Thread: What lathe?

Hello Everyone,
I work in a fabrication facility where management doesn't know it's ass from $14 an hour as far as what happens in the shop or what good practice might be. My predecessor got rid of a nice, old SB and bought a useless import lathe capable of little more than taking up floor space and I want it gone. So the problem is convincing management to buy another. I have a SB at home and like it real well. We have no need of CNC as most of what we do is one-off stuff and I'd be happy with a used SB or Clausing but if forced to buy a new lathe I confess to being a tad lost. So the question is what your opinions might be in regard to what make you would buy new for a simple, QC manual lathe of good quality. Maybe a 48 inch bed with a 12 -14 inch swing. Clutched spindle would be wonderful. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dan

Were it me, I would head for one of these.

Clausing Industrial | Lathes | Clausing/Metosa Lathes | 13" Geared Head Lathe

Obviously there will be some people that hate them but they seem fine for "general purpose intermittent work" as in a maintenance shop. Will cut SAE and metric threads with only lever changes.

You might hate that import lathe and be insulted by its very existence but you have to remember one thing: a machinist works with what he has to work with and gets good work from it. A South Bend lathe is designed for a trade school or limited use in a maintenence shop. It's not a production or a tool room lathe. When in good shape they work well but when worn out it takes double or triple time to do that same job as the same lathe in good condition.

Man up and do good work as you keep pressure on the management for a good used lathe. Keep your eyes peeled for local bargains but do not lobby to replace a new lathe with one that's old and worn out whose brand you may prefer. That will make the management think you are either a fool or incompetent. Even dumb-a$$ management knows new is better than worn-out. Recommend a machine in manifestly good condition regardless of your preferences

All new lathes are "imports", including that Clausing.

What size of parts? What material? Your needs sound like they could be from a Hardinge Tool Room to a small Mori Seki engine lathe (14in minimum... 17in ideal). Make sure you ask for all the goodies...5C collet system, accu-chuck 3 jaw (2 piece jaws), face plate, DRO, good quick change tool post and tool holders... or the lathe may well be a waste of money.

Steve

It does suck knowing the mgmt. buys the cheapest thing they can get their hands on and you know a good quality American lathe would do a much better job. That being said, there are almost no American mfg's anymore, aside from special build to order machines like Lehmann oil country lathes at 80 grand a pop minimum. I have done fine on an Enco 12 x 36, holding a half thou when i needed to...at work. At home I have my 17" LeBlond, but of course an older machine comes with it's own issues, even if they're minor. If I had the money to buy a brand new lathe, Lion lathes are pretty awesome. I worked on one at Timken in Houston, TX and it was great for the most part. It had a 4 way feed lever with a rapid button and a 2-speed tailstock. The threading and feed table was confusing as hell but it was a pretty great machine otherwise

Originally Posted by Putch

American lathe would do a much better job. That being said, there are almost no American mfg's anymore, aside from special build to order machines like Lehmann oil country lathes at 80 grand a pop minimum.

No such animal. There are no US made manual machine tools in the smaller home and commercial shop end of the market. Most are used and 15 or more years old. Further, most on the used market have seen long service and are either used up or completely worn out. You might luck out and find a low time, low abuse US built lathe in the size you want but that's like winnng the lottery.

The alternative in new US made home or small commercial shop machine tools are used or new premium foreign built. Many Euro and former Soviet bloc machine tools have been imported to the US and are very satisfactoy if in good condition. There are many premium quality manual machine tools still built in the Asian countries famous for producing the stuff US importers are selling in the US market to bottom feeders like us. Naturally we in the US seldom see premium built Asian engine lathes because few wish to pay the money - they aren't that much lower in cost than the US built lathes no longer made.

My usual solution when making a reccommendation to anyone needing an acceptible quality engine lathe for low end home and light production usage is to tell them to bite the bullet and buy from Grizzly. Their machine tools are not the best quality but they give good service for the buck.

There's a strategy to buying Asian built machine tools. Unless you have a bi-polar sense of product acceptance you will find the middle and upper parts of the Grizzly line acceptable PROVIDED you excecise a little initial patience. There's a good chance anything you buy from them will need a little tweaking. If the need arises, Grizzly customer service will treat you right. They have good word of mouth.

If you have an angermanagement problem, if you let fury andfrustration build up you won't behave well. You may yell at the service rep. You can expect the same service as if someone yelled at you. Be patient, courteous, respond to questions, have photos and vivid descriptions of defects, part numbers etc on hand when you first contact them. Do unto others, catch more flies with honey (and BS) than vinegar, etc.

I know guys who contacted sellers with warranty problems and acted like a$$holes and got poor service. I know people who acted with restraint and courtesy who got ready help in good service. Go figure.

A decent new lathe will cost at least 15 grand and that is as cheap as they have ever been in history. Old US made stuff is so hard to find in good shape. I worked for a machinerey dealer and I bought and kept everything that wasnt trashed. To find a heavy industrial lathe in good shape is even harder those were bought for a reason not just to sit and stare at. I found a mint lodge and Shipley model x and I bought it today. The reason it sat unused for decades is because it was in a lab and it was too big and heavy to get rid of. Plus it had a giant 4 jaw chuck on it and no 3 jaw, so morons never ran it.

Interesting perspectives, one and all. Thanks for taking the time to respond with good food for thought.
Dan