Technical Advice on Buying a Metal Lathe

If you want to go "Brit", look at a Colchester!! Remember, the "Brits" used to build RR & Bentleys with them!! LOL!!

 

Bob,

Good suggestion, and I don't think anyone who has ever done any amount of machining would argue, but even before he does that, he can download "How To Run A Lathe" for free. For someone new to lathes, this is the defacto text. You can get it on VintageMachinery.org at the following link for *FREE*.

1 of 2
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=17726

2 of 2
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=17727

There are also some South Bend videos on YouTube you can watch, they are old, but still they are good. This is why South Bend is a household name, they were a company that tried to provide solutions for a wide variety of people. Many professional machinists could afford a larger lathe in the day, but they could a South Bend, Logan or Atlas...most all of the South Bend lathes operate the same way, so the above is a generic text that is pertinent to most all lathes.

 

You are right, there are so many good forums on the internet that it is difficult to say which ones would be most beneficial. I also have some pdfs of some machining manuals that I am willing to share. There is also a series of books by Guy Lautard, that are perfect for an amature, because not only does it demonstrate how to make some of the basic lathe tooling, but there are also tips on machining, finishing, heat treating, and how to choose the right steel for projects.
I don't know if these books are still in print, but I have all four of them and refer to them regularly.
Bob

 

You are so right, there is another series of books I recommend for the amature, and that is the Machinist's Bedside reader by Guy Lautard. These books are great because they have a ton of tips on machining, metal finishing, tempering, and more. There are five books in the series, and although there is some storytelling, they contain a wealth of information on how to do processes in the home machine shop that you would need a fortune in tools to accomplish in the conventional way.
Here is his site: http://lautard.com/books.htm
You can also look on Amazon. The site says that the books are out of print at the moment, but according to the website, he is planning another release in the near future. There is other material available on his website, I didn't look to see exactly what else he has to offer.
There are so many worthwhile books out there, that it is impossible to name them all, these are the ones I happen to use most. There are also some wonderful videos on youtube. Be careful though, you may lose whole evenings watching some of the neat stuff that guys can do with a minimum of materials and a lot of injinuity.
Bob

 

If you put "lathe" in the main search page for your area rather than in Tools you have a better chance of finding what is available for a couple of hundred miles around your home area. I found one that was pretty interesting but 5 hours away from me.

 

Nowadays, more than ever the Internet is having a profound effect on learning crafts and trades. The Machinery's Handbook will never be replaced for me, although I think about buying the electronic version as my eyes are not as good as they used to be, and more so the text is so small in the printed book. It's an amazing amount of information to gather and have in a reference. That said, DROs and computers are changing things.

I've driven 6 hours one way for a machine I wanted, 4 hours one way for my lathe, 3 hours one way for a planer. All depends on the machine and price. The more machines I get, the less I'm willing to travel...but given the right machine, I always keep both tanks full in the flatbed...

 

I have a Smithy that I've had for 20 years and I have made tons of parts and the mill part helps a bunch.After running CNC mills at work it will never compare.But I try not to get into that mode.

 

I have a big Clausing from around 1970, plenty heavy. Someone fitted a Hardinge tube and draw bar to it, I have 3 chucks that came with it and some tool posts. It had a turret on it too. I still want to set it up with an Aloris turret and get a DRO for it.

 

I'll second anyone suggesting a South Bend 9". I picked this up for reasonable money and have had it completely apart to paint and refurbish where necessary. Have added an adjustable tool holder and you would be surprised what you can accomplish with a machine that takes up minimal space.

 

I bought this Southbend 13 X 40 and it isn't very much bigger than a desk top type but its very solid and ridged. This lathe has changed the way I think and do things like squirrel said, your mind will really change on how you look at doing things anymore. Plus I don't waste a lot of the winter anymore so I would get a nice machine this size.

 

Two words....South Bend. The small block Chevy of machine tools. Reliable as an anvil and parts/tooling for them is everywhere.

 

Years ago, I had a 10 x 24 Atlas. It was so much better than nothing. 24 years ago I had saved up enough to buy an Enco 12 x 36 geared head gap bed. It's as good as I am. I fully understand the O.P.s statement of what he wants to accomplish. The size of his space may have more to determine what he needs than anything else. Where I live, you can't find used lathes and mills. If there is one at an auction, it may bring more than a new one costs. People that live in industrialized areas that have surplus equipment have a distinct advantage over the rest of us.

 

I just finished restoring my 1945 South Bend 9 - a wonderful machine. Ever home shop should have one.

~ Carl

 

Where are you located ? I'm a Wisconsin guy, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit was the machine shop of the world, started deteriorating already 60's/70's, my entire working life was in Tool & Die/Pattern trade including my business 1976-2012, around 2000, the world manufacturing shift had happened big time, I could see it coming on hard already in 90's, My point being, thousands of shops have closed. In this part of the country it's not a problem finding used machinery. IMO as always you tend to get what you pay for. The best deal will be a hobbyist estate sale as usually the wife/kids want the "Junk" gone turned into cash, my now hobby shop will meet the same fate if I keep it till my end, thinking on selling it out shortly and spending the cash wife/myself while I'm alive to enjoy it as my kids do not need/want the money. AS someone stated, South Bend Lathe, can't go wrong, it's the SBC of lathes.

 

I bought a Smithy 1220XL in the '80s. Works great, doesn't have an automatic cross feed which I'd like but it is as accurate as you are. The mill head has been quite a help in making parts. Smithy has a ton of attachments and spare parts and advice. Works for me.....

 

I started out with one of those foreign bench mini lathes, like the HF ones only this was before HF was around. Later I got a big Sheldon but I still use that little thing just as much. Anything under about two inches that doesn't need a big cut.

 

Pic of my 1947 SouthBend 13" x 60" when I was first installing it 20+ years ago. No recent pics - been too busy using it. It came with a full set of 5C collets, steady rests, 3- & 4-jaw chucks, etc. - all the toys! I use it damn near daily and ahve made lots of stuff for myself & friends. Don''t think I ever really needed the length, but it's there if I do. I agree with all the prior comments, in as much as you should get the biggest swing you can.

SBL3 by TagMan, on Flickr

 

WOW I appreciate all the advice. It looks like the South Bend 9" is about what I can fit in. It will take me a while to go through all the posts to really get the full breadth of the advice. What are the electrical requirements for the South Bend and simlar lathes$
thanks,
Joe

 

Most 9" or less lathes will be single phase 110v. Bigger might be 3 phase, you can buy a VFD box to run them from single phase 240v.

Sent from my Trimline

 

The South Bend 9A originally shipped with a 1/2 HP motor for most, and will easily run on a 120v circuit. There is 10k, or light 10 as it is often referred to, which is very similar to the 9A and had the same motors. A lot were upgraded 3/4HP. The 10L, known as the Heavy 10 had a 3/4HP motor I believe. Many people upgrade these to use a VFD, but I won't digress on that, a can of worms to understand correctly.

Many of the Heavy 10s had 3 phase motors in them, but they are belt drive and the motors can be replaced with a single phase 120v motor easily.

For this reason, power alone, is the main reason why these small South Bends are some of the most popular lathes ever for home shops.

Here's a couple pics of my South Bend 9A. This was sold/shipped in April, 1946 to the Levi Strauss factory in San Fransisco. When the plant was closed in the late 90s, an auto repair shop had it for a couple years but didn't use it and a friend steered me to it and I bought it. I kind of take pride in owning a machine from Levi Strauss. Although I wear Carhartts mostly these days, I used to wear 501s as a kid, pretty much exclusively. That gives me a smile every time I see that inventory tag.

This lathe is 100% original, including the paint. Shipped April 12, 1946 right after the war ended. Ironically my 'ol '46 was shipped in June of 1946...

 

In most parts of the country public school systems are getting rid of their shop equipment.
Check local municipality auction websites.

 

This is exactly what happened with the Myford I bought. The owner had lots of calls on it but was at least a 3 hour drive from any bigger city, nobody even went to look at it. He knocked off a $100 for fuel for me and I drove a 10 hour round trip to get it. I'm retired so I have lots of time, plus it was a beautiful drive through the south Okanagan into the Kootenays.

 

Those Myford lathes are the shizzle for a home shop, they are small, run off 120v and do better work than the South Bend 9A, IMO. They are pretty sought after and don't go too cheap usually, not that SB's do...they go for outrageously high prices that amaze me. I wouldn't think twice about driving 8 hours one way to get a nice lathe like that! In fact I would probably drive farther! Those small lathes, even the SB 9s can fit in a car or small pickup easily. I moved the top of the 10L in a Previa mini-van after I had it at my yard.

Here's my South Bend 10L. This lathe was purchased from the nephew of a fairly famous hot rod engine builder in Hollister, California. I can't remember his name, but his Uncle's first name was Gary. I've never been able to find anyone that knew him, maybe someone here did.

His nephew just wanted to get the lathe gone, so listed it for $200, bring your truck. I saw the craigslist posting about 20 minutes after posted and wasn't working...I literally had my flatbed fired up and waiting for his reply. He called me about 15 minutes later and I was on my way to pick this lathe up.

Before I post pic, I will describe when I arrived at the property in Hollister, about 1 hour from my house. There was 3 large steel garages on the small ranch type property, and there was about 2 dozen cars left, the nephew had sold about a dozen of them. The cars were split between hot rods and original restorations. There was at least 6 different deuce coupes. The hot rods had huge blown engines in them. I had never seen so many restored cars and trucks in my life, it's something you only see on TV...ok, not like Jay Leno's garage, but over the top. His uncle had a shop in Hollister where he built hot rods for about 30+ years.

I don't know too much history on this lathe, but suspect his uncle bought it from a school, the spindle was frozen...but he had bought a brand new 1-1/2 HP single phase motor from Grainger which is in the cabinet. I'll replace that with a 3 phase motor and VFD when I restore this.

This type of project is NOT for someone new to lathes, although some of those people buy these lathes, this is a project. These are the pics from the craigslist ad.

 

Something worth thinking about is looking for a lathe with an actual hand lever for clutch engagement, an absolute must for tapping threads, especially in blind holes.
If you've ever spent an hour (or more) on a part and broke a tap off on the last operation you know what I'm talking about.

 

I have used this site for a lot of research on machine tools. Very handy. http://www.lathes.co.uk

 

now days you buy a phase converter on ebay for about 65 bucks. small box the size of a double outlet box, its a non issue what phase the motor is.

 

I wouldn't call it a non-issue; those phase convertors aren't very efficient, make sure you have enough capacity in your service panel to run what you buy. And make sure you check convertor size; depending on what you buy, they can reduce power output markedly. I also wouldn't buy anything that didn't have a UL label; fires started by non-listed equipment can void your fire insurance.

 

My 13"x60" SouthBend has a 220 single phase motor.

 

crazy steve, who cares how efficient it is. are you going to run the lathe all day every day? the small phase converters come in two sizes, 0-3hp, and 3-5 hp. those will handle any of the machines we are talking about here. i have one one the clausing. and one on the bridgeport, both have been there for about 6 years, if they both broke tomorrow i'd buy two more. efficiency? do you see a difference in your electric bill if you weld one day a month or three days a month? probably not. i never see one when i machine all day, and maybe not again for three months. its a non issue

 

My Clausing in the back ground, can't live without it, it came with 240 V 3 phase motor, i have it wired through a static phase convertoe and it works fine , i had a Southbend for years before I got the Clausing, both are good machines