Mr Pete the shop teacher has some great vids. He likes the old school south bend lathe. Someone on this board had a lathe for sale. It had been crashed and needed some work. I was considering it but were getting ready to move from Tulsa to OKC.
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When it comes to metal lathes, if you can handle moving a larger secondhand manual machine you can do quite well on the second-hand market.
The demand for 1 1/2 tons of manually controlled cast iron powered by a 3-phase motor is low at a good old-fashioned spit in the dirt auction.
Little south bends and similar machines tend to bring a premium because they are easy to move and single phase. Popularity, not capability drives up the price.
Unlike a table saw or other wood working machines, the part is more or less contained in the lathe, so its footprint is about all the space it takes up. A bigger machine does not take up that much more space and will put a lot more chips in the pan at the end of the day. The rigidity of the bigger machine also improves surface finishes and reduces tool chatter.
You can find a lot of advice on moving, loading, and unloading. Just think it through carefully and ask for help. Its slow, but not that difficult. Just work out loading before buying.
The other trick is the 3 phase power. Under 3 hp or so a variable frequency drive is an economical solution to go from single to 3 phase. Above that it gets a bit more difficult.
Tooling - try to buy it with the lathe.
Get the extra chucks, tool holders, centers, drill chucks, rests, etc. As individual items on ebay you will spend more than the lathe.
Be careful at the auctions.
Know the market and understand how to evaluate anything you buy.
Don't get competitive. Set a price and walk away if it goes higher.
You go hunting for a deal but pay more than anyone else will.
The demand for 1 1/2 tons of manually controlled cast iron powered by a 3-phase motor is low at a good old-fashioned spit in the dirt auction.
Little south bends and similar machines tend to bring a premium because they are easy to move and single phase. Popularity, not capability drives up the price.
Unlike a table saw or other wood working machines, the part is more or less contained in the lathe, so its footprint is about all the space it takes up. A bigger machine does not take up that much more space and will put a lot more chips in the pan at the end of the day. The rigidity of the bigger machine also improves surface finishes and reduces tool chatter.
You can find a lot of advice on moving, loading, and unloading. Just think it through carefully and ask for help. Its slow, but not that difficult. Just work out loading before buying.
The other trick is the 3 phase power. Under 3 hp or so a variable frequency drive is an economical solution to go from single to 3 phase. Above that it gets a bit more difficult.
Tooling - try to buy it with the lathe.
Get the extra chucks, tool holders, centers, drill chucks, rests, etc. As individual items on ebay you will spend more than the lathe.
Be careful at the auctions.
Know the market and understand how to evaluate anything you buy.
Don't get competitive. Set a price and walk away if it goes higher.
You go hunting for a deal but pay more than anyone else will.
Find an old south bend lathe and restore it. I just saw one of marketplace a few weeks back restored for $1000. What a steal!
Convert them to quick change tools posts with carbide tooling. Get an adjustable chuck from Shars tools and a 1-1/2 x 8 TPI threaded back plate to adapt the chuck to the lathe. Have Power Equipment and Engineering in OKC make a modern material belt to replace the leather belt. Replace the motor if needed. Now you can do anything.
Convert them to quick change tools posts with carbide tooling. Get an adjustable chuck from Shars tools and a 1-1/2 x 8 TPI threaded back plate to adapt the chuck to the lathe. Have Power Equipment and Engineering in OKC make a modern material belt to replace the leather belt. Replace the motor if needed. Now you can do anything.
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Are you thinking of This Old Tony? He hasn’t been posting much lately.
That’s the guy! And they’re both super informative.
He's the one that I watched when looking into the mini-lathes. Then I fell in the rabbit hole and watched his other videos. Damn squirrels! Lol.
For those that would like to see what we're talking about:
I’ve taken all your advice into account. I suspect it’s even harder now than it was before. And I swear everytime something decent comes up on Craigslist I barely miss it. I guess I’ll just keep watching the tube til then so I’m a pro by the time I get it
Probably already been said but for good precise work you need a 4 jaw chuck and a good dial indicator, takes a little practice but you can get down to just a few .0001” total runout
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