Reasons to Keep Smaller Lathe

Should I Keep or Sell the Craftsman?

  • Total voters
    30
What the previous poster said.

You just might want the old Craftsman to make a special PART for the SB.
Stranger things happen.
 
Im not familiar with either lathes, it appears the craftsman doesn't have a quick change gearbox the South Bend does. They're both pretty much the same size. I have two lathes but they have different purposes. One is a 17x80 Summit, it handles big material with ease but will do small parts in a pinch. The other is an 11x18 Hardinge HLV. It does small parts with ease but won't do big parts.
Your Craftsman won't doe anything the South Bend can't.

Greg
 
Billy G beat me to it.

If you can afford to keep it and have the space, it is really nice to be able to suddenly make something when you already have a project in the "BIG " lathe. It is nice not to have to break down the set up on the BIG one in order to make a complimentary part.

David
 
You can have two lathes for the same reason you might want two drills or routers.
I sold my Grizzly 9x19 because I needed the cash to help purchase my PM 12x28, plus I didn't have room for those two.
I also have a small HF 7x16 that comes in handy at times. Especially when I'm working on small or thin parts where the 4" chuck jaws take a more shallow bite for tool clearance. It is small, doesn't take up much room and it's easy to move. I can pick it up and carry it (just barely).
 
I have two lathes - a Sherline and an 11" lathe and would not be without either one. Both are fully tooled up and both are used for parts that fit comfortably into their work envelope. The advantage to the Sherline is that I can literally pick it up and put it away - it weighs all of 40# soaking wet - but is capable of very fine work on smaller parts. It also has a large enough work envelope that allows it to make parts for the larger lathe if that is needed. I cannot imagine not having both of my lathes.

In your case, your two lathes are similar enough in size that I don't see a practical advantage to keeping both, especially since the larger one has a QCGB. Yes, I agree that it is more convenient to have a lathe for different operations but if space is a real constraint then I would sell the 6" and use the proceeds to tool up the 9". Or, if the kind of work you do frequently requires you to make small precision parts then buy a lathe suitable for that purpose - a Taig or Sherline would be ideal as a second portable lathe that is cheap to own but that is fully capable of real work within its envelope.

Read the post by WR Miller above - he knows what he's talking about.
 
Hi, a seasoned pro over here;),ok I'm a new hobbyist but I still have something to say.Firstly I want to know, if you sold the smaller lathe , how much would you get for it?
I myself never sell my tools, I keep them until I'm no longer in the hobby , then sell everything and get a decent amount of money to spend on the new hobby.
If you like metalworking don't sell your metal working tools,the amount of money you get for it does not outweigh the pleasure of having that lathe available .
 
I say keep it. We buy tools not sale.:dunno: Or you could just send it to me. :postman: :laughing:
 
If you have plenty of room and don't need the money, keep it at least for a while. Otherwise, sell it and use the money for other tools or SB tooling.
 
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