Which lathes to consider

All of the above is good information. I'm on the side of as big as you can afford. I have a larger PM lathe, good response from PM when needed. The lathe accessories from PM have been good, from Grizzly hit or miss. Something to consider, tooling and accessories that you buy for a very small lathe will likely not work (well) with a larger one when/if you move up. There is a catch to all of this, sooner or later you will want a mill.
 
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You’re not gonna get much with $2k unless you buy used. There’s a couple of decent lathes on Ali express that are within your budget. No support though. Good luck man
 
New or used? Why I went with new. I had spent over a year looking for a used lathe that I trusted would serve me w/o needing work that I was unqualified to preform. I looked at old American iron. Inevitably looked quite worn. It may have just been taken out of service to be replaced by more modern equipment or it may have been too costly to bring back to industrial standards. Some showed easily seen & crudely "fixed" problems. When I checked the cost of having them moved by professionals it brought that idea to an end.

Next move, new, what? I spent several months reading forums, catalogs, etc. With whatever that knowledge was worth I made a list. The premise was this was going to be good enough to be the only lathe I would ever buy (I'm retired and older than dirt!) well enough equipped that I could use it to do repair work on equipment in my old business. I had a corner in my business building that I could use with 3 phase power. Result, PM1440HD. it pushed the limits of what I was willing to spend. I justified it partly because Quality Tools (PM) seemed to have a good reputation. The big bear company was ruled out due to past experience. My lathe is Chinese and mostly good. The accessory package included is good.

It's been 4 years now, I'm still happy with it. I've added things as I learned to do more complex (for me) operations. I already had a Jet 9X49 mill before getting the lathe. I consider them complimentary machines. I need both to do repairs and to learn more about machining. They have been good therapy. I try to push my limits. I've spent quite a lot on all the accessories over time. Still cheaper than the bar &/or a shrink.
 
So not mentioned in this post, but in the other one he mentioned needing to move tools around in his shop space depending on which he was using.

That suggests that full size lathes are probably not in his immediate future.
 
My 1K lb bandsaw, 9 x 42 mill, and the 1228 lathe are all on carrymaser leveling castors, so it's a matter of how much space he has to deal with I guess.
 
Aukai said:
My 1K lb bandsaw, 9 x 42 mill, and the 1228 lathe are all on carrymaser leveling castors, so it's a matter of how much space he has to deal with I guess.
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There is also the space you have and then the space you find when you get really serious about making a tool fit. Like budgets almost everybody does have some hard limits, just a difference of where those limits are.

I have had to get creative about making space, and I have found room I didn't believe I had 5 years ago. I remember trying to figure out where I could fit a bench grinder and small bandsaw. :)

If I told 2015 me the machines I'd find room for, 2015 me would think 2020 me was on some really good hallucinogenic drugs.
 
One can never tell what the future holds, but for now, I am limited to a single bench. For this reason, I was hoping to stick with a bench lathe. I am anticipating that I will need a bench grinder, a small drill press, an arbor press, etc. that would be brought out as needed, and share the bench. I would feel comfortable for now moving a 200# lathe by myself, a few years from now, maybe not. If it ends up over 200#, I will have to get more creative in the use of space, but this is not a game stopper. If I have an occasional need for a bigger lathe, I do have some friends that might help out.
I appreciate all the comments. Right now, I am leaning towards a LMS lathe. I don't think I can afford the PM either in space or money.
 
If you decide to get the LMS 8,5", after you play with it can you get us a review?
 
Welcome aboard.

When you buy a machine the next thing should be safety glasses.

You have mentioned Clickspring's work on You tube, there is a retired Shop teacher; Mr.Pete222 or Tubalcain on the You tube website that gives a good presentation on safety.

There are two books that are nearly the same, How to Run a Lathe by Southbend Lathe Co. . The other with a similar title by Atlas Press Co.. that I think you will find highly informative. I have the one by Atlas Press Co.. When I acquired a mill, more technical machining information was needed so I bought a shop text book, Machineshop Operations and Setups by Lascoe, Nelson and Porter through Amazon.com. This website is your best machining problem resource.

Have a good day
Ray
 
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