First Lathe. Good Deal Or Waste Of Money?

[markamerica]

Seems like you have already started to enjoy your lathe.
There is a lot of satisfaction to be had from reviving good old machines.
Looking forward to seeing the results. Hope you also enjoy the great bunch of folks here.

This is undeniably true. Recently, I fetched out of storage a little 8" bench top Craftsmen drill press I bought more than 20 years ago. It had been sitting in a bad spot for a decade(really don't know why I put it there except expedience at the time,) so it had thick surface rust, the column was pitted, the chrome on the handles and so on was flaking, and I just shook my head at my own foolish neglect. I disassembled it completely, cleaned it all intensively, painted, polished, and reassembled and now it looks better than showroom new. That made me happy. Didn't have need of it at the moment, could have bought a new one almost as cheaply as the hours I poured into it, but maybe in stubborn rejection of the predations of time, or because it just pleased me to overcome my own neglect, I enjoyed the heck out of fixing it up. So yes, good job, and enjoy the lathe!