Let's take e'm one-by-one... Also, there's a lot of opinions in this; meaning, there is no right or wrong -just a different veiwpoint. Others may and are certainly welcome to comment.
Where are you going to put it. Are you limited on space/power?
Of course
limited on being able to get it where you want it to go
Yeah, that too
Do yourself a big favor and figure this out first. Unless you know you'll only be working on custom pens, clock parts etc (and that is not meant despariginly), get the biggest lathe you can. Machine of 12x36 or bigger are what I consider "full featured". Smaller lathes in the 10-11" range will get the job done but many people grow out of them quickly. Also, the space requirement of a 12x36 is fractionally more than something in the 10-11" range.
Avoid working in dungeons with poor lighting, ventilation and electrical supply. It's actually dangerous.
initial budget for lathe
initial budget for tooling
Couple grand, maybe a little more for lathe and starting tools, I hope
ongoing tooling budget
I can work it out over time...
You're good there. Don't lull yourself into thinking you'll do this on a shoestring. Nothing is cheap anymore.
size... 10x20, 12x36, 14x40, etc.
Prolly 10 x 20 or in that range
We already talked about this. Get a 12x36 if you have the room.
going to cut threads? Metric?
Threads, incl. metric, be good for Russian motorcycles and Japanese diesel
DRO, now or later?
Ummm...
yes, you're going to cut threads sooner or later. The issue here is that lathes can do both but are usually natively setup to do one type (Metric or SAE) easier than the other. Most all lathes sold in the USA are setup for SAE and do metric very well but the procedure is a little different. This is almost certainly the route you will go.
DRO (Digital Read-Out). A method of connecting sensors to the moving parts so you can accurately measure depths of cuts as you go. You don't need it and at your budget, can't afford it.
single phase, 3 phase?
Single for sure. Where I live we're still getting last summer's electricity we're so far from civilization. They won't have 3 phase here this century.
In all liklihood, single phase and you will in all probability need 220v. If you absolutely cannot arrange 220, you'l need to look at smaller lathes in the 10-11 inch range and even there, new ones are often 220.
3, Phase... Easily accomplished with something called a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive). It converts wall voltage to 3 phase. Cost about 125 bucks and are the greatest invention of the century.
bore size through spindle/chuck?
Duh, hunh?
To put long piece in the machine, it has to fit through the spindle hole, come through the chuck and be fed through the left side of the machine. I personally think folks go overboard with this. If the spindle bore is 1-1/4" or slightly bigger, that's fine. Virtually all 12" lathes (except the old ones) are in this range. Old ones are smaller diameter. If you're consistenly working on shafts bigger than 1.25", you should be looking at a 14x40 or 16" lathe. All new homeshop lathes come with reasonable bore diameters and who the hell cares if one is 1/16" bigger than the other. If you want 2+" bores, get a 2 ton 16" lathe.
chuck mounting mechanism, threaded vs camlock?
more duh...
Old lathes ahve screw-on chucks. Simple but, worrisome if you need to spin in reverse. 40lb bowling balls with sharp edges really suck. All new lathes come with a stud mechanism called D1-x (where x is almost always 4 and sometimes 5 in homeshop machines). D1-4 is most desirable in my book for reasons too many to enumerate. Some of the smaller new 10-11" lathes come with various attachment mechanisms specific to that lathe. There are some cons to that.
turning stainless, exotic metals?
mebbe... stainless, anyway. Goes good on sailboats and Russian motorcycles
Learn and practice on aluminum and mild steel. Then go practice on everything else.
turning big/little things?
Not so big, see size estimate earlier
Already discussed this.
tolerances expected, if you can get within 10 thousandths is it ok or do you require .001consistently?
I'd like my skill to limit the output rather than the lathe
Worn-out lathes don't hold tolerance work a darn -trust me on this. Good used equipment and new equipment can hold half thou over 10" with no problem (usually) if AND ONLY IF, they are setup properly. All lathes must be setup properly. It's covered in this site.
need for collet system in future
See previous: duh
Don't worry about collets now. Virtually all lathes (old and new) can accommodate collets. Collets are individual holders that fit in the spindle or special chuck. They are in increments of usually 1/64" and often used for precision/production work.
Tool post preference? Axa? BXA mounting? Lantern post?
Not the foggiest notion. As in: Wuzzat?
If it's an old lathe, an old fashioned tool post works fine. Most new lathes come with a quick-change-tool-post (QCTP) which are more convenient. AXA or BXA work fine for 12" lathes.
Plan to keep your 1st lathe for a long time or consider periodic upupgrade
I've still got my first 40 year old drill press... 30 year old table saw although it's on the chopping block...
If you buy the right lathe now, you'll have it 30 years from now.
easy availability of reasonable cost accessories and tooling
Yeah, that would be nice
Affordable tools are abundant.
used tooling availability on EBAY
Yeah, that would be nice too
Affordable tools are abundant on eBay.
So as you can see, I can't even answer all the questions. :whiteflag:
