Whats a decent starter lathe?

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I am looking to get into machining, I don't have the ability to take classes and haven't been successful gaining the amount of knowledge I want on forums so I figure the best thing to do is to get a lathe and teach myself.  I know very little and wanted to get the opinion of those who are veterans in the machining arena on the best way to start.  My main questions are:1) Is this a logical approach to gaining knowledge and skills in the area?2) Can anyone recommend any decent lathe books/sites?2) I have been browsing CL and found the Lathe at the link below.  Does it sound like a good deal/quality lathe?  Would it be better to start with a new lathe? What are the quality brands?http://http://nashville.craigslist.org/tls/3712617276.html*Sorry for the newbie questions I've just had a tough time finding solid information on a decent lathe and where to start outside of taking a class.
Reply:That would be a good one to learn on and if it comes with enough tooling the price is about right. It is on a factory cabinet which means the motor is under neath a + , it has a 42" bed another + , It has a quick change box on the front another + ( won't have to change gears for threading ) Looks like a full set of collets ant holder, Looks like a quick change tool holder.I would buy it if I were looking for my first lathe.The only one better would be the Heavy 10 which has a 1 - 3/8 " hole in the center of the spindle.
Reply:That would be a good lathe to start on.  I would think it will be difficult to teach yourself to operate a lathe.  You need to find someone close that can show you the answers to your questions.  Seeing is worth a thousand words.
Reply:I did exactly what you are thinking of doing around this time last year.  Took the plunge and bought my first lathe. There is a wealth of information on YouTube.  Some good, some not so good.  Not saying this is the best way to learn but it has worked good enough for me.  FYI....this is an addicting hobby!  Also I thought that my biggest cost would be the lathe.....wrong!....for me, the tooling and accessories is where they sock it to you.  Despite all that, I wouldn't change a thing.  Hmmm now for that milling machine...LOL!
Reply:Lathe books? Pick up a copy of one of the hobby machinist magazines and see who took over the old Lindsay book sales...the name escapes me right now. Just starting out, a copy of South Bend's "How To Run A Lathe" from Lindsay/whoever for under $10 is cash well spent. Good basic primer with plenty of information.Lincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:What Roy said.  I read one years ago and it helped me.  In fact I have been thinking about picking up a smallish 15" or so.  I had one I could use years ago, but I have moved on.
Reply:Look up mrpete222 on Youtube. He's got quite a few basic lathe videos. He's a retired shop teacher and does a very good job explaining things. Someone also posted up recently that he has a set of DVD's out on how to run a lathe now as well. I'd have to dig a bit to see if I saved the link..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I think this is the link DSW is referring to. http://www.neme-s.org/Tubalcain/machine_shop_tips.htmLast year I happened onto a 12x36 Craftsman lathe fairly cheap.  Like you, I'd never used a lathe  before.  I watched Mr. Pete (Tubal Cain) videos, read the Southbend book, etc. That enabled me to get started. Since then I've made several repairs that I couldn't have made without the lathe and made new parts for various things.  It's one of the handiest tools I have.  Now I'm thinking about a small milling machine.
Reply:That's the link to all his youtube stuff. I've watched most of them and they are all very good, but most are geared towards the novice. zglozman here posted up that there is a DVD series "how to run an Atlas Lathe", that is different than his Youtube stuff.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=261361http://www.lfe.com/courses/machine-shopWhen I wanted to learn to run the lathe, I opted to go the class route. The local tech school still had an evening into to machining course. I had access to all their tools and tooling, plus someone who knew how to run them to make sure I didn't do something stupid in my ignorance. Machines like this are very unforgiving. I already had an idea what I was looking for in a lathe, and after the class I found a deal on an older 12x36 Clausing. To me the class was well worth the money. I'd have been happy to have taken an "advanced lathe" class if they had offered it. Unfortunately over the summer the school scrapped most of their machines since they didn't have a lot of interest from kids for the day program. I understand they still have a few, but it's nowhere near what they had when I went sadly..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:IMO a good starter lathe would be any single phase Atlas, logan, south bend that comes with a good bunch of tooling and attachments. Whats nice about single phase machines is it is much harder for them to kill you and the crashes don't destroy everything. Tools, replacement parts, and whatnot are much cheaper for them, they are easier to move into the shop, and easier to work with.
Reply:a small cheap one that is in full working order and comes with some tooling.3jaw, 4jaw,  and steady rest at a minimum.I personally don't think wear is a huge issue for a starter machine,  or parts availability,  assuming everything is in working order when you get it.  if you don't crash the machine,  its unlikely you will need any non-electrical parts.XMT 350 MPa, w/D52-DTA 185 TSWHarris of
Reply:I'm going to throw a different curve for lathe suggestions. A used gear head 13x40 import wouldn't be a bad starter lathe. Jet, Grizzly, Rong Fu, Enco... They are viewed as lessor quality machines and by many respects they are. However they typically haven't been heavily used, their resale value is quite low, and they can hold decent tolerances. Run it for awhile, learn on it, resale it for $100 less than you paid for it. Buy something you now really want. If you decide you never want to upgrade, you still have a functioning lathe. I was basically given a Jet 1340, it certainly has it's problems, but it's easy enough to hold +/- 0.0007 (That's about all I'm capable of with THIS lathe. Could be me, could be the lathe. Another Jet might do better, might do worse.) But honestly, that's good enough to do just about any project you'll likely need to do. VPT's suggestions are very nice lathes, but from my experience in shopping for lathes. They end up costing more money in similar condition than the imports (YES, the imports are lesser machines). They are terrific options for long term happy ownership, but if you think you want a machine to learn on, you might want to look for the cheapest functioning lathe you can. I know short of the SB Heavy 10, that the lathes he recommended wouldn't suit my needs. I'll have a easy time selling my Jet when I'm ready to upgrade to something better.
Reply:Every now and again I run into a situation where I think "I know this part could be turned on a lathe" and it makes me want to get one. I have been keeping an eye out for a lathe on classified ad sites, but like the OP I'm a complete noob and I know I've got a lot to learn.For instance: VPT and sjames both mention a "crash"... what creates a crash on a lathe?
Reply:Originally Posted by asdfFor instance: VPT and sjames both mention a "crash"... what creates a crash on a lathe?
Reply:Also, shear pins on headstock end of leadscrew. Pins are much cheaper than a precision leadscrews, worm wheels, worm gears in the apron.
Reply:I was in the same boat, wanted to learn and I watched many youtube videos and bought a few books on amazon, went out and picked up a SB heavy 10 and a decent knee mill, then after setting everything up in my garage I thought to myself now what... what do I want to make... well honestly I for a little while got to the point that ok great I have these machines but can't even think of anything I even want to make with them...anyway, after a little while of them just sitting there and collecting dust I finally winded up working on a project that it just hit me, hey this would be much better for me to do on the lathe... then something else I was doing that I normally would just do with a hand grinder or die grinder I was like wait a minute, this would just be so much easier with the mill.... so eventually it just "clicked"... you don't go looking for things to build, instead you use them to do the same jobs that you did before just in a much less crude and much more precise way... and of cours you will then rethink the things you do and how you can do them, and eventually you will get to the point where you kind of know what your doing and then you start to think hey wait a minute, I don't need to go buy this whatchamacallit, I can just make one... yes in the beginning it may take you a few hours to make something that you could have bought for like 10 bucks but that's really not even the point... the point is that now you can make stuff that before you only dreamed ofthat being said I now wish I went for a much larger lathe than the heavy 10, I've always read that that is about as small as you should consider but honestly I can now see how I would have been much better off with at least a 13-14" lathe, but then hell I'd probably after wish I had a 16-17"... my advice is unless you think you're the type to get them and never use it then I'd def say to go as big as you can fit. bigger lathes are also a bit less desirable for the average hobbiest so they can actually be much better deals if you have the space and manpower to get it in the shop to begin with...as far as that 10k you listed, I think that's a bit pricey for such a machine... granted it may be in exceptional condition and the "extras" he speaks of may make a big difference depending on what extras he's actually talking about but still I think if I was going to spend that much I'd def look for a larger more heavy duty machine than thatmiller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:I love my lathe and my mill.  Use them all the time now, even if it's just for stupid stuff.  I did pretty much the same thing as Turbocad.  I bought a Logan 11" lathe.  Great for what I got it for and makes great parts for what I need.  Honestly, machining is very simple and not hard to learn the basics.  The main thing you want to always keep in mind is safety.  Even a small lathe has enough torque to wrap up a sleeve or long hair and pull you into it and a bigger lathe won't even flinch.  Not to mention the other situations mentioned above.  Just practice turning and facing and simple things away from the chuck and after a while it will become reflex to do what you want.Other than that, buy one and use it.  There are so many videos and tips and tricks that it's overwhelming at first.  Pick simple projects and make them.  You can start with very few tools and add them as you go.  Much of the tooling is easily made on the machine itself.Don't be scared of a 3 phase machine.  It is so insanely simple to run 3 phase in your garage, there is no reason to pass up a 3 phase machine.  My lathe and mill are both 3 phase.
Reply:Holy Awesome responses!  I just had a chance to look through all the great info here and I appreciate the help and insight.  Yall have definitely made me more excited to get into this stuff!  The LFE site with the videos is a world of information!  Thanks a bunch!  Also just checked out the neme site and its a glory hole of information!  looks like I have a lot of videoage to get to Also I think I might have found the "how to run a lathe" book, is this it?http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/3789.pdfThanks for all the help and information so far this is a great start.