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Help choose. Atlas 10 vs Jet BD920N vs Hardinge DV-59

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paintballnsk

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 19, 2016
Hey,

There's an Atlas 10 inch lathe for $700, a Jet BD920N for $1000 with the stand, and a Hardinge DV-59 split bed with turret for $1200 in my local craigslist. Which would you rather have and why? They look like they're in good shape. the Jet doesn't look like it comes with the chucks which is a little disappointing for the price. I think it's the same as the Grizzly G4000, which is $1025 new, so I'm probably just going to tick him off with the offer I'd consider giving him with the chucks...

Any help would be much appreciated. I'm looking for general shop and hobby use. I'm always finding things in my projects where a lathe would save me a lot of hassle.

Thanks,
Nick
 
Two of your three machines shouldn't be spoken of here ;)

But if it were my $$$, the Hardinge did what I needed and wasn't knackered, I'd buy the Hardinge.

Quality will out every time.
 
Hey,

There's an Atlas 10 inch lathe for $700, a Jet BD920N for $1000 with the stand, and a Hardinge DV-59 split bed with turret for $1200 in my local craigslist. Which would you rather have and why? They look like they're in good shape. the Jet doesn't look like it comes with the chucks which is a little disappointing for the price. I think it's the same as the Grizzly G4000, which is $1025 new, so I'm probably just going to tick him off with the offer I'd consider giving him with the chucks...

Any help would be much appreciated. I'm looking for general shop and hobby use. I'm always finding things in my projects where a lathe would save me a lot of hassle.

Thanks,
Nick

atlas and griz are junk. Hardinge is a fine machine for production work. Are you going to use it for 1 of this and 2 of that, you may not be able to use that Hardinge although they make other models that are suitable for 1 or 2 parts at a time hobby use. I used a griz at a customer's shop last week and was amazed at just how bad it was.
 
I wouldn't buy any of the three mentioned. The way things work, as soon as you settle for one which isn't quite ideal, a much better one will appear. 9-10" swing is a bit small for general shop use. Having said that, I've used small Rivett lathes similar to the Hardinge in question with great success for years.
 
As others have said, the Atlas and Grizzly are trash. The Hardinge is a very fine machine, but not a general purpose lathe. It lacks screw cutting ability and the length of a cut is limited to the travel of the cross slide. The fact that you are debating between these choices means that you do not know enough about lathes to make a rational decision. If you read the book "How to Run a Lathe" sold by the old South Bend company or something similar, you will have a much better idea of what you want. There are shops that allow people to rent time on machines. If there is one in your area, you can get a few lessons before making a decision.

Bill
 
Don't buy the Jet, its a piece of shit.. I had one, and I made some money on it, and then it was semi-useful for some second op stuff, but
its a GIANT PIECE OF SHIT!!! Buy one of the other no-name clones(if you must), it will be the same piece of shit, but cost less.. Look
at the user groups for the 9x20's.. Its not all the cool stuff they do with the machine, its all about fixing the POS and upgrading the POS
so it can actually be moderately useful and reliable..

Hardinge first, (you really shouldn't have had to ask)...

No screw cutting.. Depends what you need it for.. If its your only lathe that you are going to use for all kinds of stuff, you're going to
screw yourself... If its a second op machine for back faces and chamfers on parts that are rolling off your machining center, probably be fine.


One thing I've learned, you can't force a deal, if what you REALLY need isn't available right now at the right price, keep looking..
The right lathe will come along and fall right in your lap, usually not too far down the road.
 
The Hardinge does not have a electric drive motor to run the longitude feed direction. With that it will be next to impossible to get mirror type finishes. You are running a real manual machine. The Hardinge will not be able to cut screw threads. It is really a second op type lathe. But it is a quality piece and very heavy compared to the other two. I own a Hardinge and I like them a lot. The screw cutting and electric cross and longitude feed rates are so nice.

The JET is a VERY light weight machine (can't believe I used the word machine). They probably look attractive to first time buyers. You would quickly out grow it unless you are addicted to plastics.

The Atlas does not reflect the meaning, A god who holds up the sky. It has been deemed to be at the bottom of the heap in terms of quality.
 
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