(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Any recommends...

D

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
...on a good old metal lathe? Looked at a Rockwell, Logan, South Bend, others. Nothing huge, but I don't want a mini either. Maybe 30-36" between centers.
 
Lathes come in all kinds of conditions and sizes. I bought a 13 inch south bend lathe at an auction for around 300.00. It was in rough shape, but cleaned up fairly good. We had a China lathe at work I believe it was a JET. It was a good accurate lathe well built. You can't beat a good US made lathe though. Stan
 
south Bend is easy to use, Any novice can do fair work with it. An Atlas is also easy to use but is not as durable. I have an old one over 100 years old but hard to set up. I also have a small jet which would be ok but I do not hare the right tooling. If you plan to cut threads , get one with a quick change gear box for the feeds.
 
I looked at a Jet with 20" between. Some people in reviews felt it was a little small. I have two jet band saws I like a lot. Big one set up for wood and my little horizontal for metal. I use that last one almost every week for something.
 
There are alot of great brands of lathes- especially for home use. The absolute best deal for home use would be to get one with the most accessories. Quick change tool post, live center, boring bars, tooling for carbide inserts, 3 & 4 jaw chucks, knurling tools, ect, ect... those darn extras are spendy to buy new!!!
 
Thanks...I kinda like the Logan I looked at. Needs to work on his price I think but it looks like a nice one.
 
IIRC, the South Bend I looked at had a stack of gears for speed changes. I would like to get one with a gearbox for changing speeds if possible.
 
Definitely a selling point. Of the two front runners currently the Rockwell does not have much in the way of tooling to go with it. The Logan has a lot of stuff with it. I actually think the South Bend has the most but I don't think the lathe itself is what I am looking for.
 
I had a 14 X40 rock well. liked it but could't cut metric threads. Gave it to my son-in-law and bought a 14x40 Jet with a DRO. Love it. Gave all tooling for the Rockwell to sil and bought new for the Jet. It has a 6 jaw chuch along with a 3 and 4 jaw chucks. Can't take as big of cuts as the Rockwell but i'm not in a hurry. easy to set up to cut threads. Someday i hope to get the mill also. Spendy with all the tooling.
 
I have the Rockwell 25-700 10X36 cabinet model with flame-hardened bed. It's pretty nice for a hobby lathe. Has variable speed (mechanical, expanding pulley V-belt system), quick change gear box, power longitudinal and cross feed, back gears, compound rest, and so forth. They also made larger ones, 11", and 14" which were a bit more industrial. The 10" doesn't have overwhelming power but that can keep you out of trouble sometimes.
 
For what its worth, I have a Clausing 5814. Good machine, but it uses a hydraulic variable clutch. Unless you have a heated shop you will have issues when it is cold (below freezing). I keep the shop about 50 in the winter, and it is a little reluctant at first but warms up quickly. If below freezing or colder variable drive will not work. Might be something to keep in mind based on how your shop is situated.
 
I got a feeler out on that one. Just don't want to go broke buying tooling and toys. Have to see what he says.
 
My shop is not heated. I don't want to know how much it would cost to heat it. :)

That being said, I ride a desk all winter and don't get to work on projects.
 
I found a Jet, but it is smaller than that by about half I think. Price was good, I will be surprised if it is still around. I'm also surprised you could not cut metric threads on your Rockwell. Just learning about thread cutting. I cannot really see a big advantage to me in being able to do metric so still hoping for a nice older unit.
 
Any of those will be fine, run the spindle by hand and feel for roughness in the headstock. Put a piece of ground shaft (like a kingpin) in the chuck and check it with a dial indicator at the chck face, and about 4 inches out. You need a four jaw chuck for some things. Live center is important, as is holding a cylinder cut with .001 accuracy in 10 inches (or less). Be sure the motor works on your voltage. Some carbide tooling is good, but HSS will suffice. check the belts and drive systems and all the feeds/inch. look at the backlash in the cross feed and compound rest, .010" is OK .030 is pretty loose. (check that in the middle of the travel where there will be the most wear. A hydraulic speed control on a Clausing can be made to work at cold temps using hytran. Good selecting. Jim
 
I would want to be able to swing about 18 inches and have about 60 inch ways. Would also want a steady rest for turning past centers. Yup We would turn some fairly big stuff sometimes. And yes a bigger lathe like that can be a bit cumbersome. We already have a small 6or8 inch swing with about 4 foot ways for the little stuff.
Dave the steady rest would be useful for turning longer things that extend past your ways a bit.
 
As a matter of trivia you could cut metric threads on the 10" and 14" Rockwell Metal Lathe with the accessory "Metric Transposing Gear Kit" (25-875 for 10" model and 25-245 for 14"). The kit must have been rather substantial - weight was 24 lb. for 10" and 72 lb for 14".
 
I have an old Cinncinatti -------don't know how to spell it, I would make you a deal on, it's suppose to be a 30 in. A deal I kind of got took on. It's heavy and you would have to move it. It's in my barn. I want it gone!
 
I have a 1910 13 inch South Bend with change gears. Also a 15 inch 8 foot bed lathe with quickchange gears. Don"t remember the brand. It"s 3ph, motor could be switched, but I also have a Milwaukee milling machine which has 3 phase built-in motor, plus a 3ph hacksaw, so I built a converter out of a 3 ph motor. Lathes are very cheap now with the closing of so many machine shops. I just bought a nice 13 inch quickchange lathe for $400. About 10 years ago I bought the 8 foot lathe ($975), and the milling machine ($265).
 
Cincinatti are great lathes. For the moving, I would do the trip since you are both in MI. Purchasing tooling and what ever would then be real possible. Jim
 
Lots of good lathe out there, make sure it will cut the threads that you may need. I been running one off and on the past 33+ yrs that won't cut a 13 TPI. Seems to me to be a poor design 13 TPI is common.
 
Light surface rust is just fine, and expected. Pitting such that you can put a pencil point in them is OK. take a 250 grit silicon carbide sheet with you and a small block of wood. If it will polish (even with pits) it is fine. The pits will retain oil. Unless beat to death, take it. Jim
 
I must have been diligent in my homework...I understood everything you just said! Been doing a lot of research.
 
Might want to build an enclosure just for the lathe to keep it above freezing. It will collect moisture when the temp warms up in the spring like was out in the rain and deteriorate fast. It is not the kind of machine you want all rusty.
 
Email is open. You may need to go into modern or even my profile to see it, but it works. I get lots of emails from here...
 
You've probably heard the advise to real-estate buyers, "location, location, location"; the exactly-analogous advise for buyers of used machine tools is "condition, condition, condition".
 
Hi Dave: My thoughts There are lots of lathes out there as machining is in a down turn in most areas, So take your time. It would be more important to me to have it work correctly and come with most features Chucks, threading gears, tool holders and so on. Unless you are a master and want to scrounge around to put one together out of salvage places. I would go on to say I feel its buyers market and better deals are to be had than junk. Not sure what your doing with it but slightly bigger can be good in length and swing. There are many machine shop suppliers so you can get most attachment/tools. I would not get to concerned over brand but some lathes are set up for certain things and poor at doing others. Last I would want to see it run and check accuracy (worn out ways or bearings) is not much good.
 
Appreciate it! Yes, currently I am keeping those with the most tooling in the front of the pack. I don't mind one with limited tooling if the price reflects it and I can still buy it reasonably someplace. But honestly, all in one package is the best deal to me. I'm watching a lot of videos on old lathes. What to look for, etc and I am certainly in no hurry. I still have most of two months at this desk. :)

Thanks again!
 
I was thinking on that problem. I would really only need the heat off and on for March and April. After that condensation on bare metal is a non issue here.
 
The way the chuck is mounted on a Clausing lathe makes it very accurate. South Bend is a cheaper less accurate lathe. Tooling it comes with will be way cheaper than eBay tooling.Tooling ,tooling , tooling !
 
There shouldn't be any bare metal on a lathe.
You keep the spindle, ways and heads oiled and every thing else gets oil on them.
You don't wash down a lathe.
 
Currently it is just about impossible to get a response from anyone. I have made four inquiries on lathes and not one has gotten back to me in spite of the note about it still being available if it was still posted. Guess it is a good thing that I am not in a hurry. I can wait months before I will have a spare hour to look at the thing once I buy it.

I hear people complaining about responses they get to sale ads. I buy and sell and can tell you, the sellers are crazier than the buyers more times than not. Just last week a fella was scared to have me come to his house to look at a tool. So we met in a dark parking lot. Oh yeah...that made sense. I was REAL comfortable with that!
 
Amish friends have way bigger ones than you are looking for and it is their lively hood. They do not even have a heated shop or just maby a small old coal or wood burner to help on coldes days. If there was a condensation problem they would be ripe for it but they do not seem to have that problem. Just heat enough for you to work. And one has out of 3 of his machines one that will take over 8' long. You know something that big is not going to be cheap
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
John Deere AW Disc Harrow
Replies
5
Views
420
Pembroke
P
RedMF40
Need a Hug?
Replies
9
Views
1K
RedMF40
RedMF40
C
Getting Lathe Chuck off
Replies
16
Views
898
cleddy
C
4
Good quality oil and water gauges
Replies
8
Views
2K
46chief
4
X
F40 no spark. No go.
Replies
16
Views
290
xfratboy
X
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top