Thinking about buying a lathe. Tips, shortfall. I have my eye on a 6" Atlas Cratsman metal lathe 101.07301. How hard are metal cutting blades to find for it. Any other tips suggestions would be appreciated. Remember I would be learning on this one.
Having a Lathe is awesome, you can do so much. Any lathe is better than no lathe, but a 6" will be very limiting for a hot rodder. I have a 14" Logan, and sometimes it is just barely big enuff.
Bought a really old and large Lodge and Shipley lathe about 15 years ago. I immediately took an adult education class on metal working. All I really wanted was the lathe part, but I did pick up quite a bit from other parts of the class. Found out I was doing a few things the hard way. The class was well worth the time and money.
I bought this Grizzly 9" about 8 -10 years ago and it's been great. Noticed the price has doubled since I bought mine. I wish I'd bought a bigger one though. Tooling is all standard.
Tooling is easy to find. a lathe is one of those tools once you have it you’ll use it for lots of stuff you never thought of . a 6” is on the small side , but use it learn and once you out grow it you can sell it and buy something bigger. I got an old atlas lathe at work with 24” bed, use it all the time to true up and polish cylinders , make pins and bushings , etc
I have that Craftsman Atlas 6" lathe, and you can make a lot of small stuff, but like has been said, it is very limited. Still fun to own and it does come in handy though. Tooling can be found for it fairly easily and cheaply, but I'm not sure of the quality of said tooling. Here is some I found on Amazon that looks like a good assortment: https://www.amazon.com/Tooling-Pack...t=&hvlocphy=9002447&hvtargid=pla-871524445128. I got my lathe handed down from my father and it came with a bunch of tooling, so I have not tried any of that tooling.
Having a 6" lathe is a lot better than having no lathe. If it has no tooling at all, you'll spend a bunch of money getting set up to do things with it. I got lucky with my 9" south bend, it came with a whole bunch of stuff, I've had to buy very little for it. And I've gotten a lot of use out of it over the past 25 years. you might want to show us a picture of what all the lathe includes, so we can help you figure out what you need. It's nice to have a 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks, as well as a face plate. You need a tool holder of some type, I use the old "lantern" type, but most folks use the modern "quick change" ones that look like a square block. You'll want stuff to go into the tail stock, such as live and dead centers, a chuck, centerdrill, etc. A steady rest would be handy. For actual cutting tooling, you'll want a cutoff tool, boring bar, and left and right cutting tools. Hopefully it has all the stuff you need for threading, also. pictures are a big help
I have two, a 9inch Logan and a big Hendy. The 9inch does get used more often, but sure wish I had more swing with it. But heck, start small and get used to it, like mentioned above, take a JC class. I had both of mine for a good 20 years and took a class, just a 101 class. I learned more in those 3/4 months than I had using my stuff for 20 years. I’d not make a wart on a machinist ass, but get by a lot better now.
Everything thing that squirrel said. look online for used tooling , Morse drill bits , chucks cutting tips etc. Lots of used stuff available and very cheap compared to new
Passed up a chance to buy one yrs ago and still kick myself. As said any is better than none. First time I used a lathe, I made a gun barrel that had all press fit parts, (gas block, sights, trunnion etc) had to be within half a thousandths. 36 inches long, talk about a fast learning curve with no chance of error !! That was a real nail bitter !!
Most of us who have a lathe , 20 percent of time its not big enough specially the through hole , even my 9 inch 1939 Southbend . My 6 inch ( Cratsman / Atlas ) Nice for small parts/machining , There are several websites for the craftsman /atlas Lathe , read up ( make sure its with in spec /tolerance, Lathe is only 1 part , then there is the Tooling /accessories . It Can get pricey
Size does matter if looking at metal lathes. I bought a HF 12 x 36 about 20 years ago and have never regretted it. And I also sometimes wish it was bigger... but the bigger they are the more garage space they take, as well as weight to deal with. Depending on where you are, used lathes can be hard to find and many times no cheaper than a new import. As to tooling, I used to buy a lot from Enco, but they were bought out by MSC and prices went up sharply. These days I generally go to McMaster-Carr and/or Shars. The import stuff will be a lot cheaper than USA bits and by and large will work as well. One thing I would recommend on any lathe is a quick-change toolpost. Squirrel mentioned most of the 'accessories' you'll want, it's pretty easy to spend a substantial percentage of the lathe purchase price on those but you can do it piecemeal. Keep in mind that all cutting tools are considered as 'consumables', so do take a look at bit sets that use inserts as they can save you money over time. If you're machining aluminum they'll last, not so much with steel. Cutting fluid will extend tool life by a lot as well as improve 'finish'. McMaster-Carr is also my go-to for raw materials, although tuning up your scrounging can be rewarding too.
I don't think I've ever had to buy any new cutting tools....my lathe came with a bunch of the old style HSS square tools (not the modern carbide or insert type), and I just sharpen as needed, or grind an old one to a new shape as needed. But I don't use my lathe to make money...so it's OK if I take light cuts, etc.
Good info...I also have a 6" 1932 South Bend. Needed some info on it, actually CALLED South Bend, a nice lady copied and sent 5 pages (fine print!) of mfg./operating info. I was fortunate to get 3 and 4 jaw chucks, live center tailstock and a chuck. Many parts, tooling in an old wood box. I use it, but also use my larger 1937 Allen Equipment lathe, gifted me by Stormin' Norman. I am 'lathe equipped'! -finally.
I had a Myford ml-7 I sold 6 months back and bought this as a replacement . Southbend 10k. The Myford is a great little lathe the only only problem is finding tooling for it in North America. Tooling for the Southbend is fairly common, but can be expensive. So the more tooling you can get with your purchase the better.
I would ask what kind of parts do you envision making? If it's bolts, threaded inserts, small bushings, etc. a 6" lathe would work. If it's bigger stuff not so much. The hole through the headstock can be a limiting factor on smaller lathes. I have a 13x40 lathe and it's not too big some days. But any lathe is 100% better than no lathe.
My first was a 12x36 Craftsman (Atlas) and luckily it was pretty tight for a flat-ways rig. Got it from a friend who was in the business of rebuilding and reselling machine tools, and he had just gone thru it. I picked up a sweet Monkey Wards (Logan) 9x24 with lots of tooling and mounted on a nice cabinet. A friend who was a retired Mare Island machinist wanted the Craftsman, and showed up with a Harley Baja 100 and cash, so bye. I picked up a 16x60 South Bend in great shape that came from Berkeley Pump when they went outsource and sold the shop to another friend who does that, buys out closing shops and always has a warehouse full of stuff. It has 3 and 4 jaw chucks, steadyrest, nice drill chucks and live centers, collet holder, and came with the old style tool post- I have since found a quick-change for it. He had bins full of tooling, gave me a lot with it, all for $750. Also got a quick lesson, de-mystifying 3-phase somewhat, as he had a long switched umbilical that reached all over the shop, had the lathe running in 5 min. It and my 1951 Bridgeport both run happily off HD static phase converters. There is a DVD on epay that is made from old South Bend factory training films from the 40's, "How to run a lathe" that is very helpful with basics
You will quickly wish you had purchased a larger lathe if you buy the 6 inch. You are far better off to buy at least a 9 in. like the South Bends commonly found in high schools. When it comes to lathes, bigger is better. In fact, search the public auction sites for your local school districts as they have been closing down metal shop classes throughout the USA including vocational classes. Don't waste your money on an old antique lathe. Be sure to get the tooling, if possible. You may have to first register and then Log In to the auction site in order to see what's for sale. .Look here https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/oakdale,mn/browse/cataucs?catid=604
The "square block" Aloris type quick change tool post is an absolute must. The old rocker type tool posts are a pain. Especially for a novice machinist.
I purchase all my lathe tooling from McMaster-Carr. Just type in lathe tools and all sorts of tooling pops up.
Lots of great advice here! I bought a cheap 7 x 14 lathe and have used it quite often, I feel I've easily gotten my money back from it. I was a machinist apprentice many, many years ago and really enjoy using it make small parts for my truck.
So much depends on what you want to do with the lathe. Agree with all opinions on a 6” being too small to be of much use other than to learn on. They also tend to vibrate & chatter when taking all but the lightest cuts. If money and space is not an issue, I’d go with a 14 40. I bought a Jet 14-40 gap bed lathe about 20 yrs ago and have made many and varied parts on it. It weighs right at 2000#. Styled after Colchester of England. This particular model is no longer made, but a new version is. Jet is made in Taiwan (or at least it was at the time). Quality is not as good as a Colchester or most american brands, but much better than Chinese; it’s about on par with the Japanese lathes. And I agree with the caveat re: an old antique machine. They’re nice to look at, but are not up to the tasks encountered today. The usually had bushings for the main spindle, and those tended to get loose to the point of misalignment and tapered parts; hard to correct without replacing. Tooling can get expensive no matter what brand, so if you find a good machine with tooling, grab it. Like others have said, a 3- jaw, 4-jaw are mandatory. Face plate is worth getting, esp if a larger lathe. Steady rest would be a good accessory, it would come in handy for long tubes or solid rounds. Follower rest; not really needed.
For a first lathe, just about anything will be adequate to learn basic skill on. One of the best books about basic machining you can get and will last you a lifetime, is the Machineries Handbook. You do not have to have an up to date copy. They are about 3 inches thick and once learned, the info inside will always be current and stay with you forever. If your machine is in good shape, you should never sell it to get a bigger machine. Get bigger machines as needed but you will find that there are always uses for a small machine. There are many aspects to learning to run a lathe other than turning handles. It will not come overnight, BUT, it will be fun all the way. I can tell you for sure, when you get to turning railroad steam engine driving wheels, it is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
The 1st lathe I bought was a 10 x 24 Atlas. The bearings had 1947 scribed on them. It took years before I saved up enough to upgrade. I bought a 12 x 36 geared head gap bed unit. Look into the future and be honest about how you will use it and what you will do. If you will need a larger unit, then do so. It's cheaper to buy the 1st time than the 2nd time.
Travers Tool Co. in Flushing NY is a good source of tooling for any machining needs. www.travers.com I started buying from them in the 70's when the head of the machine shop recommended them to me.
The one I'm looking at says the cross feed doesn't engage. Is this serious enough to kill the deal. Otherwise it is a nice machine. Unit was built in the 60's so parts may be available. Thanks for all the previous replys.
I would carefully check out the brand and availability of parts, especially if there is already something wrong with it. Also repairs can be time consuming and tedious for a beginner
If the manual cross-feed works, I'd say that doesn't have to kill the deal. I would check into replacement parts before buying and 'adjust' the selling price....
It depends on if you want to buy a tool to do work for you, or a project to work on. Personally, I like to work on cars and buy tools that are ready to do the job without me investing a lot of time into it. But not everybody is as limited on time as me. Some people enjoy extra projects. But you definitely want your feeds to work. There are instances where the power feed can create much nicer results than you can feeding by hand. Plus there are instances where you can run the power feed and walk away from the machine and do something else while it is working.
What brand are you talking about ? Might be helpful to know. Is the seller implying that the longitudinal does work ? If neither work, it could be a sheared pin in the gear box on the headstock,. If the longitudinal doesn't work, the half-nuts might be shot or broken. This was the case on a 10" Atlas that I restored some 20 years ago. Parts were easy to get back then. BTW, Sears lathes are same as Atlas. If the cross-feed works manually, but not powered, look to see if the long keyed shaft is turning when the spindle is turning. Again, it might be a sheared pin at the headstock.
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