First lathe above harbor freight question

[jwmay]

$9,000??
Why? What’s so good about it?
I’m referring to the heavy 10 South Bend.
Lots of money for a small lathe! Imho

Don't forget that it comes with NOTHING. If you want a steady rest, follow rest, tool post, taper attachment, etc., you order it separately....and pay nose bleed rates. It really bums me out.

 

[Wildvortex]

I took delivery of a PM 1030v about 6 months ago and am very happy with it. I had initially been looking at something like the similarly sized Grizzly G 0602, but concluded that the PM lathe was a much better value. I found no other lathe with a similar list of features for a comparable price.

The Grizzly has a thread on chuck mount. This precludes the useful technique of running the lathe in reverse to cut threads away from a shoulder with the tool upside down in the tool holder. The PM uses a bolt on arrangement.

The PM includes an Aloris style quick change tool post. It has power cross feed (I didn't see this on any comparable sized / priced lathe). The power feeds do not utilize the lead screw and half nut minimizing wear on these components. The PM has a convenient variable speed BLDC drive motor. I also like the t-slots on the cross slide, which should be useful if milling on the lathe might be considered, or replacing the compound with a solid block, etc.

I hope that doesn't sound too much like a sales pitch. I have no connection to PM other than being a happy customer. Those are just the features that differentiated the PM from the other options I considered.

Those are the things that are actually pushing me towards the 1030! Been looking at it for a long time (well actually 1022 until I saw the 30 was only about $100 more)

 

[Wildvortex]

Don't forget that it comes with NOTHING. If you want a steady rest, follow rest, tool post, taper attachment, etc., you order it separately....and pay nose bleed rates. It really bums me out.

Are you referring to the south bend? The 1030 comes with steady and follow rests, Both 3 and 4 jaw chuck and axa tool post.

 

[Wildvortex]

and

The infamous I had watched a while ago. The spindle bearings one I had not watched. I did change my HF to taper

 

[jwmay]

Are you referring to the south bend?

Yep. Sorry. I was talking new Southbend Heavy ten. Your original question was whether or not there's any new brand that has the PM features, but is a little less expensive, right? I think the answer is no.
Buy once, cry once I suppose.

(well actually 1022 until I saw the 30 was only about $100 more

And THATS the sort of reasoning that gets you on the wait list for the 1440....just sayin. Ha!

 

[Wildvortex]

Yep. Sorry. I was talking new Southbend Heavy ten. Your original question was whether or not there's any new brand that has the PM features, but is a little less expensive, right? I think the answer is no.
Buy once, cry once I suppose.

And THATS the sort of reasoning that gets you on the wait list for the 1440....just sayin. Ha!

Too big of a machine to be moving around. Besides being a disabled veteran on a very very limited income. 1030 is plenty large enough for stuff I want to do

 

[Aaron_W]

$9,000??
Why? What’s so good about it?
I’m referring to the heavy 10 South Bend.
Lots of money for a small lathe! Imho

I am by no means pimping the Grizzly SB Hvy 10, but I think that cost is because it is a small Taiwanese commercial grade machine, not one aimed at hobbyists. If you look at the price of other commercial lathes $9000 is cheap. The Grizzly SB 1440 is $21,000 compared to $7200 for the regular Chinese Grizzly 1440. I have no idea what an actual USA lathe like a modern 14" Clausing costs because they hide behind "email for a quote", but I gather it is well over $50,000.


If you look at old catalogs and run the prices through an inflation calculator it is eye opening. A South Bend 9A 9x28" lathe was $514 in 1959, that works out to $4822 in 2021 dollars. The Toolroom version was $739 or $6932 today. Even the low frills 9C was $356 or about $3700 today. Sears sold the little 6" Atlas for $175 in 1960, $1641 in 2021 dollars.

A real SB Heavy 10 would be about $14,000 today based on the 1959 prices. The better Taiwanese lathes are cheap compared to what the vintage USA stuff would cost to buy new, and the Chinese stuff is a bargain.

 

[Aaron_W]

Too big of a machine to be moving around. Besides being a disabled veteran on a very very limited income. 1030 is plenty large enough for stuff I want to do

I've ended up with almost all vintage machines, but I spent a lot of time looking at lathes in the 10x22 size, and if you want to buy new I think the PM1022 /1030 is probably the best option when you consider cost, size, features and customer support.

 

[Janderso]

I am by no means pimping the Grizzly SB Hvy 10, but I think that cost is because it is a small Taiwanese commercial grade machine, not one aimed at hobbyists. If you look at the price of other commercial lathes $9000 is cheap. The Grizzly SB 1440 is $21,000 compared to $7200 for the regular Chinese Grizzly 1440. I have no idea what an actual USA lathe like a modern 14" Clausing costs because they hide behind "email for a quote", but I gather it is well over $50,000.


If you look at old catalogs and run the prices through an inflation calculator it is eye opening. A South Bend 9A 9x28" lathe was $514 in 1959, that works out to $4822 in 2021 dollars. The Toolroom version was $739 or $6932 today. Even the low frills 9C was $356 or about $3700 today. Sears sold the little 6" Atlas for $175 in 1960, $1641 in 2021 dollars.

A real SB Heavy 10 would be about $14,000 today based on the 1959 prices. The better Taiwanese lathes are cheap compared to what the vintage USA stuff would cost to buy new, and the Chinese stuff is a bargain.

Aaron,
Thank you for this insightful response to my questions.
Being the tool geek that I am, I would like to see a comparison of two similar size lathes.
You know, warranties, what bearings are used, finish quality (automotive finish?) gears hardened and lapped?
You get the idea.
I know you have an interest in the smaller lathes.
There are times, if I had the room, a smaller bench lathe would be great.

 

[Aaron_W]

Aaron,
Thank you for this insightful response to my questions.
Being the tool geek that I am, I would like to see a comparison of two similar size lathes.
You know, warranties, what bearings are used, finish quality (automotive finish?) gears hardened and lapped?
You get the idea.
I know you have an interest in the smaller lathes.
There are times, if I had the room, a smaller bench lathe would be great.

If I had $9000 to drop on a lathe, I don't think I'd be using it on the new Grizzly / SB Heavy 10, but for somebody with the cash and lacking space for something bigger it is a pretty big advance over something like a Grizzly or PM 1022/1030.

543lbs vs 330-395lbs
1-3/8" spindle vs 1"
2HP 3ph (with VFD) vs 1HP 1ph motor
D1-4 camlock vs threaded spindle or DIN flange
10.75x30 vs 9.5-10x22 or 30"
7" wide bed vs 5.3-6-1/8"
Quick Change Gear Box vs change gears
Made in Taiwan vs China

Lots of other options at the $9000 budget level but it does look like a pretty nice lathe for someone that is cash flush, and space deficient. Although at 61" long it is only a few inches shorter than the PM1236-T for about 50% more money, that is an expensive couple of inches.

I think there are at least a couple of members here who have one of these lathes who might be able to comment more specifically on the quality, I can just window shop the spec sheets.