Buying a lathe - new vs old

Here is a good thread of my endeavors in learning the current new Asian lathe options:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php?t=23470

If you are incredibly persistent and have some luck and some cash Craigslist can provide that diamond in the rough - but it might be rough going for MONTHS. I went 6 months driving both myself and da boss (aka my wife) crazy but it paid off for me in the end as I found an industrial toolroom quality lathe locally that spent a few years cutting only Delrin plastic of all things. The company that sells them has a ton in stock, parts in stock, it hasn't changed design in years, not from China, I paid about 20 cents on the dollar, blah blah blah. Basically it all depends on what you want/need and how long can you wait as many times I was frustrated enough to buy a new one on the Visa. But when its never in stock man thats a tough one for me to deal with as waiting 3-6 months is one thing but if it arrives with problems and its another possible 3-6 months to fix hell no can't deal with that.
 
About the only advantage to buying secondhand is the tooling and other stuff that may be included. If your s/h machine doesnt come with a bunch of extras or is really cheap, then pass it up.

Cheers Phil
 
When I lived in Australia, Asian machines were all anyone had, even the big workshops. Like anything, if you spend the money you get the quality and the features.

You just need to have a clear idea of what you require of the machine. I have seen many people buy a clapped out clunker and be overjoyed with it. I have also seen the opposite, where someone always has a case of upgradeitis and sell off a wonderful pedigree machine just to have something different.

If you have the time to wait and are willing to travel, then opportunities come up. If you want to make chips instead of wait, then buy Asian. The sad truth is what we have grown up with is changing. Before our lifetime is done we will see all manufacture stop in our countries and you will ONLY be able to buy Asian. The reason it is so hard to find good American or European iron is because it has ceased to be manufactured. Get used to the idea of buying Asian or be prepared to wait, travel and spend a wad of cash.

Paul.
 
I have alittle of both. Project lathes are great, just be sure you have a real lathe to play with. Buy a well supported asian machine and have a blast making chips! :-$ if something does go wrong, you want a support structure to fall back on .Rich(tired, greasy, smelly after a full day of making chips in the garage):-$
 
12bolts said:
About the only advantage to buying secondhand is the tooling and other stuff that may be included. If your s/h machine doesnt come with a bunch of extras or is really cheap, then pass it up.

Cheers Phil
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I agree with this comment. Assuming that the machine is not clapped out and does not require a rebuild, tooling is the other major expense. Figure on as much money for tooling as for the used machine.
My first lathe was an Atlas 10F24, that came with some tooling for $1000 back around 1990. I spent about as much in buying parts to replace worn out parts and spares for the usually breaking parts. For my second lathe, a clone of the Jet BDB-1340A, it only came with what it left the factory with, but it was nearly new. No measurable wear and I had already much of the tooling at hand, from the previous 20 yrs of having the Atlas.
If I had not gotten this lathe, I was ready to go for a PM lathe or Grizzly 4002/3.
Pierre
 
I like old machines, woodworking and metalworking. I live in the northeast and machines are easy to buy and sell here. Craigslist is a great resource IMO. I know others that don't enjoy the hunt or negotiation involved with buying a used machine, I happen to love it. As a result, I have gotten very good at it. I have bought 4 mills in the last 15 months, and sold 2 of them. Bought 2 lathes, and sold 1 of them. Each time I acquire more tooling, and I upgrade my machines. I know this is not for everyone, but I just don't see a need to buy new machines (or tooling) when I find excellent quality at 20% to 50% of what I see in catalog prices.
I recently bought $3000 worth of tooling from a guy selling off his late father-in-laws machinist tools. I easily came home with 10K to 12K worth of stuff that was all in new condition. I was a kid in a candy store! This is not the first time I have done this.
Acquiring new machines and tooling for those machines is a large part of this hobby. You simply need a lot of stuff, and it isn't cheap if all you know how to do is go to Enco's website.
There are deals out there, you need to look for them. You need to be ready to wheel and deal. You need to have cash. You need to be aggressive. The only time I buy something from the catalog sources is when I need it right now and I don't want to wait.

Or, you can pay retail for a new machine, and pay retail for all the tooling you need to make whatever you want to make, and you can get started next week.

Hope this helps, good luck! Larry
 
The key fact is, what are you doing with them? If you are just collecting and not building anything then its a chance you may make money on a turnover, I am never so lucky to make money, only spend it.

LJP said:
I like old machines, woodworking and metalworking. I live in the northeast and machines are easy to buy and sell here. Craigslist is a great resource IMO. I know others that don't enjoy the hunt or negotiation involved with buying a used machine, I happen to love it. As a result, I have gotten very good at it. I have bought 4 mills in the last 15 months, and sold 2 of them. Bought 2 lathes, and sold 1 of them. Each time I acquire more tooling, and I upgrade my machines. I know this is not for everyone, but I just don't see a need to buy new machines (or tooling) when I find excellent quality at 20% to 50% of what I see in catalog prices.
I recently bought $3000 worth of tooling from a guy selling off his late father-in-laws machinist tools. I easily came home with 10K to 12K worth of stuff that was all in new condition. I was a kid in a candy store! This is not the first time I have done this.
Acquiring new machines and tooling for those machines is a large part of this hobby. You simply need a lot of stuff, and it isn't cheap if all you know how to do is go to Enco's website.
There are deals out there, you need to look for them. You need to be ready to wheel and deal. You need to have cash. You need to be aggressive. The only time I buy something from the catalog sources is when I need it right now and I don't want to wait.

Or, you can pay retail for a new machine, and pay retail for all the tooling you need to make whatever you want to make, and you can get started next week.

Hope this helps, good luck! Larry
Click to expand...
 
LJP said:
I like old machines, woodworking and metalworking. I live in the northeast and machines are easy to buy and sell here. Craigslist is a great resource IMO. I know others that don't enjoy the hunt or negotiation involved with buying a used machine, I happen to love it. As a result, I have gotten very good at it. I have bought 4 mills in the last 15 months, and sold 2 of them. Bought 2 lathes, and sold 1 of them. Each time I acquire more tooling, and I upgrade my machines. I know this is not for everyone, but I just don't see a need to buy new machines (or tooling) when I find excellent quality at 20% to 50% of what I see in catalog prices.
I recently bought $3000 worth of tooling from a guy selling off his late father-in-laws machinist tools. I easily came home with 10K to 12K worth of stuff that was all in new condition. I was a kid in a candy store! This is not the first time I have done this.
Acquiring new machines and tooling for those machines is a large part of this hobby. You simply need a lot of stuff, and it isn't cheap if all you know how to do is go to Enco's website.
There are deals out there, you need to look for them. You need to be ready to wheel and deal. You need to have cash. You need to be aggressive. The only time I buy something from the catalog sources is when I need it right now and I don't want to wait.

Or, you can pay retail for a new machine, and pay retail for all the tooling you need to make whatever you want to make, and you can get started next week.

Hope this helps, good luck! Larry
Click to expand...

I could have written this post. I too enjoy the process. I have bought a few turkeys at first, but I rarely lost money, and I acquired a wealth of tolling


if I needed a lathe tomorrow I'd buy anew grizzly and be done with it. I use mine everyday, to repair US-made lathes and mills
 
I have also built my shop with second hand machines through buying, selling at a profit and keeping tooling. Here in Norway, we have access to machines from the industrial golden age and can also jump over the border to Sweden where the selection is even better. This does however take time, travel and patience and isn't everyone's cup of tea. I love it though and my wife is happy with it as she knows I always make money when I flip the item.

Paul.
 
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