Is this a good lathe to start with?

J

John Ridley

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Looking for opinions before I drop the cash for this lathe (probably in the next few days).

I've done some limited work with other people's lathes, only a junk used Harbor Freight mini lathe to myself, but I just finished my heated shop so now feel like I can buy tools (and not have them rust out immediately in the Michigan weather). Machinist friends have always told me, when you buy a lathe, don't get a little one or you'll just be kicking yourself constantly.

Anyway I have come across a Craigslist ad for a Rockwell 11x37 lathe as shown on this page: http://www.lathes.co.uk/delta metal/page2.html

It looks in pretty decent repair - not as pretty as in the page above but the ways look clean and nothing seems abused as well as I can tell by the photos, has a quick change tool post, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, 3 phase motor (I'll have to buy a VFD to run it), a brand new chuck (the guy says the 3 and 4 jaw chucks it came with (he's including) are actually a bit too big and the jaws can hit the ways so he has a new in box chuck he's including. no steady rest, he has one that he's throwing in but it doesn't currently fit, I guess if I wanted it it would be a project.

Anyway it's $1250. It seems reasonable in this area. Looks a step up from the similarly sized South Bends that are usually coming up - the headstock in particular, the cutaway of that makes it look like it could spin a car.
 
If it fits the work envelope of the things you need to make and the ways are not worn then I would say $1250 is a very good price for that lathe. You will need to find the steady rest.

I looked at one exactly like the one in the Lathesuk site and it was in really good shape. I passed because the guy thought the lathe was made of gold and it lacked any tooling but I started it up and it was nice and smooth. Very nice size for a hobby shop, I think.
 
I have that lathe yahoo has a good forum. Important to check all the teeth on the back gear
 
Looks like a nice lathe . Price isn't bad either at least for this region . As far as the large chucks , most any jaws can be brought out so they could possibly hit the ways . Either that or they would fall out of the scroll first . That is part of the set-up and is up to the operator to plan on . Reverse your jaws , bore soft jaws etc . I wouldn't let that hold you back .
 
I used a Rockwell 11x37 in junior high school shop class. Owned a 10x36 that never gave me any problems. Rockwell made really nice machines. It'd be a great lathe.

Bruce
 
It will do very nicely, especially if it’s in good shape.
 
Looks like a great deal. I would check it out personally before you hand over the cash.
 
Thanks all. Now I just have to work around the guy's schedule of being out of town, me being in the tax filing business and this being electronic filing startup week (typically hectic) and forecast snowstorms that I don't want to tow a trailer with lathe through for 2 hours.
I will definitely be checking the lathe out in person. I'll be watching both Tom Lipton and Lyle Peterson's videos on assessing a used lathe today to be sure I don't miss anything dumb.
Thanks for the tip to check the back gears.
I'll make a list. I have a history of forgetting things when I'm on site.
 
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