Justifying a Larger Expensive Lathe?

Aukai said:
7 miles...Thanks for the fix on my information. My dad was a Navy plot, and I could only learn to fly if he was the instructor( he instructed aerobatics at Pensacola). No available aircraft here, and CAP was OUT, they were Air Force, he wasn't having it. He taught me to scuba, he learned from UDT instructors, I got beat up, but passed. I was bored when I went for national certification, PFFFT, that's all you got. :)
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i´m also scuba certified. i saw lots of eels and fish some spider craps too. it is really cool, you can sneak up on big fish and sit there with them. when i got certified there was some huge bass 5+ pounds that you throw crayfish at. also saw some huge trout.
 
ShagDog said:
Thanks for the responses. They helped me to see that my question was a little silly, and I just needed a slight awakening. My conclusion and justification is that since I really like machining with a lathe, I should just get the best I can afford, and that will fit in my shop space :) .
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I hate to tell you, Shag, but your entire approach to your dilemma is flawed. You're going about this backwards. You don't need a bigger lathe. Yet. The first thing you need to do is build a bigger shop.

There are LOADS of threads here documenting how to do it the RIGHT way. We'll be happy to guide you. Just ask. We're here to help.

Regards
 
sycle1 said:
Life is short, even shorter if you are over 60, buy the lathe, we don't need justification.
On a wall hangs a million dollar painting, it doesn't do anything it just hangs and looks nice.
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That is a great analogy. Now I can justify anything I want (and of course can afford).
 
ShagDog said:
That is a great analogy. Now I can justify anything I want (and of course can afford).
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Not a joke, really. At our age, why shouldn't we treat ourselves to stuff we want but don't need? We've been working hard for 40+ years, time to sop up some of the gravy. I recently bought a 1236T & VFD and I am having a blast tinkering, tweaking, tuning, acquiring tooling, playing, and learning. It's kept me sane during this crazy covid crap. Of course, having an understanding wife sure helps. I just wish she'd quit asking me "but when are you gonna make something...."
 
You can take photos of it, shine it, admire it , show it to your friends. Yea go for it. Al
 
I saw a 36” x 20’ lathe for sale last week, looked at it for 45 second, wondered for a few more, then my boss asked if we we going to stop for lunch, before we left the job in Buffalo, or just head home.
 
This is thread therapy-thanks ...too scroogy and conservative here. Been torturing myself for years about buying a big lathe. Not a project person, but a fixer. My splurge years ago was an HF round column mill/drill for $800. Roundly criticized, but useful to me.
MIndset? Only use it intermittently. Every time I enter my (big) shop , "now what would I say to see a $8K lathe sitting with a dust cover?" The advice of "patience" for a used has failed. My part of West coast does not contain so much and what I have found is used Asian lathes stuck with the $2500 number. But mostly a problem moving them to the shop . There is a void between rigging companies and CL furniture movers. So to date I have not visited a single CL listing. Got close after years of looking and was ready to check out a 13x40 when the guy called back and decided to keep.

So for me the new is the way largely because of shipping to residence. (I can roll it in once set down in driveway. ) Thus a main draw is the two major competitors shipping fees. I have pursued shipping information on other low ball prices . Some only cater to professionals which means ship to a depot for pickup. I got a quote from Fed Ex for shipment from a depot only 30 miles away of $600! Oh, and living in a heavily wooded area adjacent to wildfires now suggests contact with my friendly insurance company to obtain a quote. I will post results.
 
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