Who are the Rolls Royce of the manual machine world?

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AbitNutzT00

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Just out of curiosity...what is the current wisdom on the finest manual lathes and mills currently in production? This rules out anything that all CNC magic machines and those beautiful works of art that are no longer made. I'm thinking along the lines of the absolute best lathe in the PM-1640GT class and Knee mill or the equivalent. I'm just trying to get an idea of who are the Rolls Royce manufacturers of the machine world.
 
Currently in production- are you speaking of far east only or anywhere?
My vote would be probably German made like Deckel but I don't think they make manual stuff anymore
A 16" is still considered a "small" lathe and the market for manual machines in that size has pretty much been
sewn up by China and Taiwan. Japan and Korea too but they are not commonly exported to the hobby market
 
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Anywhere they make it. But it must be currently produced. A brand where you could walk into a showroom and say, I want one of those!".
 
Interesting question.
I suppose it comes down to ones definition of "Rolls Royce".
Are there any "old iron" machines that you would think met the "Rolls Royce" level.
Also, the contemporary price of top available quality is so high, I'm more attracted to old iron.
 
Probably Weiler for the lathe world. The 1640 GT is not really a high end machine or particularly heavy duty so apples to oranges. I think the TOS SN40 is still made and there are Bulgarian lathes marketed by Summit and Lion that are heavier duty. Most 16x40 machines today will be similar copies of medium priced lathes produced 50 years ago. Weiler is high end and some models are sold through Monarch. I don't know if the 16" variety are available here.

Dave
 
Unobtanium for me. I'd be happy if Santa dropped off a Lagun/Republic lathe and mill at my place. :)

(yea, I'll wake up now...)
 
Swiss-made stuff would be high on my list if they still make anything manual which I doubt
Ditto for Austrian
 
If I had the cash, I'd buy a used Hardinge HLV and send it to Babbin for a full rebuild. https://www.babinmachine.com/index.php

It's not exactly current production, but I've had to opportunity to use a few and they are a delight. They are also a little small on occasion.

But in a fantasy of best new productions machines... I'd probably go for a Proto-Trak mill and lathe. They are manual knee/bed mills, but also have a CNC controller with a good interface that supports 3 modes - DRO, conversational CNC and full CNC.

If it had to be new, completely manual equipment, probably Lagun or Sharp.
 
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