i need advice on purchasing a small lathe

i have been looking at small lathes from grizzly, harbor freight, sherline, and a few others. any of you out there have some thoughts? i just want it for personal use, nothing to fancy, but i would like it to
have the ability to cut threads, thanks, junior

 

I have a Sherline, and a 1932 South Bend Junior 8". While the SB is a different league, the Sherline is definately a better made machine than the chinese ones (HF, Grizzly, etc), but it is quite small, and fairly limited for use on full size car stuff.

The sherline is very accurate, solid feeling, but only for light work, and its not going to work in every way like a full size lathe will (it will do threads). I got my Sherline when I was 13, and learned on it, before stepping up to a larger machine. I will say that Sherline is a great company to deal with. After 8 years, my machines motor controller stopped working, and they fixed it incredibly quick, at a very fair price (I had in it less than a week turnaround). Its a USA made product, with a great backing, but again, very limited size wise.


I have talked to a lot of people that were happy with the Grizzly machines, they are chinese (or some other asian source), but I think they are built to a different spec than the other chinese sourced machines.

What kind of work do you need to do?

 

I have a JET which is a lot like the Grizzly and love it. You will find that the Grizzly, Jet, Harbor Freight, and a few others are all from the same casting. The only diff. is the motor and gears. The more you pay the quality goes up a very small amount on the Chinese lathes, mills, drill presses, band saws.....

 

http://www.taigtools.com/

The name sounds Asian, but isn't. Similar to Sherline, made in Arizona, and a better price. I had one and liked it. You have to add an aftermarket attatchment to do threading.
</TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

In a nutshell, Money is the issue of what "quality" lathe you get. I have been a machininst for 20 years now, and own my own shop (by 10 years) and have machined on just about any CNC and manual lathe you can think of.

Right now, I am using a lathe I bought from of all places Harbor Freight... Its the 14 x 40 lathe that you see in their magazines..

Personally, at the time of the purchase (several years back) had I had more funds at that time and I would have definately NOT bought a Chinese lathe....

HOWEVER.....

I have had this lathe now for about 3 or 4 years and use the piss out of it. I dont think the Chinese engineered it yo be a "production" lathe, but I run the hell out of it all the time just like any other production lathe and its working quite well!!

Now.... Here is the kicker to it... Cost, it was great at that time of a price tag of just over $2000.00 new in the box delivered to my door!

Maintenance..... I have already burned out the chinese motor! Hahaahah!!!! So I have another American made Baldor in its place...well so I think its American! (probably isnt given corporations are selling out to China at an alarming rate!) So its probably another damn chinese motor!! OK! Hahaahah!!!!

Back to what I was saying... SO LONG as you stay ON TOP of maintenance like wiping the ways down EVERY time you use it and re oiling the ways with Vactra #2, keeping up on the gear box with DTE light and just generally making sure it has lube all the time, the machine has shown me no signs of wear yet...

Accuracy, I truly did not expect anything spectacular because of the origin of this lathe, but I have to tell ya.. I can machine all day long to .001 accuracy and given the history of machining already on this lathe, that says a LOT!

Now, STILL....personally... IF you have about $2000 to blow on a lathe, and are limited on funds... Dont fear a Chinese lathe... Just take GOOD care of it.. pamper it more than you normally would a good American lathe.

Ok, say you have $5000 plus.... GO AFTER an all American lathe or Japanese lathe... You DEFINATELY wont be dissapointed...

Lifespan of my lathe I do not expect to last more than about 10 years... But for the price...$2000... I cannot bitch at all if it just plain shits the bed at 10 years of service.

An American, or Japanese lathe...BETTER damn well last 20 plus years...

Good ole saying is true with machines (that are new) you get what you pay for!!!

Lain

 

I have had several of the smaller Chinese lathes including a 7X12 and a 9x20. If this will be your first lathe/ lathe experience the small Chinese versions are good learning lathes but you will quickly find you need more lathe. I would recommend trying to find an old Atlas, South bend or Craftsman lathe for car and motorcycle related parts. I moved up to the 9x20 and found it’s actually not as well made or sturdy as the smaller 7x12. Anymore I use a bigger lathe at work when I need to make things. When the time is right I’ll get a big boy for home.

Check out http://www.mini-lathe.com/ there is lots of information about the small 7x lathes.

Also check out www.homier.com they have a 7X12 for less than the others.

Chris

 

not to hijack your post, but what about the smithy lathes?
anygood. been looking at buying one, but i dont know shit about them or how to run one

 

I have a Harbor Freight 7" lathe with a Little Machine Shop 5" chuck conversion, and a quick-change toolpost, it does threads, it's accurate, and i use it all the time...no problems yet...

 

I served an apprenticeship on South Bend,Ward-Smith -Grace etc which are the 'ne plus ultra' of lathes.It doesn't matter shit what brand lathe or how 'accurate' the machine, because as the tradesmen who taught me said.." a good Tradesman never blames his tools" !!.
Google up "small lathe" and you will find dozens of folks around the world using the small Chinese lathes and theres lot's of good advice on how to strengthen the compound slides,what tools you can make your self,how to cut threads etc etc .
In the shed I have a machine similar to the Smithy,it's the second one I have owned ( first was stolen..) and I've done everything from making my own disc rotors to cutting and welding short drive shafts.
Always buy as big a "swing over the bed" as you can afford.Unlike any woman will tell you ,length doesn't matter.
Quality work is only possible if you put quality effort into it.ther machine ain't going to do it for you.

 

I was "This Close" to getting one of those Smithy lathes... I think they are good and are accurate! They are a great way to get a small mill AND lathe too in one package... Yes Harbor freight has a similar machine, but the smithys are better.. again... its all about the money... bang for the buck!

Lain

 

I do agree with you MercMad... It "aint so much the lathe" as much as it is what you do with it... My China lathe actually still kicks ass and I am very happy with the price for what I got.. HELL, I machine blowers for a living and they HAVE to be accurate! This little guy has done me well... just take care of them and they will do ya right.. .Chinese or not!

Lain

 

I don't know where or how big Bethany is but before you leap, check your Yellow Pages for used machinery dealers. If you're close to
a good sized metro area there is a good liklihood that you will find some dealers who will have brands like South Bend, LeBlond, Clausing, Monarch, Sheldon. They will be old and used but up to about a 13" can be bought reasonable. Don't go for small to get the price-buy the biggest (single phase) you can afford. You can do small jobs on a big lathe but you can't do big ones on a small lathe. If you can buy "right" go ahead and buy the three phase and pop for a rotary phase converter.

 

A good tradesman doesn't use shitty tools,that's why.

 

I have an Enco 12X36 geared head gap bed. It wasn't serious money and is big enough to do 90% of my work. I bought an Enco because the company is better to deal with than some of the others.

 

Buying a gooD used American piece of iron is HARD to beat!!! ALso depending on where you live they might also be HARD to find. Like anything though - they're out there!!!!

 

I disagree with anyone who would recommend a new, cheap (or miniature) lathe. I've spent too much time on really nice lathes like Colchester, Hardinge, and South Bend to take the Chinese stuff (or the toy-sized lathes for jewelers) seriously.

My recommendation would be to find a South Bend lathe that's the size you need that's been taken care of - preferably something that's been used by the guy that owned it. Whatever you buy, make sure it has a V bed, and avoid anything with a flat bed.

You guys can go ahead and tell each other how great your shitty tools are. If I had to, I could make a fender using a roofer's hammer, a bag of gravel, and a dull pair of gardening shears, but that wouldn't make me a craftsman.

And fuck Harbor Freight.

Owning beautiful, old tools is satisfying just like owning beautiful, old cars.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

i want to thank you all for our input. my first job that i want to atempt is to adapt a v12 jaguar distributor to an old 702 cid v12 gmc motor, again thank you all!

 

oh yeah.....you got that right.

For some reason I smile every time I find something to make or modify using my 1946 south bend.

 

Fuck all that harbor freight garbage.

I've got a 9" Logan that's worn but works great, and a small 1930's rivett 608 that is as good as the day it was new. I only use it for really accurate work and theadcutting. Old manual mills and lathes are out there... just watch the paper. That rivett was way cheaper than any harbor freight garbage, and it'll probably last another 90 years.

 

Absolutely. My 1932 South bend is my most treasured tool I have. Not only do I baby it, apparently 75 years of past owners did too, and now Im the lucky keeper. Buy a quality tool, one that has withstood the test of time, and you can never go wrong. Once you have worked on a REAL medium sized American lathe, nothing else will feel "right".

I also try very hard to avoid supporting foreign manufacturing and sweat shop labor.

 

You have a Rivett 608? You are a lucky man. For those that dont know, the 608 is like the Ardun head of small lathes.

 

Some of us don't have the space or money for a full-size lathe. I picked up a small used HF lathe locally and for someone like me with no experience, it's useful to learn the basics and it will prepare me for a full-size lathe when I can afford one.

 

An old Craftsman 109 can be bought for less than a new offshore lathe, these are great for small stuff. Mine is over 50 years old and still going strong, and it will still be good for another 50, plus if I ever decide to upgrade you can bet that I will get back close to what I paid for it.

 

Yeah, it came out of the basement of a jewelry store. Very little use... works like a swiss watch.

Machine tools are becoming a fetish of mine. I wanna get my brown and sharpe omniversal wired up sometime soon. No three phase in the shop...

 

I bought a used Atlas 15 years ago and am very happy with it. I would look for a good used one before I bought any of the the Chinese atuff. My opinion.

 

I have a Smithy Drill /Mill Lathe and have work the heck out of it. For
over 5yrs it has never let me down.

 

Have a friend that bought a small South Bend that was in a shop with a bunch of old car parts. He already has his grandfather's 9 inch that is in great shape and doesn't need another. It is in southern Kansas. PM me if you are interested.
Pete

 

For those that aren't familiar with them, it should be mentioned that a South Bend with a nine-inch swing is a bench lathe. You usually find them with the original factory bench, but they can also be mounted on something else.

To appreciate their quality, all you have to do is turn one on and listen to it run.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

Wow..... I can hardly wait for the next tech week.

 

I found my 1952 13x48 sheldon with tooling on Craigs list for 500.00 and it's in dynomite shape. Keep looking.