Looking For A Lathe - and Intro

Hello, everyone! I just came across your group and have learned quite a bit. My name's Kevin and I live in Indy. I don't know a great deal about machining - I never really knew anyone in the trade.

A couple years ago, my father-in-law bought a sherline and I guess I was bitten. I went out and bought a Taig. A little while after that, I bought a mini mill. Now, I keep thinking up things I would like to do but the Taig is getting worked a little too hard. I first considered the 7x12 imports, then thought I might as well get a 9x20 import, but then I came across all of this info on older South Bends. The 10s interest me because of the larger spindle hole.

Anyway, I don't see many old lathes for sale in my area, so I've been looking on Ebay and finding some within driving distance.

I found one in Ohio that is a Heavy 10. It doesn't have any tooling with it but it looks like it is in decent shape. i emailed the owner asking him about bed wear and he replied that he wasn't sure how much wear there was but that you can catch your fingernail on the edges. I guess I'm not sure what that means - my only reference is the Taig and I think the bed is designed completely different.

The lathe also comes with a 220 motor. I guess I would need to come up with a 110 to be useable at my house...

The bidding is only up to something like $750 but with the bed wear, the lack of tooling, and the 220 motor, I wasn't sure that it would be worth it.

Any thoughts or opinions you could give me would be greatly appreciated!

Kevin Gregg

[This message has been edited by kgregg (edited 07-29-2004).]

Kevin:

The South Bend heavy 10 is a good idea. Find the best one that you can and get a good assortment of tooling.

Don't be afraid to pay for it. Some guys spend as much as 5 grand on computers, so lathes are comparitively cheap at $2,500.

The reason that I suggest this is that the Heavy 10 is a machine that you won't out grow. They are real industrial machine tools and when in good shape are capable of first class work.

Another thing in your favor is that if you have a good machine and loose interest, you most likely will be able to sell it for what you paid for it. South Bend lathes in very good conition are good investments, they don't loose value.

Kevin,

I have been lurking around here for some time so it is cool to see someone in a similar position (not much experience, etc). I recently bought a lathe so I thought I would throw my 2 cnets in here.

I had been looking for old American iron on Ebay for over a year without much success. I bid on a couple and looked at many more but nothing worth the final bid price. I then started looking through the local papers, traderonline.com, etc. One ad in the local rag was "Lathe, shaper and mill free if you remove". Of course I was too late! Last week I was telling my neighbor that I put a bid on a lathe on Ebay and was going to have a look at it. He then told me about his buddy that wanted to get rid of the one in his garage. We went over that evening to take a look. This guy had a Logan 10" with three crates of tooling and wanted it out of his garage. I offered him $200 and he told me he would have a path cleared by the weekend. I guess the moral is look in the usual and not so usual places. Someone around Indy has one they want to get rid of, it is just a matter of finding that person.

Good luck!

Andy

I would like to come across one locally so I could actually look at it before I bought it. Maybe I'll just cool my heels and keep my eyes open. Thanks for the replies!

-Kevin

Patience is the key when looking for a lathe. I found my first lathe (a 1928 SB 9"Jr) at an estate sale. Local ads, garage sales, and trader type papers found at the grocery stores are good sources. So is word of mouth, like Andy mentiond. You never know who may have, or knows about a lathe or mill that's sitting unused. Good luck and happy hunting!

-Mike