Suggested Sticky

[Jim F]

I have seen alot of recommendation to newbies on what equipment to buy.
They are sound suggestions, but, they seem to not take into account the space, and power available to the newbie.
I know to some, price and space is not a factor, but some do have space, $ and power available limitations.
It would be nice if we could guide new users in the right direction.
For instance, I only have 2 110V outlets, and a 28" walk in door access to my shop, and it shares space with lawn care and home repair stuff.
No way I can fit a BP or a 13x40 220V 3ph lathe in there.
It woud be very considerate to ask about the space, power available, etc. before recommending something that will not work in their space.

 

[mmcmdl]

But ............. but we like to spend other peoples $$$$$$ !

In all seriousness , only the one asking the question can answer his question . That answer is buy what you need .

 

[Jim F]

But ............. but we like to spend other peoples $$$$$$ !

In all seriousness , only the one asking the question can answer his question . That answer is buy what you need .

The thing is, noone asks before telling them what to buy.
These are things some do not think about when getting into this.

 

[mmcmdl]

Yep , I agree , but most of the time the asker does not state what his needs are . I've owned 9"-20" lathes over the years and everything in between . I'm down to a 12" which may get me thru now .( although most likely I'll be retooling the garage up very soon ) . I kept my one Bridgeport that I'll keep forever . It'll always handle my needs . The B&S micromaster I really don't need , but it was one that I spent alot of time on years back . My needs and wants are different . I sure would love to get my hands on a cnc lathe and vmc but I just don't have the need for one .

 

[benmychree]

I need it all, but my shop is full; 10 lbs. of stuff in a 5 lb. box.

 

[Jim F]

Yep , I agree , but most of the time the asker does not state what his needs are . I've owned 9"-20" lathes over the years and everything in between . I'm down to a 12" which may get me thru now .( although most likely I'll be retooling the garage up very soon ) . I kept my one Bridgeport that I'll keep forever . It'll always handle my needs . The B&S micromaster I really don't need , but it was one that I spent alot of time on years back . My needs and wants are different . I sure would love to get my hands on a cnc lathe and vmc but I just don't have the need for one .

That is why we need to ask, before jumping and telling them to spend $ on stuff they don't need.
When ever I talk to people with no experience in running a lathe, I always recommend a flat belt drive, it helps with the learning curve, and avoids expensive repairs if it crashes.

 

[Jim F]

It would help newbies know what to ask about when they are just getting started.

 

[mmcmdl]

I recommend learning safety on ANY machine you buy . The machine doesn't make mistakes , the operators do . Most people come on the site and ask questions without reading thru the 10s of thousands of threads regarding what they're looking for . They should be doing their own legwork before coming on asking generic questions eg. " What lathe should I get "?

 

[Jim F]

I recommend learning safety on ANY machine you buy . The machine doesn't make mistakes , the operators do . Most people come on the site and ask questions without reading thru the 10s of thousands of threads regarding what they're looking for . They should be doing their own legwork before coming on asking generic questions eg. " What lathe should I get "?

And then we get members ribbing about zombie threads years old.

 

[Aaron_W]

If your suggestion of a sticky is a checklist for posters asking for machine advice, that is a good idea.

A couple of big ones

Available power and if 120v only, is 240v a possibility in the future (a budget item vs a hard no for other reasons).

Access, big differences between a dedicated outbuilding, a garage, an outside accessible basement vs inside only, a spare bedroom or dining room / kitchen table.

Space is a hard one, as most vastly underestimate the space they can find when properly motivated.

Living situation, is one I think is very much over looked. A person who is in their lifetime home, so a one time move in is very different from a younger person starting out who may have multiple moves ahead of them. People do get 3000lb machines into basements, but nobody wants to do that twice.

Probably most important, why do they want the machine. Clearly many are satisfied with small machines or there would not be so many being sold. I also think a lot of the small machines get kind of an undeserved bad reputation because people buy them because they fit their space / budget. Buying a 7x12 mini-lathe to turn truck axles simply will not turn out well, and that is not the fault of the lathe.


We have a lot of members who have some very nice shops, and we have members who have decades of experience as a hobby and in many cases professional machinists. We also have members with tiny shops, small machines and minimal experience. I think we all carry our own bias when helping people choose a lathe. When a new poster shows up providing little information, that makes it really easy to look at each of our own situations whether that is a 40x60 shop with 12 foot ceilings or a space tucked away under the stairs with an extension cord for power.