7.5 horses strong. There's a mechanical clutch that winds up the spindle in either direction, and a brake when you return the lever to neutral. The bed has a gap, and she'd probably swing the PM-1236 in it. The carriage runs on two V's and has these long covers for the ways front and back. In the apron is an oiling mechanism for the ways, which were oil-slicked and looked pristine to my eyes. I didn't measure it, but it wouldn't surprise me if the distance between the carriage V's on the ways was roughly the width of the PM-1236. The tailstock runs on a third V which is unprotected and is a little chowdered up towards the headstock.
She measures about 40" deep to the back of the motor, roughly 7.5' long, and weighs in at something like 3000lb. The guy offered to deliver for no extra charge. Sadly I can't think of a way to fit'er in my basement, and even if I could, I don't know how she'd get in there.
Prime example of how much more lathe you get in "old iron" than new, and I'm still thinking whether I mightn't somehow jack up my second floor for an afternoon and slide her in through the breech .

Siggi said:

So this Meuser M0L ~1840 (230mm/1000mm I think in Euro-speak) just turned up around here at an asking price of about two songs and a hot dog. I went to have a look, and what a beauty she is.
Comes with a three/four jaw chuck and a steady rest, maybe some other tooling. Four post toolholder. The quick-change gearbox cuts just about any thread, metric or imperial. The spindle bore is 47mm or ~1" 15/16. The motor is a 3ph 600V beast, probably 5.5 or 7.5 horses strong. There's a mechanical clutch that winds up the spindle in either direction, and a brake when you return the lever to neutral. The bed has a gap, and she'd probably swing the PM-1236 in it. The carriage runs on two V's and has these long covers for the ways front and back. In the apron is an oiling mechanism for the ways, which were oil-slicked and looked pristine to my eyes. I didn't measure it, but it wouldn't surprise me if the distance between the carriage V's on the ways was roughly the width of the PM-1236. The tailstock runs on a third V which is unprotected and is a little chowdered up towards the headstock.
She measures about 40" deep to the back of the motor, roughly 7.5' long, and weighs in at something like 3000lb. The guy offered to deliver for no extra charge. Sadly I can't think of a way to fit'er in my basement, and even if I could, I don't know how she'd get in there.
Prime example of how much more lathe you get in "old iron" than new, and I'm still thinking whether I mightn't somehow jack up my second floor for an afternoon and slide her in through the breech .

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Rent a backhoe and dig a walk in basement door . Easier then jacking u p or over

Bummer. Sounds like a nice lathe. Could you get it down in pieces??

Sounds interesting. This lathe could have been a civil war lathe, a Mexican war lathe, a WWI lathe and many minor conflicts veteran wow!!!
Garage sounds like the best idea. By the time you rent the backhoe, a couple guys to assist, knock through foundation... it's starting to get into real money...

Hth

Rich

Just to follow up on this message.
I did look out for gently used old iron some more.
I looked at a beautiful old - 1969 vintage - Harrison 13MD with 24" between centers. The gentleman who owns it is a real class act, had hooked it up to power for showing it off, and was very upset to find that the motor bearings had apparently given up the ghost since he last used it. Apart from being quite growly in the motor, it was in great shape. After sleeping on it, however, I decided to pass as the spindle clutch lever on this one is on top of the headstock way to the back. Imagine me the n00b (or my children) seeing the work starting to wobble, and the only way to shut the show down is to reach around and over the trouble for the spindle clutch lever.
I saw a 1963 vintage Clausing 5914 come and go. Unfortunately I was sick the weekend after it was listed, and the following week it was gone. This would have been ideal, as it has a spindle clutch and brake on a lever hanging off the apron.
In the end I went through and ordered the PM-1236, now waiting on delivery.

The 12x36 class machine is really a great price point, I really like the specs on the pm1236 machine, you really get a lot for your money. Great choice!

Have fun making chips.
Rich

I think the 12x36 class machines are a really nice fit for many hobby machinists. For me, the mix of price point, size, capacity, power, versatility, and available tooling is the sweet spot of lathes. I was about ready to break down and buy a new one when a great deal on my Kent 13x40 came along, local, unused, and priced fairly.

I have my PM-1236 in, and I think it's going to be a really good (beginners?) machine for me. Thanks to everyone who persuaded me toward that direction.

I can see what people are about on the fit and finish of the Chinese lathes though. The 3-jaw chuck was full of grinding dust, but after flushing and lubing it, it moves quite well. You'd be well advised to check every screw on the lathe for tightness, including the electrical connections and the retaining nuts on the front panel. The mechanics do seem to be quite sound, though I'm in no way a machinist.
For me, the best feature is that the foot brake will stop the chuck on a dime, which is super reassuring for me and my full complement of 10 thumbs.

I did get the cast-iron stands and the $100 PM leveling pads. The cast-iron stands are probably worth the $200, time will tell. They're certainly no light weights.
However, I don't like how wobbly the lathe feels, standing on the leveling pads. I figure I'll be putting some - say 1.5"-2" - square profile under there to get the lathe a deeper "stance" with more stability, and to raise the working height a bit as others have done. I'm 6'2", so I could do with a bit more working height.

I also must mention that Matt of Precision Matthews is a total class act, and I can't recommend PM highly enough for communication and service. Matt patiently answered email after email of my n00b questions, often at odd hours, and most often pretty much immediately.
There was a small discrepancy in the tooling spec from when I bought the lathe to when the shipment came in, but PM made good on the original spec as a matter of course - and then some.
I'm not going to mention the competition by name, as I'd never consider them again.

edit: delete repetitive repeated repeat.

Siggi said:

I have my PM-1236 in, and I think it's going to be a really good (beginners?) machine for me. Thanks to everyone who persuaded me toward that direction.

I can see what people are about on the fit and finish of the Chinese lathes though. The 3-jaw chuck was full of grinding dust, but after flushing and lubing it, it moves quite well. You'd be well advised to check every screw on the lathe for tightness, including the electrical connections and the retaining nuts on the front panel. The mechanics do seem to be quite sound, though I'm in no way a machinist.
For me, the best feature is that the foot brake will stop the chuck on a dime, which is super reassuring for me and my full complement of 10 thumbs.

I did get the cast-iron stands and the $100 PM leveling pads. The cast-iron stands are probably worth the $200, time will tell. They're certainly no light weights.
However, I don't like how wobbly the lathe feels, standing on the leveling pads. I figure I'll be putting some - say 1.5"-2" - square profile under there to get the lathe a deeper "stance" with more stability, and to raise the working height a bit as others have done. I'm 6'2", so I could do with a bit more working height.

I also must mention that Matt of Precision Matthews is a total class act, and I can't recommend PM highly enough for communication and service. Matt patiently answered email after email of my n00b questions, often at odd hours, and most often pretty much immediately.
There was a small discrepancy in the tooling spec of tooling spec from when I bought the lathe to when the shipment came in, but PM made good on the original spec as a matter of course - and then some.
I'm not going to mention the competition by name, as I'd never consider them again.

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Did I miss the pics? I can't see them
I know you wouldn't come here to tell us about your new machine and not post some pics

Yea, a frame underneath is a nice welding project and gets the machine at a height you feel comfortable using... I have never used aftermarket feets, I've made them for my machines, they seem to be working for me, I have heard others say they like the isolation they get from some of the aftermarket feet... your call.

If your cast iron base is anything like the one I have on my 14x40 Chinese lathe from pm, they are above and beyond what the steel bases are, you made a good purchase.

As far as fit and finish on the Chinese lathes, you have it, don't take anything for granted, all bolts should be considered loose until verified. The head alignment bolts on my lathe were loose when I was working on the motor... I tightened them up, I need to check my lathe again soon, I'll make sure everything is good than...

Good luck with your lathe, looking forward to seeing some pics

Rich

Siggi said:

Note, however, that I've been in email correspondence with Grizzly, and their sales folks do claim the stand you get is cast iron. For anyone who happens upon this thread, if you're planning to buy the Grizzly G4003G, have them confirm that the stand is cast iron as opposed to welded steel.

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I happen to have a G4003G from earlier in the spring.

And to the question of why a 1.57" spindle bore is better than a 1.50" spindle bore, 50 caliber barrels come from the barrel makers at 1.5" diameter and can be indicated true in the 1.57" spindle bore with the spider bolts, but not in a 1.5" bore--should you be into that kind of thing.

I will check on what the stands are made of this afternoon.