Buying a lathe - new vs old

[CluelessNewB]

I could try and convince you that older machines are better but that would only increase competition and drive the prices higher for older machines so my advice is go buy a nice new shiny ChiCom machine! :donttell:

 

[dan12]

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 searched and this is what I came up with,read problems,small ones.

I got a G4003G, round $3300 shipped
found a $300 disscount code on a wood working fourm (thx to those guys!)
I have not had any problems others have had .........yet

it's been a great buy,I am 100%+++ happy with my purchase.
I read this forum every morning,& learn at least 1 new thing each day,it's crazy....................................:thanks:

 

[SE18]

restoring my South Bend 9A was a PITA, but learned a lot doing it. Had I been able to do it all over again however, I'd get a chinese lathe like grizzly or something new with tooling.

Also, IMO, the used lathes are way overpriced but someday I'm sure they'll come down in price.

The issue with a lot of ancient lathes (mine is 1942) is the beds were not hardened and the chuck was a screw on type.

It's nice to have an antique used during WWII so the nostalgia factor was good for me and it's become like a close friend

but still.....

 

[Marco Bernardini]

There is another consideration about old lathes and, in general, about every ancient machine.
If I find a Monarch EE10, the historical and aesthetic value of it restrains me to make heavy modifications, trying to keep it in a sort of "museum state".
On a cheap Chinese machine, on the other hand, I would have no remorse to cut, drill and hack it to fit my needs (and maybe to make a fiberglass cover to have a Chinese lathe looking like a Monarch :rofl.

 

[projectnut]

I live in the Midwest and have been able to find quality used industrial machines to outfit my shop. I have nearly 2 dozen machines in the shop and haven't had to rebuild any of them before starting to make chips. If you look long and hard you can find quality machines for a fraction of the cost of new. The key is patience.

There are a number of used equipment dealers in the Rockford and Chicago areas of Illinois. There are also used machine dealers in Wisconsin and Michigan. They aren't the cheapest, but in most cases they have quality machines that can be powered up before shelling out any cash. Other good places to look are technical schools, high schools, and universities. I purchased Bridgeport series I machine from a local high school. It sat in storage over 10 years before it finally went up for sale. It's in excellent condition and needed only a little clean up before going to work. The University of Wisconsin system is slowly phasing out their manual machines in favor of CNC machines. I've seen a number of their machines and they look like the day they were built. The nice thing is they're going for pennies on the dollar.

I bought a surface grinder on Craigslist a few years ago and it was like new at a price I couldn't refuse. If you're persistent and look at Craigslist on a daily basis there are many bargains to be found. I was looking for a shaper a few years ago and missed over a dozen because I was browsing Craigslist on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis. A friend of mine who was looking daily happened to find one along with some other tools that came from the now defunct Badger Ordinance Depot in Baraboo WI. He wasn't interested in the shaper, but the seller would only sell the complete lot. He knew I was interested so he made the purchase. I ended up with a shaper delivered to the door that looked like it just came off the assembly line for less than $200.00.

One nice thing about the old iron is that parts and tooling are readily available at reasonable prices. The production shops either already have or are currently switching to CNC and the market is flooded with cheap quality tooling.

 

[Tanshanomi]

Thanks to everyone who's shared their opinions. Thanks especially to those who took the time to share CL links. I've seen a number of those, but either they are 5+ hours drive (and $125 in gas) just to look at, or they are bigger than I can justify/dedicate space to, or I've called the seller and wasn't pleased with the conversation.

To be fair, I DID find one attractive deal locally. Last winter, there was a nicely cared-for '40s Logan 210 bench lathe with a ton of tooling and accessories for $900. Sadly, somebody else had already snapped it up by the time I got there to check it out.

My hobby is vintage motorcycles, not lathe restoration, and I can't devote the time I'd like to the one I already have. At this point, I am seriously considering a SB1001 from Grizzly (South Bend 8K). At the current closeout (approx. $2K), it's a heck of a deal, and most of the reviews say that it is more sturdy and substantially built than most new Asian lathes its size.

 

[ranch23]

When I new mill shopped 7 years ago I just knew I had to own a Bridgeport. After running half worn out Bridgeports, Wells and the like for 29 years I bought a new import. Never looked back, light years ahead.

 

[SE18]

Thanks to everyone who's shared their opinions. Thanks especially to those who took the time to share CL links. I've seen a number of those, but either they are 5+ hours drive (and $125 in gas) just to look at, or they are bigger than I can justify/dedicate space to, or I've called the seller and wasn't pleased with the conversation.

To be fair, I DID find one attractive deal locally. Last winter, there was a nicely cared-for '40s Logan 210 bench lathe with a ton of tooling and accessories for $900. Sadly, somebody else had already snapped it up by the time I got there to check it out.

My hobby is vintage motorcycles, not lathe restoration, and I can't devote the time I'd like to the one I already have. At this point, I am seriously considering a SB1001 from Grizzly (South Bend 8K). At the current closeout (approx. $2K), it's a heck of a deal, and most of the reviews say that it is more sturdy and substantially built than most new Asian lathes its size.

Good point, restoring machinery becomes a hobby to itself for some people. Once it's restored, some don't even use it so it stays in museum quality. They just like to bask in its glow as they admire it.

I restored a SB9A and it's all slopped with various oils from use. I even drilled holes in the cross slide for a bedair type ball turner mount. Later SBs had the holes but the older 1942 only had the dovetail hole. In short, I'm not afraid to modify it and use it b/c I think it was meant to be used.

When getting heavy machinery, I found a pickup truck I have is handy. I drove all the way from Virginia to Northern New Jersey to pick mine up.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I agree that unless you enjoy restoring an old worn out machine, to get new.

I do have two comments on the lathe you may have selected.

If you think there is any chance that you may want to single point threads, I highly reccomend you get a lathe with a quick change gear box. My first lathe had regular change gears like the SB you listed, and after a while you look for reasons not to thread, stopping everything to mess with your change gears for 5 minutes to cut one thread only to have to spend another 5 minutes changing gears to switch back to regulat turning setup gets really old after a while.


Is that 8 by 18 going to be big enough for everything you want to do? My first lathe was a Chinese 7x12 that everyone sells. I became aware very quickly that that size lathe was limited on what I could do. Since you are working on stuff for motorcycles the size may be fine, but it is something to think about.


Post an un boxing video of whatever you get!

Chris

 

[zmotorsports]

I agree that unless you enjoy restoring an old worn out machine, to get new.

I do have two comments on the lathe you may have selected.

If you think there is any chance that you may want to single point threads, I highly reccomend you get a lathe with a quick change gear box. My first lathe had regular change gears like the SB you listed, and after a while you look for reasons not to thread, stopping everything to mess with your change gears for 5 minutes to cut one thread only to have to spend another 5 minutes changing gears to switch back to regulat turning setup gets really old after a while.


Is that 8 by 18 going to be big enough for everything you want to do? My first lathe was a Chinese 7x12 that everyone sells. I became aware very quickly that that size lathe was limited on what I could do. Since you are working on stuff for motorcycles the size may be fine, but it is something to think about.


Post an un boxing video of whatever you get!

Chris

Good point right there. When I started looking to upgrade I would ONLY consider a lathe with a quick change gearbox for this very reason. Changing out gears may not seem like a big deal when looking or even at first but after a while you start to dread cutting threads and looking for other alternatives if for nothing else than to avoid the hassle and time required.

Mike.