Which Lathe?

[Sandown62]

Hello,
I'm in the market for a new lathe. I currently have an 11" Atlas. It does a good job...just a little old and tired!
I'm now looking for something newer. I've thought about buying an older American Lathe to restore. However, I'm not sure if I want to get into a project like that.
I use my lathe for building model steam engines and various small projects, 11" x 24" would be ok. My budget is $3000.00
My question is: Is there one particular Chinese lathe for under $3000 that is better than others?
Thanks
Stephen.

 

[DavHJ]

This is the lathe I baught about 15 years ago. It's gone up in price since I baught mine. I've had good luck with it so far I've done everything from small parts for Model Engeneering projects to big diameter parts with great accuracy.
Dave

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inc...ecision-gap-bed-metalworking-lathe-65044.html

 

[rodw]

Not sure if there is an equivalent in your country, but over here, this would be the best Chinese alternative

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L682

Features to look for in this price range I think are Camlock chucks, foot brakes, coolant system, work light, all of which this one has as standard. There is also a deluxe version with DRO and I think QCTP as standard. Unfortunately, I could not fit it in so went a bit smaller!

 

[Tciplumber]

I don't know if any are "better" than the others. The quality seems to be pretty good on them nowadays. I think it comes down to tooling included and features for the price. I chose a Grizzly because it had features that fit my needs. Also, I could drive to their showroom and look at it, and other models too, before buying one.

I recently bought the G4003G, which is a 12"x36" lathe with a bit larger headstock for doing gunsmithing work. The current price on this is a tad higher than your budget -- but for about $3500 its a great piece. Very similar to the lathe that DavHJ shows. Out of the box and leveled, mine was turning within .0002" for parallel out of the 3 jaw, and within .0001" between centers. I added a DRO from DRO PROS and its just UNREAL how well this lathe performs.

It came with all kinds of goodies: 3 jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck, 10" backplate, live center, 2 dead centers, steady rest, follow rest, tools, etc. A lot of good stuff for the money. Consider the extras you might have to buy if they aren't included.

Good luck, and post some pictures when you get your new baby!

 

[Wizard69]

Hello,
I'm in the market for a new lathe. I currently have an 11" Atlas. It does a good job...just a little old and tired!
I'm now looking for something newer. I've thought about buying an older American Lathe to restore. However, I'm not sure if I want to get into a project like that.
I use my lathe for building model steam engines and various small projects, 11" x 24" would be ok. My budget is $3000.00
My question is: Is there one particular Chinese lathe for under $3000 that is better than others?
Thanks
Stephen.

I will say this don't buy from Harbor Freight as I'm batting 2 out of 3 with them and wouldn't go that route again. In my case the purchase was a 9x20 which is probably too small for your needs.

In the end it isn't so much that one is better than another though HF seems to have zero quality control, the issue is really after the sale support. If getting parts is a difficult task then you are basically screwed. So shop at dealers noted for good after the sale support.

As a side note it seems to be the case with the imported machines that the smaller entry level machines are basically sloppily built machines. I noticed this when shopping for a drill press at the Grizzly store. Initially I was going to get a smallish floor mounted drill press for my modest drilling needs. However everything I saw in the show room, it the smaller sizes was a loose wobbly pile of junk. I ended up getting a much bigger drill press that I was initially looking for because I really don't think a spindle and quill should wobble around in a drill press.

So what does this have to do with lathes. It comes back to you get what you pay for. At $3000 you are starting to get fairly good machinery. In the end though it comes down to what do you expect from the lathe. There are some really good Asian lathes out there but they aren't cheap. Even Grizzly sells some really nice small lathes, especially the ones they slap the SouthBend label on. But then again you pay a lot more for the same size lathe.

 

[tarawa]

I would search Craigslist. I was using a 1940's Sheldon lathe for a long time, but it was close to 8' long. I was just looking at lathes on Craigslist (as I always do) and I saw an ad in Spanish for a lathe. I was in Miami, so this wasn't too unusual. The Lathe turned out to be 1 15 x 30 Colchester Triumph. I did some research and bought the lathe for $1500.00. It is a shorter, but much heavier lathe than my Sheldon and it had a few small problems, such as wiring and the fact that it had no half nut. I made the half nut and a friend straightened out the wiring.
I also have an Enco 14 x 40, which is great, but I always seem to gravitate towards the Colchester now.
Something about old English and American lathes.

 

[canadianhorsepower]

I just sold one like this had it for 6 years and very please with it
this is the same model that craftex sell as a model CT089

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L141

 

[KMSK1]

Grizzly has very good ,,after the sale ,,, support ,every problem I ran into has been taken care of ,Lots of good help there,I went to there store as well a looked at what I wanted and had all my questions answered ,,,,Harbor freight stuff has left me very sorry for wasting my money there ,,I bought some 6x9 saw blades 20.00 each three of them have broke with in the first 4 cuts ,,,,,

 

[Huntinguy]

Not sure if there is an equivalent in your country, but over here, this would be the best Chinese alternative

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L682

Features to look for in this price range I think are Camlock chucks, foot brakes, coolant system, work light, all of which this one has as standard. There is also a deluxe version with DRO and I think QCTP as standard. Unfortunately, I could not fit it in so went a bit smaller!

That looks pretty close kin to the small Hardinge lathes they are now selling in the U.S. . I don't remember who make that lathe for them but, a fellow I know bought a lathe made by the supplier to Hardinge. Seems like it was about $5k or so but, it was a 16 inch. I don't think the 12 inch he had prior was far from your price range.

I think for the money you are looking to spend you should be able to find a nice lathe. Just check with some of the tool houses and see what is out there.

I had a Taiwanese lathe made in the 70s, it was a fair machine but the spindle was half metric and half SAE.

The HF lathe, I have one now, is going to be just a modern version of you Atlas. They are not very powerful or as solid as the brochure would have you believe. I don't think it would be a step up from what you now have, just a step over.

I think, if you are in no hurry you may even be able to get a South Bend Heavy 10 in good to very good shape for that amount of money. They do show up from time to time.

Depending where you are located, you might even find a tooling shop of a manufacturing company closing down. IF and that is a big IF you can get a lathe out of the tooling shop, those are usually very well maintained and in very good shape.