Opinions On Buying The First Lathe. (or The Never Ending, "what Lathe Should I Buy," Question.)

you'll have some difficulties trying to find a 36" between centers and a 9" swing.
the best you'll probably do is a Taiwanese 1236. i own one and use it the most. very nice machine- 670 lbs
i have a Hercus ARH 922 that i love to death, it an improved SB9 that runs v belts instead of flat belts- just a beautiful machine to use. (est) 450 lbs.
if i could only choose one, it would be the 1236 because of the larger swing- but i'd rally hate to make that choice, it would be like choosing between children.
i usually find a patient with minor to moderate problems, at the right price or lower, and put the humpty dumpties back together again.
i'm not suggesting that that is the best route for all, merely suggesting another possibility for someone who may be as mad as i. :grin:
 
Then there is good ol' Austrian Iron, like an Emco Super 11. This is an 11" lathe with a 25" center to center, 2HP and weighs about 550#. It is pretty quiet for a gear head lathe with quick change, has power feeds and is very, very accurate. Later models of the Super 11 as well as the Super 11 CD have a 1-3/8" spindle bore and a D1-4 chuck mount. They come up for sale from time to time and if you find one in nice condition then its worthy of your consideration. Parts are hard to come by but most guys who have had them for decades say they don't break often. It is put together in typical high accuracy European fashion - everything fits precisely and there is no tune up required to use it. I've only had mine for about 4+ years and it is now fully tooled up; it is a very nice lathe to own.

Sherline is a very nice lathe but I don't think it will have the work envelope you need. It is a very precise lathe, though I doubt a career machinist would find it suitable.
 
What you intend to be making plays as big a part as any in this decision. The lathes mentioned, Logan, SB, an Atlas all make decent machines for the size. The reason I say decent is if you are like me (I am a machinist also), running a small lathe takes a lot of patience. I have a 6x24 Atlas, and am rebuilding a Heavy 10 SB. Patience because you will feel like you are whittling instead of cutting like 'regular' machine that you are used to. Being able to take 1/4" a side or more cut at the shop can make a home machine frustrating. That has always been my issue :).
 
For floor loading look at 1 1/8 subfloor mateeial.

We really like "plytanium" brand at lowes.

It is rated for 48 inch span so it can really aid in distributing your loads as well as protecting floor from mess.

You can build a bench that attaches to the material that will spread the small point loads of bench feet to wide area loads.

A 5 X 3 size would be 15 Sq feet so a 1000 pound load would be less than 100 pounds per Sq ft.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
First, thanks to everyone on their thoughts, this helped a tremendous amount in my perspective. Second, sorry for the late response. I have a newborn and I'm struggling trying to even get enough sleep with work and her responsibilities. I really like all the various machines, I have been looking at a lot of the newer ones online, and researching the older ones, (the Hercus, Emco 11, is it Emco or is it Enco?) I really want to stick within the smaller range, but the PM's with the larger spindle bore caught my eye. That Eisen is really nice as well. I really like the removable gap. As far as moderately priced goes well... I don't want to spend more than $5-800 max on something like a Southbend, or Logan 9" not loaded with any tooling, really just a qcgb and tailstock, with a good ways. I wouldn't be as willing to spend as much on an Atlas. Maybe I'm wrong but they don't look nearly as rigid. New machines I could probably just save up and get something like the PM, or Eisen, in a range from 1-3 thousand. Paul in okc, I'm scared that I'm going to get a tiny machine and think, what even is this, a toy? I've ran the sieg look alike from harbor freight, 7x14 and I hated it. Without tooling though, how much is a fair price for a used Southbend, Logan or Atlas, 9'', bare bones? I think I might start a pricing guide for other lost souls. The things I'm going to be making at first are small prototyping pieces. I want to be able to make larger acme threads eventually, and want to use it as a mill, or at least have a milling attachment, to make gears as well as machine flats. I might have to turn rings though, to the full size of the swing, pulleys, clocks, planetary gears? Again thanks everyone for your input, I've been reading every post as they come, I just haven't been able to respond due to work and my daughter. Your time is very appreciated.

Thanks,
Zach
 
mikey said:
It's EMCO. They made some very fine lathes but are not nearly as common as American iron or Asian stuff.
Click to expand...
Actually, it is both Emco AND Enco. Emco has supplied higher quality European lathes made by several manufacturers, and Enco is an old American company who sold equipment from many manufacturers re-branded with the Enco name. Most of the Enco machines over the last several decades were made in Taiwan and China, lately nearly all from China. Enco is currently being absorbed by its parent company, MSC, and that brand will likely soon go away
http://www.lathes.co.uk/emco/index.html The European Emco lathes.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/ Index. This is a really useful site for someone looking to purchase a lathe.
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM Their last month in business...
 
With the limits that you set, I think a Logan would be something to look for. Anything with a SouthBend name on it generally is priced WAY to HIGH. I bought my Monarch 16CW from a machinist's estate for $1,500 w/tooling. The executor sold 3 clapped out (his words) SouthBend lathes for over $3,000 each. At the same time he had a Logan in very good condition (again his words) that went for only $900.
Of course everyone has their own opinion and I don't want to get into a Ford/Chevy/MoPar argument but I would rather have a nice Logan than a similar SB.
Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!

Mike
 
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