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Need help with new lathe purchase

Aqua-Andy

Plastic
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
So we have an old beat up Jet 14-40 lathe at work. It has been neglected over the years and crashed a few times. So it has a distinct beat to it no matter what speed range you are in. What I like about this lathe is the weight (around 5000lbs), its very rigid it has a 3 1/8" bore and a 7hp motor. I have been looking at lathes on line and I can't find anything close to this. The majority of the lathes I have seen appear to be rebrands from the same few Chinese or Taiwanese factories. The names that come to mind are GMC and Cadillac, someone must really like General motors Vehicles. The only couple of legitimate makes seem to be Whacheon and Summit for almost twice the cost. It looks like we are going to have to give up the 3" bore unless we go with a 16" or 18" model. So I was wondering what machine shops are using for manual lathes these days? Are the Chinese and Taiwanese lathes worth purchasing? This machine will be used nearly every day, so reliability and durability are a must. I would rather not go used as I really don't have the time to run all over the country looking at machines that are not what they were advertised as.
 
So we have an old beat up Jet 14-40 lathe at work. It has been neglected over the years and crashed a few times. So it has a distinct beat to it no matter what speed range you are in. What I like about this lathe is the weight (around 5000lbs), its very rigid it has a 3 1/8" bore and a 7hp motor. I have been looking at lathes on line and I can't find anything close to this. The majority of the lathes I have seen appear to be rebrands from the same few Chinese or Taiwanese factories. The names that come to mind are GMC and Cadillac, someone must really like General motors Vehicles. The only couple of legitimate makes seem to be Whacheon and Summit for almost twice the cost. It looks like we are going to have to give up the 3" bore unless we go with a 16" or 18" model. So I was wondering what machine shops are using for manual lathes these days? Are the Chinese and Taiwanese lathes worth purchasing? This machine will be used nearly every day, so reliability and durability are a must. I would rather not go used as I really don't have the time to run all over the country looking at machines that are not what they were advertised as.

Hey aqua Andy, do you know scuba steve?
 
if it has a 3 1/8" bore, its a Jet ZX. They still sell those, in a variety of sizes.
The older ones were Taiwan made, dunno if the newer ones still are.
They are NOT cheap.

Here is the current 14x40- Error | DNS Resolution | Northern Tool + Equipment
20k.

I have an 18x60 version, mine weighs 7 or 8000 pounds.
I like it, but I paid very little for it- it was a factory trade show sample, had like 10 hours on it when I bought it, 20 years ago, for about 1/4 of the then price. I would not pay 20,000 dollars for one.

But you dont have a lot of cheap choices new- you have chinese lathes, which, in a 7 hp 3" bore, are at least fifteen k.
You have eastern european lathes, which are gonna be like double- and I dont know who is even importing them now.

Kent has a decent rep- you could call and see where they are made- the smallest they sell with a 3" bore is a 17x60, though.
Buy MLX-2060T Manual Precision Lathes - Kent Industrial USA

IF a US company still made a lathe like the one you have, say, a monarch or a pacemaker- based on the last sales, to the US military, in the late 70s / early 80s, they would cost between $150k and $200k...
Which is why you dont see any american ones.
 
SO I have a quote coming from Kent with a few different options. The rep said that the machines are made in Taiwan. With a DRO the 17X40 will be around $18K. A New 14X40 Jet runs around $22K with a DRO. The difference between the light duty with a 1.5" bore and 3hp motor and the heavy duty with 3" bore and 7hp motor is around $3K
 








 
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