Overall quality of Birmingham 1236 lathe

akpolaris1 · Aug 12, 2020

I am on a very limited budget and can find the above Birmingham lathe for just under 4k. How does the quality compare to a Jet or Grizzly? I could not determine where the Birmingham is manufactured.
thank you

JohnEvans · Aug 12, 2020

Most likely China ,about a toss up as to quailty choice there. Read forum discussion guide lines as that type of lathe is banned here as it is home shop grade. Personally I have been using a very similar 12x36 for 15 years with no complaints.

akpolaris1 · Aug 12, 2020

JohnEvans said:
Most likely China ,about a toss up as to quailty choice there. Read forum discussion guide lines as that type of lathe is banned here as it is home shop grade. Personally I have been using a very similar 12x36 for 15 years with no complaints.

Thank you. I suppose the lower end equipment creates a great deal of rock throwing and name calling. I did find some threads discussing these units but they were pretty old. I can only afford so much for a home, hobbyshop environment.

Cole2534 · Aug 12, 2020

akpolaris1 said:
Thank you. I suppose the lower end equipment creates a great deal of rock throwing and name calling. I did find some threads discussing these units but they were pretty old. I can only afford so much for a home, hobbyshop environment.

Read a few locked threads about banned equip, it becomes pretty apparent how to get good info while sneaking by the rules.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

rpseguin · Aug 12, 2020

For $4000, you can get some serious quality used lathes, far in excess of that lathe. Don’t worry too much about 3 phase, as there are solutions.
Questions/requirements:
-what are you going to use it for? (use requirements)
-what space do you have?
-what electrical power do you have?
-what tooling do you want right away?
-what tooling can you get for the lathe?

DDoug · Aug 13, 2020

Cole2534 said:
Read a few locked threads about banned equip, it becomes pretty apparent how to get good info while sneaking by the rules.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

...and this is why they keep flocking here.

"Locking" doesn't work.

Deleting does.....

GregSY · Aug 13, 2020

Budgets are for suckers.

Most people who can't afford to buy something that at least approaches the right equipment aren't trying hard enough.

Give up the cigarettes, movies, dining out, the 2020 Tahoe XL with crash avoidance, and there is plenty of money for a proper lathe made by people with last names like Washington, Schmitterstein, and Jones.

rpseguin · Aug 13, 2020

Find somebody to help you evaluate machines.
If you’re willing to do some heavy duty cleaning and fix some problems (make sure they are minor problems), then you can find machines cheaper still. That and my love of old iron is how I end up with too much machinery, so beware... :-)

There was a Monarch 10EE that just sold for $2200 on fleabay:

MONARCH 10 EE 10" x 20" Precision Tool Room Lathe | eBay

Active listings:
Harrison AA Precision Tool Room Lathe | eBay

ANDRYCHOW TUG-40 GAP BED ENGINE TOOLROOM LATHE Polamco Toolmex 18/25 X 80 | eBay

There’s someone here selling a 24” Monarch lathe with tons of tooling. Granted, the machine is 12000 pounds, but it is a high quality lathe!
...

plumberpieco · Aug 13, 2020

OP states location as Alaska. Pickings and shipping or travel would need to be considered.

rpseguin · Aug 13, 2020

plumberpieco said:
OP states location as Alaska. Pickings and shipping or travel would need to be considered.

Adventure road trip!

akpolaris1 · Aug 13, 2020

plumberpieco said:
OP states location as Alaska. Pickings and shipping or travel would need to be considered.

Very correct. Evaluating and shipping heavy pieces of equipment long distance is a challenge. Presently road trips thru Canada are questionable. Also difficult is not taking the bait when a responder makes assumptions on budgets and lifestyles suggesting that cigarettes, car payments are budgetary considerations. You can KMA if you think you know how my wallet works

Bill D · Aug 13, 2020

I have seen a few government auction machine tools for auction in alaska. I bet the bidding went high. But they seemed to be good brands from the 1970's? or newer.
Bill D.

dalmatiangirl61 · Aug 13, 2020

What about buying a machine in Washington and having it transported by ship/ferry? I've seen some auctions of equipment in Alaska, prices were reasonable imho if you were local.

DDoug · Aug 13, 2020

akpolaris1 said:
Very correct. Evaluating and shipping heavy pieces of equipment long distance is a challenge. Presently road trips thru Canada are questionable. Also difficult is not taking the bait when a responder makes assumptions on budgets and lifestyles suggesting that cigarettes, car payments are budgetary considerations. You can KMA if you think you know how my wallet works

Well now....does every one see why "harry Homeshops" are gently asked to go to the HSM forums ?

reggie_obe · Aug 13, 2020

akpolaris1 said:
You can KMA if you think you know how my wallet works

How to make friends and influence people?

You're looking at a china lathe, no better or worse than Grizzled.
You asked for opinions and people not knowing all the details of your circumstances gave them.

akpolaris1 · Aug 13, 2020

reggie_obe said:
How to make friends and influence people?

You're looking at a china lathe, no better or worse than Grizzled.
You asked for opinions and people not knowing all the details of your circumstances gave them.

I guess I got no defense, being a newbee must suffer the abusae

dalmatiangirl61 · Aug 13, 2020

Last I checked, the ferry from Bellingham to Alaska charged by length of vehicle, my extended cab Toyota Tacoma was just long enough to bump me up from the lowest rate. Borrow a plain cab Toyota, take the ferry down to Washington, find a lathe that will fit in the bed of truck and take the ferry back to Alaska

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Overall quality of Birmingham 1236 lathe

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