Buying your first a lathe...what you wish you knew?

aaronthemeche said:
What do you wish you knew before buying your first lathe?
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That my first lathe wouldn't be "big" enough. I have a bench top Atlas that I can't wait to replace with a 10 HP piece of equipment with a 16" swing. Can not wait...
 
ArmyDoc said:
What is it that you want to do? I know that is easier asked than answered, because you may not have a solid idea of what you want to do / can do. But do you have any projects that you definitely want to do? They can help you determine your minimum size.
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Let me try to save you some time and money. I advise you to sit down and do some homework.
  • DEFINE for yourself what your needs are. This, more than anything else, determines the size lathe you need. You've already been told to buy the biggest lathe you can find/afford but this does not fit all of us. You are the one who will live with this lathe so focus on your own needs.
  • KNOW which features matter on a good lathe and know why they matter. It may take some time to research why a camlock spindle is better than a threaded or bolt-on spindle, or why a separate drive shaft to move the saddle is better than a key running in the slot of a leadscrew but these kinds of things determine how easy it is to live with the lathe and can impact on the lifespan of that lathe. You cannot add these features after the fact so figure this out before you spend money.
  • Fully featured lathes with all the good stuff (quick change gear box, cross slide power feed, separate drive shafts with a clutch, etc) are found on 12" lathes and bigger. Hobby class lathes often lack some of these features, tend to be cheaper and the quality of the machine is usually lower. This is not a uniform thing. Some European small lathes are made to tool room standards so you need to do your homework.
  • The tooling used (carbide or HSS) really depends on how much speed you can get and the rigidity of the lathe. In order to fully use the capabilities of carbide you need speed, power and rigidity. Take a 3/8" SCLCR turning tool and use it on a 10" lathe on small work and you get a result but use that same tool on a big 14" lathe on a larger work piece and the results are often much different. This has to do with getting the work to the right speed for the tool, then applying enough power and rigidity so the tool can cut as intended. When using carbide tools, the speed the lathe can run at matters and this ties in to the size of the work piece. So again, what do you intend to do with the lathe.
  • You intend to CNC the lathe; your call, but there is soooo much about lathe work that you have to know in order to really program a lathe to do what you want. Plan to spend a lot of time learning to use the lathe first so that you understand how this machine cuts metal or you will have a heck of a time running it as a CNC machine.
My point: figure out what you need, then find the machine that has the features you need or want. Believe it or not, upgrading lathes is not the best way to save money.
 
A tangenital tool holder for HSS and running a part-off blade upside down in reverse or making a rear part-off tool holder. Parting off is the most frustrating for most people.
 
mikey said:
Let me try to save you some time and money. I advise you to sit down and do some homework.
  • DEFINE for yourself what your needs are. This, more than anything else, determines the size lathe you need. You've already been told to buy the biggest lathe you can find/afford but this does not fit all of us. You are the one who will live with this lathe so focus on your own needs.
  • KNOW which features matter on a good lathe and know why they matter. It may take some time to research why a camlock spindle is better than a threaded or bolt-on spindle, or why a separate drive shaft to move the saddle is better than a key running in the slot of a leadscrew but these kinds of things determine how easy it is to live with the lathe and can impact on the lifespan of that lathe. You cannot add these features after the fact so figure this out before you spend money.
  • Fully featured lathes with all the good stuff (quick change gear box, cross slide power feed, separate drive shafts with a clutch, etc) are found on 12" lathes and bigger. Hobby class lathes often lack some of these features, tend to be cheaper and the quality of the machine is usually lower. This is not a uniform thing. Some European small lathes are made to tool room standards so you need to do your homework.
  • The tooling used (carbide or HSS) really depends on how much speed you can get and the rigidity of the lathe. In order to fully use the capabilities of carbide you need speed, power and rigidity. Take a 3/8" SCLCR turning tool and use it on a 10" lathe on small work and you get a result but use that same tool on a big 14" lathe on a larger work piece and the results are often much different. This has to do with getting the work to the right speed for the tool, then applying enough power and rigidity so the tool can cut as intended. When using carbide tools, the speed the lathe can run at matters and this ties in to the size of the work piece. So again, what do you intend to do with the lathe.
  • You intend to CNC the lathe; your call, but there is soooo much about lathe work that you have to know in order to really program a lathe to do what you want. Plan to spend a lot of time learning to use the lathe first so that you understand how this machine cuts metal or you will have a heck of a time running it as a CNC machine.
My point: figure out what you need, then find the machine that has the features you need or want. Believe it or not, upgrading lathes is not the best way to save money.
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Well said. I’m slightly torn between buying bigger and better and buying something to just get started. I’ve been thinking about doing this for years now and just haven’t pulled the trigger yet. If I buy a PM1030 I will do it knowing full well it’s not optimal but l think I’m okay with that to get my feet wet and start learning. However if it’s just such low quality and limiting it could do me more harm than good for education.
 
NortonDommi said:
A tangenital tool holder for HSS and running a part-off blade upside down in reverse or making a rear part-off tool holder. Parting off is the most frustrating for most people.
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Can you explain why I want to do that. Sounds creative.
 
Trust me; the time to save money is before you buy a lathe. Know what you're buying and why you're buying it. Buying a smaller lathe than you really need or one without the features you want will result in you selling it at a loss and buying another lathe. That is not spending wisely. Slow down, ask questions, read other threads and then, when you have a clear idea of what you want, ask the guys who own that lathe what they think. This is the smart way to do it.
 
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mikey said:
Trust me; the time to save money is before you buy a lathe. Know what you're buying and why you're buying it. Buying a smaller lathe than you really need or one without the features you want will result in you selling it at a loss and buying another lathe. That is not spending wisely. Slow down, ask questions, read other threads and then, when you have a clear idea of what you want, ask the guys who own that lathe what they think. This is the smart way to do it.
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Okay
 
I find that the tangenital tool ,(Eccentric Engineering),is something I use a lot. Versatile and simple to grand also HSS often gives a better finish on light cuts than Carbide.
The upside down part-off tool is very forgiving, chips naturally fall down and because of the way the forces act it springs upward if something goes awry rather to go ping. Insert blades allows high speed parting.
 
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