Enco 9x20?

Aaron_W said:
South Bend, Atlas / Craftsman and Logan / Montgomery Wards 9" and 10" lathes were super common, and are still probably the most common home lathes around.

The 9x20s are not a bad option for a compact lathe, they will be noticeably smaller than a 9" vintage USA.

If you can find one in decent shape, even a change gear 9" or 10" USA lathe will be superior, but finding one in decent shape is always the issue. Most went out of production by the 1970s, so you are looking for machines that are typically a minimum of 50 years old. Age doesn't really matter, it is all about how they were used / cared for. Lots of people have 100 year old lathes that are still in great shape.
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The size is definitely one of the more appealing things with the enco. I could probably fit that without getting rid of anything. If I go old school I’m going have to lose a work table. Which is fine I guess. I have others. But it just seems like I never have enough.
 
JustTrimitaLittle said:
The size is definitely one of the more appealing things with the enco. I could probably fit that without getting rid of anything. If I go old school I’m going have to lose a work table. Which is fine I guess. I have others. But it just seems like I never have enough.
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Go old school. South Bend preferred over the others mentioned.
As for losing a work table...
I have two.
One I work on, the other collects junk. So in the end, I really only have one work table.
 
JustTrimitaLittle said:
The size is definitely one of the more appealing things with the enco. I could probably fit that without getting rid of anything. If I go old school I’m going have to lose a work table. Which is fine I guess. I have others. But it just seems like I never have enough.
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Size is the main reason for me and price. It was easily half of what was available in the size range in murican lathes. 90% of those were WWII super used and none except Logan and some Clausing still had new parts available. Even if I upgrade and even though space is at a premium I’ll probably keep my 9x20 because if you’ve ever had to fix a lathe you know it takes a lathe to fix a lathe.
 
I’ve got a bead on a localish th42 for a good price. I’m gonna see if I can go check that out. It looks old and dirty. But not too bad. Might be a “starter” lathe. Onions on th42 anyone?
 
C-Bag said:
Size is the main reason for me and price. It was easily half of what was available in the size range in murican lathes. 90% of those were WWII super used and none except Logan and some Clausing still had new parts available. Even if I upgrade and even though space is at a premium I’ll probably keep my 9x20 because if you’ve ever had to fix a lathe you know it takes a lathe to fix a lathe.
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There is a clausing like 3 hours away for free I was about to jump on. But it’s rough and not complete probably. I’m way too novice to get into that. Taking all my will power to NOT tell I’ll be there. Lol.
 
I’m heading to check this out tomorrow morning as long as it’s not sold out from under me.
 

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It is a respectable old lathe.
Decent size to learn on.
It doesn't have to be your last one.
I am on my 4th lathe. Each one was better than the last. And selling the one I had to get a better one didn't hurt my wallet so much each time I took a step up.
Congrats!
 
I have the Harbor Freight version of it... even with two additional lathes, find it hard to let it go... Heck, I keep buying attachments for it.
 
JustTrimitaLittle said:
Well I picked up the atlas… idk what I’ve gotten myself into.
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That is a pretty safe lathe to go with. There are tons of them out there so parts, accessories and information is easy to find. Clausing (Atlas) still offers some support for them as well.
 
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