Thinking about a lathe

[Bill Raby]

I am starting to think that it might be nice to get a lathe and wondering what to look for. Are those small Bench top lathes any good or are they just useless? How big would I even need and what features are most important? I would probably buy new instead of searching for an old one and then having to deal with worn spots and looking for parts. Any advice?

[Goo]

You can cut small stuff on a big lathe but you can not cut big stuff on a small lathe.   

[Terry Reynolds]

I have the small Harbor Freight lathe. It's not a serious lathe, OK for brass/aluminum or plastic but steel is hard to work with. After about 6 years I stripped the low gears out of it, they are made of plastic. I run in high gears now but what I do on it really doesn't matter.

There are better ones out there for a few dollars more. I wouldn't buy this lathe again but like I said what I do with it doesn't take much......mostly polish on it.

Not much help but that's my story.

[JPK]

What I look for is the hole threw the spindle, is it large enough for what I might do. For me that means barrel work. Next is it long enough bed, I wouldn’t want less then 36” between centers. And quick change gears that will do threads in the range I may need.
My current lathe is a Harbor Freight 13” that has done good work for a me as a retired machinist doing hobby gun smithing.

[45-110]

save your money and pick up a older used american lathe 12"x 36-42" or so. craigslist or even ebay has them. get as much tooling as you can, more is better ie. collets, face plate, steady rest, tool holders, live center, ability to thread etc. you will never regret having a "good" lathe. they don't loose value. a deal on a Jet or Grizzly might be ok too. just gotta go shopping for one.
even though its messy a metal lathe turns wood too.
kw

[hudson]

A good South Bend lath can still  be a good machine. I purchase a Grizzly 12 by 37 quite a number of years ago it has a large enough hole through the spindle to handle any barrel I may want to use. No it’s not the best lathe but has served me well. The only real gripe I have is the lowest back gear speed is 80 rpm, makes it interesting when threading around 4 or 5 threads per inch, thankfully seldom done. Jet may be a better lathe but probably more bucks. Used lathes can have wear on the ways and allot of back lash in the controls, watch for this.

[Scota4570]

I have three.  A unimat, toy.  A Clausing 15 x48, fine for barrel turning but mostly large and a bit cumbersome.   

The most useful is a Southbend 10 x 20  It was a ww2 navy dept lathe.  It is on a metal cabinet base.  It is where I do 99% of lathe work.  It has both 3 and 4-jaw chucks and a set of collets.  I have the steady and a follower rest.  I got a Phase II tool post with half a dozen tool bit holders.  This is a big time saver.  I also have a bunch of cheap carbide tool bits.  For most turning they work well.   For specialized bits I use high speed and grind them.  Tooling is the expensive part.  Be sure you get your steady and a couple of decent chucks.  A quick change gear box is pretty much a must have. 

Old iron is cheap, keep an eye out and your patience will be rewarded.  Try Craig's list.  Make sure it has a single phase motor.  A phase converter will cost more than the lathe.

[Daryl]

An old & very close friend of mine, Lester H. Hawkes, used to have a machine shop on Walcott Road B.C., between Smithers and Houston. Les had 4 lathes set up for work, and "something" in every one of them. they were all large lathes, though, no small ones.

He used to like using a big old "Ross" (or something like that) lathe for "close" work. That one would swing 22 " (dia) shafts from the Endako Molybdenum mine.

[Acer Saccharum]

Get a lathe with a 1 3/8 thru hole. If you have that, 20" between centers is minimum.

[Bill Raby]

I am getting the impression that is best to stay away from the cheapo mini lathes. Spend about $1500 to $2500 and a get a smaller well build lathe. Or spend $5000+ on one that can do barrels without any trouble. A smaller one would take care of most jobs and I could pay for a lot of barrel work with the extra money it takes to get a big one. But then the big one would be nice! I already have a milling machine that gets a lot of use. I don't have experience with lathe and don't really know what to look for.

[jerrywh]

 I bought a 12 x 36 Birmingham from Ebay. It has a 1 1/2" hole through the head stock. Delivered to my shop door it cost about $2500.  I have never regretted it. It has all metal gears. Some of the older American lathes do not have a very big hole through the head stock. That is very important.

[Nhgrants]

I have a very small micro hobby lathe which I did not spend much on but I have done a lot of stuff with. 
I have wanted something bigger around the 7 x 14 range.  From what I have seen some people have had issues
with the motor control circuit box.  These lathes have DC motors.
I think the mini mills will have similar control box issues.


I found a old Southbend lathe at a yard sale, my brother bought it and has had great luck after doing some refurbishing.

[G_T]

If you are not familiar with lathes, rule of thumb here. The beefier the lathe (heavier), the bigger cut it can take at a time. An old Atlas 12xWhatever lathe has soft metal gears and is relatively light weight for a lathe. It cannot even take heavy or medium cuts in aluminum, let alone steel. It isn't rigid enough. It will get the job done, but light cuts means extra hours doing the work. It is a light duty lathe. Just keep that in mind when shopping.

Gerald

[B.Barker]

I have an old wore out Logan lathe and the through hole is an inch or less. It needs some serious TLC after seventy years of use. I have been thinking of getting a new one to replace it rather than spend the money on rebuilding the old Logan. I don't want one for barrel work so I'm looking at smaller lathes. Most of my work is turning screws and work on my powder measures along with tow worms. I don't need a 36" bed for that. So my advise is ask your self what do you want to do with it and how often will you use it.

[44-henry]

I personally have always liked the bench top metal lathes for small parts. I have owned very large lathes, and have access to several 14" Clausing Colchester lathes in my University lab, but at home I have worked primarily with bench top models. Though it is possible to do small work on a big lathe, I much prefer doing small work on a small lathe and the ideal scenario in my mind is to have one of each. I currently own two Atlas 6" lathes, a Sherline 4" and also an Asian 7" model. Of all of these lathes the 7" is the most rigid and also the most versatile.

Things that I like about the the bench top lathes are that they do not take up much room, some of them can be easily stored away when not in use, and they often have higher spindle speeds than larger lathes which make them better suited for some work. Another plus is that they all generally work of standard 120 volt power and can be used on a normal 15 amp circuit. Most of the larger machines I have worked with are at least 220 and often three phase which opens a whole new set of problems if you don't have available power.

My 7" x 12" lathe has a 13/16" spindle bore, variable speed motor up to 2500 rpm and will cut threads anywhere from 12-52 TPI. I have used this same type of lathe in educational settings where students are very hard on equipment and never had any major issues that couldn't be fixed in a few hours. Spare parts are also readily available from places like www.littlemachineshop.com. The gears are plastic, but I have only had a few broken gears in better than the 15 years that I have worked with the things. Lot's of people don't realize that he gears are actually made out of plastic to act as a sort of shear pin, if you break them you are probably doing something that the lathe wasn't intended to do and the gear will break to save you from having to do much more difficult repairs to the internal head stock gears. Come to think of it I have printed a couple of replacement gears for my Atlas lathe using ABS material and they are better than the original Zamack alloy that Atlas used. As far as accuracy goes, I have absolutely no problems holding tolerances to .001 with the lathe and neither do most of my students. The engine shown down below is a typical semester project for my introductory classes and students routinely build all the lathe turned parts on the Asian made 7" lathes. The lathe turned parts are a mixture of brass, aluminum, and steel and the lathe works just fine with any of these materials. It is even possible to do all the milling needed for the project on the lathe with a standard milling attachment and a headstock collet. If these lathes can build working steam engines they can certainly build anything you would need for a flintlock lock, at least anything you would need to use a lathe for.




They are also nice for doing some small wood projects such as the penny knife handle shown below, or powder horn base plugs.

[KC]

I picked up a late '40s Craftsman 101 which is basically an Atlas 618. The guy I got it from is a dentist that spends his free time in his home machine shop. He bought it from an old man that was a retired machinist and the original owner. I haven't really learned to use it yet but it is a well maintained and well preserved piece of equipment. Definitely not for large jobs or production work but it's a great little lathe that runs smooth and does nice work as long as you don't take big cuts. I was originally searching for a cheap Craftsman 109 but I came across this 101. I think the 101 is a good step up from the 109 but still kind of a small and light duty lathe.

[44-henry]

The big problem with the Craftsman 101 and Atlas 618 lathes is how much they sell for now. They are nice machines, but around here you can spend $1000 and up for one. Plus, they are not as rigid as the Asian 7" lathes in my opinion. Plus, accessories and spare parts are hard to find and expensive.

[satwel]

Just like you, I decided to look for a lathe. The R&D department where I worked had a Grizzly 4000 that I could examine. I was about to buy one when my son called me from a second hand tool shop we frequent. They had a Southbend 9" with a bunch of accessories (including a second self centering chuck) that had just come in. It was in very nice shape. I bought it for $895. It's the B model with a 32" bed. You have to change and reconfigure the gears for different carriage speeds but it does have a powered cross slide. It weighs 400 lbs so it's pretty solid for making gun parts. I'm glad I found the Southbend instead of buying a Chinese lathe. I'm just now figuring out how to run and maintain it so I spend a lot of time on Youtube.  Spare parts and other accessories appear to be readily available on ebay but they aren't cheap.

The hole through the spindle is too small for a muzzleloading barrel. I'm guessing you will need at least a 12" lathe if you want to work on barrels.

[Dan Fruth]

I worked as a tool and die maker, and looking for a lathe for my home shop was a lot of fun. I have 4 lathes! #1- an old Fay and Eagon with a 8 foot bed I use for wood working.  #2- a 10" atlas that I am thinking of selling.#3- 9 1/2" South Bend...This is my close tolerance machine I use for lock work, machine screws, lock bolts, ram rod tips...Etc....It is great...#4-13" South Bend....1 3/8" spindle thru hole, 6' bed.  I can turn barrels easily, plus it has a taper attachment, and this is the machine I use for making tow worms on....I wouldn't be without it..So you need to ask yourself what are you primarily going to use the lathe for?.....Then the size will be a no brainer, but I would not discount "old Iron machines"  They were built when machines were built to last, and most tooling is available for the older machines....But I am fond of South Bend machines...

[Bob Roller]

The big problem with the Craftsman 101 and Atlas 618 lathes is how much they sell for now. They are nice machines, but around here you can spend $1000 and up for one. Plus, they are not as rigid as the Asian 7" lathes in my opinion. Plus, accessories and spare parts are hard to find and expensive.

My shop has 4 Atlas/Craftsman metal lathes and I use them frequently.One is an Atlas
618 that I modified for making screws and machining the back side of a tumbler blank
and it works fine and has for 55 years. I bought it new from Industrial Machinery in Columbus,Ohio
in 1964.The other is an identical lathe marked Craftsman and is still as new.The last person
to tighten s screw on it worked at the factory in Kalamazoo,Mich. It was new in 1965 and was
a gift from the son of the friend that bought it new at Sears.Also a 12"x36" Craftsman and a 10x36
Atlas,a real relic that still works and has babbit spindle bearings that have given no problems
in the time I have owned it.I gave $50 for it in 1974.NONE of these are the best of lathes but
for the light use I give them,they do the job.I have been thinking of a better one with at least
a 1 and 1/2" spindle bore and have the money to get it but at 83 years of age I can't quite
justify it.The old 10F atlas and the 12" Craftsman both did real service in the 1970'and 80's
when I was making bronze transmission bearings and resurfacing GM350 transmission stator
supports that were the back side of the transmission's oil pump.It was a good run and kept us
out of debt for years but now I have no real desire or interest in reviving the past.
By the way,Atlas/Clausing Corp. in Kalamazzo has all kinds of Atlas Craftsman lathe parts
and are the parent company of this line of lathes,mills and other things.
Bob Roller

[FALout]

What’s your plan for needing a lathe?  If you have any intentions of threading or crowning an barrel, that pretty much dictates the lathe size.  Having both 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks is also needed for barrel work.  You will also need dedicated space, your not moving the big ones around.

[44-henry]

Here is one of my Craftsman 101 lathes made by Atlas. This is the later model with Timken bearings. I picked this one up on Craigslist a few years ago cheap and it came with a lot of tooling. Last couple I have seen have been over $1000, which is too much in my opinion.




I have another Atlas Craftsman 6" that is soon to be mounted on a solid 1 inch thick steel plate. I plan on installing a variable speed motor on it and fitting the lathe with a collet chuck. I figure the 250 pound steel plate will help the rigidity  of the lathe substantially.

[Bill Raby]

Realistically I would mostly use a lathe small stuff. Making bolts, lock parts, and stuff like that. I could get by with a small one. But it seems like the small ones tend to not be powerful or rigid enough to do a good job on steel. Grizzly has a few in the $1500 to $2500 range that would likely be just fine. I'm not going to open a commercial shop. It is something that would go for weeks at a time without being turned on. Just like my milling machine. It would be nice to have one large enough for barrel work, but I can live without it. Problem is that whenever I get something like this it is not long before I come up with a bunch of new ideas for stuff to do with it. I should probably just stick with something in the 10 x 20 inch range.

[Hudnut]

I have two lathes - a 618 Atlas, and a 1340 Standard Modern, which probably weighs 1500lbs.  The little Atlas is useful, but as said above, you can do small jobs on a large lathe, but you can't do large jobs on a small one.  I have made top jaw, lock screws and nipples on the larger lathe. If barrel work is going to be done on a lathe, a larger one is needed.  Spindle bore probably being more important that c. to c. distance.

[Scota4570]

My machinist mentor sold me the little Southbend and the larger Clausing.  He now runs a large LeBlonde for most things.  IF you can find Regal Leblonde in the 10" range get it, they are dream machines.

Modern Chinese stuff....  He bought one and ended up selling it because the quality was so bad.  The castings were junk, using bondo to fill holes.  The fit and finish was awful compared to older American machines.  He never could get it trued up to do accurate work.  He sold it after much frustration.  Keep in mind he had decades of experience as a machinist and gunsmith.  That was one example, I am not saying they are all junk, I do not know that to be true.