Affordable lathe recommendations

[metalmagpie]

I think the original post was a troll.

 

[pntr815]

An update: A good friend of mine overseas has offered his help with financing such a lathe. And my budget has about tripled so I can get into the 2 grand range. Does ANYONE know of a good source for used machine tools in the Philadelphia, PA area? I've tried Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to no avail. Googled used machine tools in the area and was surprised to find so few resources. I did find a Clausing but it's about 2 hours away from me and from what I can tell the price to get it here would be several thousand.....and the guy hasn't responded to my requests to take a look at the lathe. So....Philadelphia area......used machine tools......used lathe......1.375 spindle bore.

 

[amaranth]

You just have to keep looking. Also look for industrial auctions in your area, most are likely online now. Also watch university surplus sales. You have to watch and be ready to jump when something comes up that you're interested in. There might be nothing this week and 5 show up next week.

I'd leave used machinery dealers as a last resort.

 

[pntr815]

I think the original post was a troll.

What makes you say that? It was absolutely not a troll but rather a genuine outreach to people in the know.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

I did find a Clausing but it's about 2 hours away from me and from what I can tell the price to get it here would be several thousand.....and the guy hasn't responded to my requests to take a look at the lathe.

Why would it cost several thousand to transport a lathe that is 2 hours away? Get into truck and drive there, load, and return same day.

 

[jccaclimber]

If it’s anything like here, an unknown person calling a publicly advertised rigger is going to be charged several thousand dollars to move a machine that’s already on their property, much less one 2 hours away. That’s simply the cost of showing up.

Make friends with a tow truck owner, or with someone who is willing and capable of helping safely move it.

 

[neanderthal mach]

If you can get the load / unload sorted out at either end, then as said, rent a truck and just go get it. You should be able to rent an engine hoist as well. I rented a truck and made a 15 hr round trip for my shaper. Throwing money at riggers for anything that's less than maybe a ton or two is ridiculous. If you want something bad enough there's always a way to do it. Machining involves about 90% using your head for set up and problem solving and the rest is actual metal cutting. Those bronze age Stonehenge builders sure didn't have rental trucks available, and everything they moved was a whole lot heavier and larger than what your looking for.

 

[john.k]

Surely the OP has a motor vehicle that can tow a trailer?.....Hire a drop bed trailer ,or rent one of the portable shop cranes to load it..........or take a small chain hoist and use that .

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

@Ultradog MN Nice Monarch! Dad had one too.

 

[Maycontainthunder]

As a little side note there are lathes out there with a 1.25" bore that take 5C collets with a through drawbar. The Colchester Bantam Mk2 is one of these. The drawbar (quick action Acrogrip system) uses the internal threads on the collet rather than the usual external. This reduces the available bore through the drawbar to 7/8".

http://www.lathes.co.uk/bantam/

 

[Maycontainthunder]

An update: A good friend of mine overseas has offered his help with financing such a lathe. And my budget has about tripled so I can get into the 2 grand range. Does ANYONE know of a good source for used machine tools in the Philadelphia, PA area? I've tried Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to no avail. Googled used machine tools in the area and was surprised to find so few resources. I did find a Clausing but it's about 2 hours away from me and from what I can tell the price to get it here would be several thousand.....and the guy hasn't responded to my requests to take a look at the lathe. So....Philadelphia area......used machine tools......used lathe......1.375 spindle bore.

Don't forget to try schools and colleges. Here in the UK they often used to have a mill and lathe. Some still do but without anyone able to teach the students how to use them. My lathe came from a girl's school and my Bridgeport from a hospital. Junk yards can also yield surprises, might be worth a look. In my time dealing in machine tools I've had two Mk1 Colchester Bantams one scrap and a good one out of junk yards and a friend had a Hardinge HLVH which he cleaned up and is back in daily use.

They're still out there!

 

[Joe Gwinn]

What I did when buying my Millrite MVI (about 1500 pounds) was to have the owner/seller load it into his truck up in Maine (north of Boston Mass) and drive it down to my place in the Boston suburbs, where I had hired a fellow from a local gas station and repair garage who had a wrecker (which could pick 10,000 pounds up) to take the mill off the truck bed and put it down on the patio, where the head was separated from the base, and each piece put into the basement on the concrete floor, where we (seller and I) walked it into place with rollers and pinch bars, and reassembled the mill with a rented folding engine hoist. This was slow, but not all that hard or dangerous to do.

 

[porthos]

JohnK: you wrote what you did as if you are proud of it

 

[jccaclimber]

JohnK: you wrote what you did as if you are proud of it

Don't egg him on too far. I might feel the need to link the post where he complains about young people not honestly dealing.

 

[pntr815]

Why would it cost several thousand to transport a lathe that is 2 hours away? Get into truck and drive

Hello one and all.....
I may have hit the jackpot. I'm in the market for an affordable lathe and I had someone reach out to me with a semi-old family lathe. It was passed down to him by his grandfather through his father. The label on the machine ID's it as a South Bend model CL670Z. I did some research but couldn't find a definitive spec on the headstock bore. I believe it's 1.375 Can anyone verify this for me? Thanks so much. I looked at the manual but I can't figure out if the bore goes all the way through the headstock but it also looks like there's a collet closer attachment that runs from the end of the headstock to the front where the collet is. Sooooo....I'm confused. Does this machine have a bore that goes all the way through?

 

[tnmgcarbide]

unfortunately, small bench lathes cost more than their larger cousins . a sbl 16"
will typically sell for $1200-1500. a nice 10L can fetch $3k-5k . maximat 10s have a d4 spindle w/ 1-3/8 bore , but sell for $3500-6000. a machine that 2 men can carry
and setup in a spare bedroom is sometimes more practical than one that needs
a garage and 220v ac .

$750 puts you in the bargain basement of lineshaft machines w/ a hanging motor
and automotive transmission .tiebar hendey ...seneca falls star... leblond , sidney...

those 1900s machines are usually waiting to be scrapped....and are available @
scrap prices... unless some dumbshit believes them to be "antiques" and asks outrageous prices . just because something is old doesn't give it value.

 

[neanderthal mach]

Hello one and all.....
I may have hit the jackpot. I'm in the market for an affordable lathe and I had someone reach out to me with a semi-old family lathe. It was passed down to him by his grandfather through his father. The label on the machine ID's it as a South Bend model CL670Z. I did some research but couldn't find a definitive spec on the headstock bore. I believe it's 1.375 Can anyone verify this for me? Thanks so much. I looked at the manual but I can't figure out if the bore goes all the way through the headstock but it also looks like there's a collet closer attachment that runs from the end of the headstock to the front where the collet is. Sooooo....I'm confused. Does this machine have a bore that goes all the way through?

If the collet closer runs from the right hand end of the spindle all the way up to the spindle nose so it can close and open the collets, then by simple logic that would sort of indicate it has to have the typical and pretty much universal through bore. It's either that, or it's working by breaking the rules of physics. In your #26 post in this thread you mention you used to build pool cues on Clausing lathes, even retrofitted them with inverters after removing the hydraulics. Yet you seem to require help with even figuring out how to move one from point A-B as well as completely entry level questions anyone with even some limited experience should already know or can easily figure out. Normally I'd be fine with those, but my bs and not adding up detector is telling me something. So I think I'm out of what's starting to look very much like what Metalmagpie mentioned. I wish you luck.

 

[pntr815]

If the collet closer runs from the right hand end of the spindle all the way up to the spindle nose so it can close and open the collets, then by simple logic that would sort of indicate it has to have the typical and pretty much universal through bore. It's either that, or it's working by breaking the rules of physics. In your #26 post in this thread you mention you used to build pool cues on Clausing lathes, even retrofitted them with inverters after removing the hydraulics. Yet you seem to require help with even figuring out how to move one from point A-B as well as completely entry level questions anyone with even some limited experience should already know or can easily figure out. Normally I'd be fine with those, but my bs and not adding up detector is telling me something. So I think I'm out of what's starting to look very much like what Metalmagpie mentioned. I wish you luck.

Your mentioning the information about the collet closer is precisely why I was asking my question. Because from the photos I've seen it simply DIDN'T make sense. So.....instead of assuming.....I asked. the experts. I've never SEEN a South Bend. Never WORKED on a South Bend and I know nothing about their construction. The documentation I've found is confusing to me....big F-ing deal. So, I ask. There's a general rule of thumb I go by in life. If I don't know......I ask. Another good rule of thumb for you and whatever a MetalMagPie is would be, "If you don't have something of value to contribute then don't say anything." Man, oh man you two are crabby. Why? Nevermind. I really don't give a shit about your collective opinions of my questions or my reasons for asking them. Truth be told, my motives, for lack of a better word, are really none of YOUR (plural) business. Always remember and never forget.........be nice.

To those of you who WERE so helpful and constructive with your valuable information I genuinely appreciate it. I now have that little South Bend CL670Z in my garage. The machine is in virtually pristine condition but I need to replace what I believe is called the "horizontal drive unit." I've seen it called a few different things. I have the wishbone shaped part but the pulleys and spindle are missing. The gent I was dealing with even gave me the bench the lathe was on for free. Isn't it interesting how being nice might pay off? You two naysayer gentlemen, and I do use THAT term loosely, could learn from my example.

Again, to those of you who were nice enough to take some time and provide me with valuable information your effort is duly appreciated and I am grateful. Thank you. I'll upload some photos once I get it up and running.
V.

 

[neanderthal mach]

Well possibly if you used a bit of logic first you wouldn't get responses your obviously ultra thin skin can't handle.