# possible Logan lathe purchase; advice, please



## BillG (Apr 28, 2014)

Seeking a first lathe. Found a Logan 10 x 36 nearby. It comes with a 3 jaw chuck, 4  jaw chuck, face plate, tool post,  boring bar, 5C collet set with draw bar, tail stock drill chuck. It also  has a quick change gear box.

Advice on price range, inspection etc. would be great. Once I get a lathe, maybe I'll actually be able to contribute some useful content here.


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## TomKro (Apr 28, 2014)

*I can't recall who originally led me to this, but I found it useful:*

*Some Helpful Tips on Evaluating a Lathe, Copyright 1997 by Dave Ficken.  http://www.mermac.com/advicenew.html*

As to prices - they're all over the map.  It sounds like you have a bunch of expensive accessories with that lathe.  If you price out the accessories separately via a web hunt, you'll be astonished at what they go for.  If you can get them as a package deal, you may be much better off. 

Sorry about the font.   I copied from the web site and now it's all goofy.  
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## Mister Ed (Apr 28, 2014)

Keep in mind, the collets are probably 3AT. The only way a 10" Logan could have 5C collets would be with a collet chuck.

Also, a steady and follow rest would be nice to haves. You might ask if it has either. Buying both of those would ad up to another $150-$200 (or more).


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## wa5cab (Apr 29, 2014)

The collets may also be 3C (which I don't like but have to use sometime).

Robert D.


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## Chuck Forman (Apr 29, 2014)

Agree with  TomKro and Mister Ed.  Tooling and accessories can swamp the cost of a small old lathe in shocking short time, my experience. I think 5C's need the 1 3/8" spindle hole that came on 11" and larger Logans.  Regardless, for first lathe, don't pass on a good package unless you KNOW you need the larger spindle hole capacity.  Tough part for us novices is knowing a good deal when we see one.

Three Jaw is great, but only if it is not badly worn or damaged.    

IMHO, get a good test indicator and base if you have not already done so.  You can use it to tell you a lot (but, alas, not everything) about a lathe you are considering.  You'll use it ofter once you are cutting chips.  In particular, with a little practice you can center in a 4 jaw in a minute or two and be set  up better than anything but a really top quality 3 jaw will give you.

Assume the Tool Post is a Quick Change (Phase II or Aloris or Dorian or whatever) as opposed to Lantern.  Mr Novice here thinks a QC tool post is hands down superior to the old lanterns for most work.


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## RandyM (Apr 29, 2014)

Here is a document from Logan's own website that you may find very helpful.


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 29, 2014)

My first and probably only lathe is a Logan 820.  I didn't pay much for mine but I got real lucky.  Make sure you ask about any other tooling that is available.  In real estate the say "location, location, location"  with machines it's more like "condition, condition, condition".  Mine was and is not perfect but I still make decent stuff and I have been having lots of fun with it.  Be prepared to spend a bit of money on tooling and some replacement parts (available but not cheap).  Good deals don't last. 

From the same author as the above posted advice: http://www.mermac.com/klunker2.html


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## JR49 (Apr 29, 2014)

BillG, I could be wrong, but I don't think Logan made a 10" lathe with 36" between centers. All I could find from Logan were 10 X 24 lathes. If the 10 is a mistake, and its actually a 12", then the 5C collet set would be correct. I'm probably wrong here but, its worth checking. Good luck, JR49


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## wa5cab (May 2, 2014)

JR49 & BillG,

According to a list found at a link in the PDF that RandyM attached that's correct.  Longest center length on a 10" is 31".  And spindle nose is 1-1/2"-8 with a 25/32" through bore.  So if it's a 10" Logan, the collets would most likely be 3C or 3AT unless there is a spindle nose mounted collet chuck.  If it's an 11" or 12", then 5C with drawtube could be correct and 36" centers could be correct.

Robert D


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## BillG (May 4, 2014)

Finally able to get to a computer...
Thank you all for your input and advice. I should be able to take a look at it tomorrow evening. He's asking $1600, but I don't know if that is ball park or not. I'll report back and maybe take some pictures and post here.
In the meantime, based upon what he said is included, and assuming it's in good condition, is the price way high, about right, a deal?


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## Mister Ed (May 4, 2014)

I would say, without knowing the model its hard to say. I would say too much if a 10" ... but if a bigger lathe and tooling, kept in really good condition ... maybe. Model number and good detailed pics will tell a bunch ... seeing it run will tell most of the proverbial "rest of the story".

Where is it located? Down in the Metro D area? If farther west & north, I'd offer to meet you there. Not an expert, but looked at enough and bought enough tooling to have half a clue.


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## BillG (May 5, 2014)

Thanks for the offer, but it's in Troy. You can find it on Detroit Craigslist.


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## Franklyn (May 5, 2014)

With the 3 jaw chuck in place I would insist on turning a piece of round steel and then mike the bar. It's almost impossible for a person  to judge the trueness of the lathe bed by sight alone. You could find that the lathe is turning a taper which might be only headstock/tail stock alignment or it could be a worn and uneven bed (ways).
If the outcome is a taper or irregular cut and the test below shows acceptable trueness on the indicator, your chuck jaws or scrolling mechanism may be worn. The cost of new jaws, if you can even find them, is very high and your probably better off replacing the chuck. With the 4 jaw chuck you can adjust it so there is almost 0 run out at the headstock and then turn the work. 

Another test is to chuck some 3/4 drill rod in the headstock and centered on the tailstock then run a dial indicator attached to the carriage along the length of the bar which has a known trueness, This will tell you if the carriage is running parallel to the work.

FWIW I bought an 820 Logan with 3 jaw chuck for $1000 with lots of tooling. I had to replace all the belts, chuck, two gears with broken teeth, take it apart, paint it  and reassemble. The previous owner and a crew of four of his carpenters carried the lathe (fully assembled) into my basement as part of the price. I am happy with the deal.


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## Mister Ed (May 5, 2014)

I'd go look at the Logan 200 that is listed in Grosse Point for $450. I see a $100-$150 steady rest, +$100 Quick change tool post, what looks like a new motor, three chucks, a couple face plates. There is also a plastic container ... maybe it has the set of change gears.


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## eeler1 (May 8, 2014)

I love the Logans, very nice lathes and not enough credit in relation to others of the era.

First, do the carriage lock test to check bed wear, i.e., snug it down at the tailstock end and run the carriage to the headstock.  If it gets real loose, thats bad in terms of bed wear.  Try the same in reverse from headstock to tailstock, if it binds, you got bed wear, big time.

Try the cross slide, see if it gets easy in the middle of the range, tighter at either end.

Finally, is the paint new or original?  

On the wear, look out if you have tight and loose movement of the carriage or cross slide.  On the paint, if original, I'll overlook some of the wear tests, figure its just bed twist or improper gib adjustments.  

If tight here and loose there, and re-painted, then pass or get it really cheap.

Price wise, hard to say in your area.  A decent machine with tooling should bring about $1000, hard to justify much more for a 40 year old machine when you can get a nice, tight import for about 2-3 times that. Yeah, tooling makes a difference, but if you intend to use it, that tooling won't help if the machine is worn out.

That said, I may list my pristine Logan 9B-17 here locally, tooled to the gills, for what they are asking.  Depends on where you are, I guess.


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