New member from Nevada

royesses said:
That Logan would be a dream machine to me. It looks to be in good shape from what I can see. Here in OK good used quality lathes are hard to find. All I have room for is my 7x16 mini lathe and X2 mini mill. Pretty quick the Logan experts will be online and perhaps give you some guidance. It sounds like you are getting up to speed very quickly, a fast learner for sure. Best of luck to you on finding the right machine. Your search for the perfect machine is very interesting to me as a fellow hobbyist. As a retired mechanic I tend to look at what I can make of the machine and that can get to be expensive and time consuming. I predict you are going to get the machine you want and be a happy camper.

Roy
Click to expand...

Hi Roy..
The small 7X lathe are cute as can be, with good amount of differences between them, infact reading about and compairing them first helped me learn part names such as Quick Change Tool Post, I almost couldn't resist purchasing one. Edit: I did buy one to keep me busy..!

Tozguy said:
Mike, welcome to the forum.
That Logan looks good to my inexperienced eye. If you have the time and patience it would be an education to clean up a lathe like that before you actually have to use it, as long as there are no serious issues with it. If there is a member close to you who could help you size up that lathe in person it might be reassuring.
Bob Korves provided a video recently about checking a lathe for wear.
Click to expand...

Hello Tozguy..
My thoughts exactly -I would Absolutely clean the machine completely, I don't know about the patience part thou, Upon getting it home I would 1 photograph everything from all angles with closeups of complex areas, then within a couple hours there would be only parts left standing.

Thats a good video - thanks for bringing it to my attention, I have watched a few videos on checking out lathes, I like that one because it quick to show target areas and how to check them, allot of the videos I have seen while good are bit slow paced.

Have good day people. off to work I go..
 
Last edited:
Consider 3 phase power as that often is a turn off to hobby buyers and drives price down.

A good quality VFD can be had cheap, our 3 hp Allen bradley was only 199.00.

On our SB 14.5 in back gear we can get MPR...Minutes Per Revolution and with a 2 hp motor plenty of torque still at that low speed.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
tq60 said:
Consider 3 phase power as that often is a turn off to hobby buyers and drives price down.

A good quality VFD can be had cheap, our 3 hp Allen bradley was only 199.00.

On our SB 14.5 in back gear we can get MPR...Minutes Per Revolution and with a 2 hp motor plenty of torque still at that low speed.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hello, absolutely 3 phase is on the table...
MPR, I love it... First I've heard of that.
 
Hi Mike glad your here, seems you've done your research well and have your goals inline.
Hope you find the rite lathe for you and eventually a mill that meets your needs.
One thing you may have a problem finding is a lathe with a powered compound slide not saying they aren't out there, but it would be new to me.
That Logan if in good shape should be fun, taking somthing like that completely apart cleaning, repairing , painting , reassembling is a good way to know your lathe inside and out :big grin:.
Best of luck on your hunt.
 
Mike, let me play Devil's Advocate here and suggest you look for a new Asian 11-12" lathe instead of old iron. Yes, yes, I know that old iron is cool but consider that old iron will come with old wear and tear. It may or may not come with the tooling you need and the cost to obtain it can add up. If something is broken then you have to source or make it but you have to be able to make it; got the machines and knowledge to do it?

Some folks have the idea that an old 'Murican lathe means its better than a new Asian lathe. If you take a good look at, say, a PM1127VF-LB, you see you get variable speed, a D1-4 camlock instead of a threaded on chuck, a fairly big spindle bore, a hardened spindle/gears/ways, Class 5 spindle bearings and so on and on and on. Price for the basic machine is $2900.00, and if something goes wrong with the lathe then you have some of the best after-sale support in the hobby industry.

If you are looking for a project then an old lathe is just the ticket. Lots of learning to do here and you will probably end up with a nice looking old lathe. On the other hand, it may cost you well over what a new one will cost and it will very likely not be as tight and accurate and will lack some really desirable features (VS, camlock chuck, etc).

Like Bob said, take your time and think things through. I like old iron and admire some of the restorations I've seen but quite frankly, I would prefer having a new lathe so I could learn to machine stuff. My personal lathe is from the mid-90's but it had less than 100 hours on it so basically a mint condition Austrian lathe. If I hadn't found it, I would own a new PM Taiwanese lathe.
 
Bob Korves said:
Mike, you have educated yourself quite well for a newbie, I am in awe. A few comments and questions:
SOME new parts are available for Logans, but they are pricey. Used parts are often available for most lathes, except for the one you need really bad and right away.

Imports all look the same, but they are built in many factories to the same designs, and many of the parts are made in small shops, some in garage size shops, and then brought together to become a lathe. Although they might look all the same except for the paint color, often seemingly interchangeable parts when held at hand's length will not quite fit another "brand" of Chinese lathe, or ones they made a few years before. Sometimes they can be made to fit. That is not really a problem. The castings do not often fail. Many parts can be made by the machinist. Some are standard hardware.

Is your 5' x 2' size critical? I think I could see you with something like a 12x36" lathe, which are capable of a large range of work but might be a bit larger than your stated limit. Older lathes often do not have adequate high speeds, especially for using carbide tooling. On something like a 12x36, I would be looking for a high speed of at least 1500, and 2000 is better. A ball bearing spindle is needed to reach those speeds. Low speeds are just as important. Mine goes to 70 rpm, but that is sometimes not really low enough, though it can be worked with. I would prefer a low end down to around 36 to 45 rpm on my 13x40 lathe. Smaller lathes are often limited from doing large work more by limited low speeds than by the lathe capacity. You will very soon want a QCTP. Do not dismiss 3 phase machines out of hand. With a VFD (~$200) you can run the lathe off single phase and also have variable speed control at the same time, and some other benefits as well. Often if you can tweak the speed a bit you can stop chatter, and/or improve surface finish. Speeds can also be extended to some extent with a VFD, but there are some caveats to that. You will want a 4 jaw independent and a 3 jaw scroll (self centering) chuck to start out with. That is pretty standard stuff.

You are new to lathes. If you are looking at used lathes, I highly recommend finding a knowledgeable and experienced person to help you inspect and evaluate them. A real dog looks about the same as a real score to someone who does not know what to look for. Some help might be good for choosing a new lathe as well. Buying tooling is expensive, figure that into whatever you buy and what it comes with.

Lastly, do not get in a hurry. Take your time and make sure you get what you want for what you want to pay, and in a condition that will not sour you on machining. Patience is a required virtue here. You are definitely on the right track...
HAVE FUN! And keep us posted...
Click to expand...

All good info here Bob...

4 jaw Independent chuck for off center boring and the 3 jaw for dead center boring, Makes sense.

VFD variable-frequency drive controller, Got it.. just read the wiki on that device.

My size requirement of 5' X 2' is not set in stone, Its the size of the desk I'm typing at and, Is my visual Que since I have nothing to compare against.

Be Patience, My pace is a rather quick one - you know me well Jedi, which is ok since I'm of the complete understanding that my first lathe is nothing more then a learning tool, and a $1000.00 max. Yes It would be nice to have a competent person with me but chances are that wont be possible, which is why I have been watching videos on what to look for. The the video posted above along with a few other ones I have been watching have helped a great deal.

Thanks for all the info.
 
Hey MM ,is that chocolate or peanut.,lol , no welcome to the site to much deep thinking and long reading post. Short hi and welcome. Logan's my lathe for forty years still work in good.
 
Mr Mike said:
4 jaw Independent chuck for off center boring and the 3 jaw for dead center boring, Makes sense.
Click to expand...
Actually, the 4 jaw is usually used for accurate work, and the 3 jaw for less important work. The reasons for that is that with the independent 4 jaw you can (and will) dial in each jaw separately until the part turns true. A typical 3 jaw chuck is operated by a scroll, which is a machined spiral groove that the jaws follow as they are tightened all together toward the center of the chuck. That design is inherently less accurate than a chuck with independent jaws, but faster to get the work chucked up. A typical 3 jaw ( if there actually was such a thing) might have several thousandths runout when clamping the work, and no good way to adjust it out. The discrepancies may be different with different work diameters as well. Nature of the beast. It is fine for less critical work. 4 jaw independent chucks can also grip the work tighter.

Aside from the above, three jaws are good for triangular, hex, or 9 or 12 sided work. 4 jaws are good for 4, 8, 12, or 16 sided work. Also, not all 4 jaw chucks are independent, some are scroll. And not all 3 jaws are scroll chucks, some are independent.

Some chucks are very high accuracy, smooth and solid gripping. The jaws are ground properly so the work does not stick out of the chuck at an angle from square. Others are cheaply made junk, and others are totally worn out. Know the difference, and whether the sizes of the chucks is appropriate for the lathe and the work you will expect them to do.

Anyway, a chuck is not just a chuck...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top