To Invest in Old or Buy New?
Well thats a question that comes up a fair bit.
I have yrs ago, 1984 or so, purchased a brand new 12X37 lathe that was built in tiawon. I needed a lathe in my Biz, back then, and the local busy -bee was just 5- min away from the shop. I really didnt think this machine would live through the crap we put it through, and I figured it would last a couple of yrs at best. Boy, I was wrong. That lathe was well used, and abused, and just kept on working, making parts, doing repairs till I sold it to a good friend a few yrs back.
For a offshore built machine, I must say, it did surprize me it lasted all those yrs. For a guy looking to buy a machine these days, I would say, have a look at the offerings of china, tiawon and the like. They are aleast new, have all the bits and pcs you will want. The options like cam lock spindle, taper attachment, should be a option, if not standaed equipment.
At least you would be starting with a new machine, and should let you start making chips without repairing the machine first. The worst part of old iron, is finding the missing pieces. The other problem can be a worn out older machine.
Though many guys will dig up old iron, and they will spend way to much time reviving the dead. In my personal opinion, my time is worth something, and my idea of a rebuild/over haul is not a good scub down with a scotch brite pad, and repaint it. All you will have from that, is a good looking worn out machine.
Now Im sure there are some guys that are reading this, thinking, this guy must be a big fan of import machines. Well, as said, I had a import lathe for many yrs, and sold it. I do have a old American Lathe. Its a 1941 Sidney, 14X30 that weighs in at over 4,000 pounds. But,,I have had the import long enough to learn what I needed to about lathes before I went the old iron route. When I bought a milling machine, I had my sights set on a Bridgeport. I had spent over 2 yrs looking for a good BP., and several tanks of gas, and many miles in that search. I finally stopped looking, and started looking at other brands. I did find a real nice 9X42 Induma mill, that has been serving me well for many yrs now.
Its a 1969 model, and its not near as old as my Sidney, Ive run this machine for many yrs, without needing to rebuid it.
The good stuff is getting very hard to obtain these days. Old iron is nice, but to find missing parts, deal with wear, along with finding surprizes when tearing it down for clean up, some times is just not worth the hassle. My lathe was bought for the price of scap, and I put it in service for a good yr before parting with my import lathe. I would think a new lathe with out history is a better bet for a newbie, or machinist with limited experiance.
Of coarse, everyone is different, and your mileage may vary. And, some guys will buy the old iron as a fixer upper, because they enjoy the journy bringing it back to life. If you rather get on with your machining hobbys, and making chips/parts, a new import is a good choice. If rebuilding a old machine is your thing, well by all means, have a look at the older american iron offerings.
For me, Ive aways needed a machine that would produce parts now, and had no time to spend rebuilding a worn out machine. Just my thoughts on the subject, being Ive had a new import, and now have the old iron. But allways remember, when looking at the older stuff, condition, condition, condition, is the differance between hauling home a machine that you will grow old repairing, or making the chips fly NOW!
Just my 02 cents worth
8ntsane
