nettleton23
Aluminum
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2017
I was in a machine shop the other day trying to get parts made and the guy in the shop told me he could sell me a lathe cheap. He showed me a 1936 14x30 Monarch but then he told me of another man that has machine tools. So I went there. He has two 15" Clausings with a bed that is 67" long on both and a Lodge & Shipley close to the same size but a little shorter (not much though) than the Clausings. All are about the same price and in about the same condition.
The Monarch has power and seen it run but needs work on cross slide. I could tell by the grooves in the compound it had been ran in the chuck and it needs work on the handle. What bothers me about it is, the bed is short.
The Lodge & Shipley was maybe my next choice but can you get parts for them. When they were rigging it to move they broke a bracket for the on and off were it mounts to the machine. The compound had been in the chuck so many times that they had to mod it to hold a tool holder or it had had been over tighten and it broke. Someone called themselves painting it but it looks like they took the paint and poured it on top and let it run all over.
Then we come to the Clausing Cholchester. There's two of the about the same. They are just alike almost. One has a three jaw chuck and a heavier tall stock. The other has a four jaw chuck and a set up collets. The tail stock isn't as heavy as the first one. So I asked about swapping parts from one to another but he doesn't want that to happen. These two were so close that I had to climb on them to look at them. The compounds on both were in mint condition. No marks on the ways.
The Clausings and the Lodge & Shiley did not have power so I didn't see them run. The Monarch would be hands down the best (in my opinion) but the bed would limit the jobs I could do.
In your opinion what is the best one out of the three, Monarch 14x30, Clausing 15 with 67" bed or the Lodge & Shipley 15x? maybe 60" bed.
The Monarch has power and seen it run but needs work on cross slide. I could tell by the grooves in the compound it had been ran in the chuck and it needs work on the handle. What bothers me about it is, the bed is short.
The Lodge & Shipley was maybe my next choice but can you get parts for them. When they were rigging it to move they broke a bracket for the on and off were it mounts to the machine. The compound had been in the chuck so many times that they had to mod it to hold a tool holder or it had had been over tighten and it broke. Someone called themselves painting it but it looks like they took the paint and poured it on top and let it run all over.
Then we come to the Clausing Cholchester. There's two of the about the same. They are just alike almost. One has a three jaw chuck and a heavier tall stock. The other has a four jaw chuck and a set up collets. The tail stock isn't as heavy as the first one. So I asked about swapping parts from one to another but he doesn't want that to happen. These two were so close that I had to climb on them to look at them. The compounds on both were in mint condition. No marks on the ways.
The Clausings and the Lodge & Shiley did not have power so I didn't see them run. The Monarch would be hands down the best (in my opinion) but the bed would limit the jobs I could do.
In your opinion what is the best one out of the three, Monarch 14x30, Clausing 15 with 67" bed or the Lodge & Shipley 15x? maybe 60" bed.