Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

All discussion about lathes including but not limited to: South Bend, Hardinge, Logan, Monarch, Clausing and other HSM lathes, including imports

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Harold_V
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Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

Post by Harold_V »

stephenc wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2018 2:52 pm You'll hear a lot of the just buy old American iron and be happy arguments , I can agree with that whole heartedly if you know enough to properly evaluate a machine tool .
Very nicely stated!

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Richard_W
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Location: Molalla, Oregon

Re: Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

Post by Richard_W »

I wouldn't go any smaller than a 12" swing lathe. Buying new is always best if you don't know what to look for in a used machine. I have a 16" lathe that will swing 18 1/2". With a 7 1/2 HP motor I can turn pretty much anything I want. At one point in time I cut an axle out of a Chev 3/4 ton pickup. I used cermet inserts for that. For what you want to cut, bigger is better. Actually a 15" lathe and a Bridgeport style mill is a good combination. Back in the 80's there was a machine tool dealer who sold both together as a package.

Richard W.
WJH
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Location: Florida

Re: Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

Post by WJH »

Last night I got my Precision Mathews 1236 up onto its cast iron stands. The lathe is rock solid thanks to the upgraded stands. The lathe is VERY nice, and appears to be made in the same factory as my lathemaster 8x14. The lathemaster is an extremely nice lathe for its size, so I had zero regrets not going with the Taiwan made lathe. With all of this said, I thought to myself, “Hmm, probably should of gotten a 14” lathe”. The 1236 is the largest lathe I ever owned, and maxed out the capabilities of my engine hoist, but I’d say it’s the minimum sized lathe anyone should get, especially if they want to build live steam engines.
Herb Kephart
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Re: Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

Post by Herb Kephart »

I have almost eliminated the "rattle" of cutting teeth completely off gears by mounting two carbide tools, one above the other, and spaced so that one is fully into the cut, while the other is on the space between teeth. These were gears more or less 20" in diameter with 4 DP teeth. A little more than the teeth that the OP asked about, but the principal is exactly the same. Only thing is you have have to make some kind of a special toolholder for two brazed carbide ( to normal steel shanks) tools--and have the power to support two tools cutting at once.

Herb
SteveM
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Location: Wisconsin

Re: Looking to buy a new Lathe need some advice.

Post by SteveM »

Herb Kephart wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 3:07 pm I have almost eliminated the "rattle" of cutting teeth completely off gears by mounting two carbide tools, one above the other, and spaced so that one is fully into the cut
Slick!

Steve
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