Ford F-150 of lathes?

Southbend or Atlas.

everything else is either too big, too uncommon or too expensive.

F150 is meant to be practical, affordable and numerous. Thats Southbend or Atlas in my mind. Probably giving the nod more to Atlas than southbend because of the “numerous” criteria.

I guess that would make southbend the sierra/silverado of lathes….lol!
 
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No disrespect meant but a PM or a grizzly are not f 150's , southbends might have been up to sometime in the mid 40's.
The w&s family of lathes were the most produced, strongest, most durable and like an F 150 can still be found in active shops.
Parts and tooling are still around at decent prices.
Now if we are talking about hobby level machines then it's Southbend and Atlas,
Most common and most durable.
F150's helped build America, I know a little stretch, but stay with me..
They probably have been the most overloaded and hardest worked pick up out there and then sold to someone who thinks he is going to work it some more.
In our school system, Monarch was King for anything under 14 inches.
 
Personally when asked to recommend a used all purpose lathe I suggest Monarch, I can still buy parts and have. I drove to their plant and picked the parts up in person on one occasion.. They are still building new lathes and the last prices I heard were good.
I use a new Monarch lathe at one of my customers facility pretty often and would be happy to replace my SB 16x72 Toolroom with it.
 
Just to add a little perspective I currently own and have running 4 lathes with 3 more not running.
I served my apprenticeship at a Lathe manufacturer.
I have been providing field servicing of machine tools for about 15 years.
 
Maybe YOURS doesn't...lol
I like all brands of old "cars,trucks,machines,furniture,lawn tractor,women " when I can find them in good condition!
Oh and glassware, trains,guns
 
sdelivery said:
Maybe YOURS doesn't...lol
I like all brands of old "cars,trucks,machines,furniture,lawn tractor,women " when I can find them in good condition!
Oh and glassware, trains,guns
Click to expand...
That 10 speed is a beaut.
 
There were so many brands of lathes made in the United States each having their strong/weak points.
Can you imagine trying to collect one of each U.S. manufacturers lathe circa say 1945?
I don't think I could list all the brands....
 
South Bend.

An F150 isn't a fleet or commercial vehicle. You would need to step it up to at bare minimum to an F350/E350 to deal with commercial use/abuse. The reason I am saying this is your example is for a homeowner, and the SB fits that perfectly. Plenty of parts, several people make new parts/accessories, it is easy to learn on, and with the belt drive, pretty forgiving. And, most importantly, you can do good work on it.
 
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