|
|
I have a knuth brand lathe. I think it is 9x19 and I would like to go a little bigger. Some thing with a larger chuck. How large of a piece will a 6" chuck hold of solid stock? With out spending 10 grand what are some brands out there? I looked at Grizzly, jet, encho. I'm not looking at older used ones as I know they could be a better deal. Would like to stay at about 2500- 3000 $. I will be selling mine which looks like new yet. Thanks for any ideas.]Lincoln PT 225 Tig
Reply:Hey Drich,Your info lacks the lengths of stock you want to turn/cut. I have a 9X36 SB lathe that can handle up to 20" of length. It has a 4" chuck that can hold up to 2" dia. with the jaws on the inset, & will hold 4"dia. with the jaws reversed. Any piece over 4" long, I c/drill & use a live center for turning or steady rest for end facing. If you need to turn/face anything larger than that, look for a 12" X 48"-60" unit.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:With your budget, used lesser known brands or the lower end new lathes you have mentioned will be your best bets. 3-phase, heavy lathes will often go cheaper than more home-shop friendly lathes and will be a lot more machine as long as the condition is decent. Wear on the ways and spindle bearings are the key things to look at. SUMMIT are decent and are from E. Europe. We have one at the day job and while not polished, it is a solid machine.SHARP lathes are good and are upper end stuff from Taiwan. I have used their mills.I have a Chinese 12 x 36 lathe at home and it is a good size for most everything I need to do. Do get as big of a lathe as you can. Trying to do bigger work with a little lathe is like driving spikes with a tack hammer.
Reply:I was thinking of a 12 inch one. Does yours have the 6 inch chuck? How big of stock will fit in yours with out flipping the jaws?]Lincoln PT 225 Tig
Reply:It will hold about 3-1/2" with the jaws in the normal position. You can always get a 8" chuck for a little more capacity. That is on my wish list as it would give me the ability to use soft jaws (2-piece jaws) and a 2" bore through the chuck.
Reply:www.lostcreekmachine.com is a place in ottowa in illinois right off I-80... they have some real nice old american equipment... super nice people. I spend most my paychecks there and drool over a clausing they have fully restored in there thats just amazing.
Reply:My recommendation is to purchase the largest lathe that you can accommodate in your home shop. You will always come across a project that will be larger than your lathe can handle and you will wish you had a slightly bigger machine. Also, buy one that is turn-key, has no missing or broken parts, has no excessive wear and is ready to run. Quick change gears are a must. If I was to choose and recommend a lathe for a home shop, I would pick a 16 lathe as the best overall sized machine. Anything smaller just isnt large enough for many projects. Chucks and tooling for a 16 lathe are fairly common and reasonably priced. The antique style overhead belt drive machines are fine for a home shop. The older machines were designed and built sturdier and are much more rigid than the newer machines. There are plenty of reasonably priced older machines in the larger sizes. Buy bigger, you wont regret it. AND DONT EVEN CONSIDER BUYING ONE OF THOSE RUSTY OLD MACHINES THAT HAS BEEN SITTING OUTSIDE IN THE WEATHER FOR YEARS WITH THE INTENTION OF RESTORING IT. It just isnt worth the time and effort. I dont care if it is free.As far as spare parts go for the older machines, dont worry, there arent any, except maybe for a South Bend. Many of the manufacturers are long gone out of business (including SB). But that is why you buy a lathe that is complete, has no excessive wear and is turn-key. You have to make all broken or worn out parts. I havent broken a lathe part in over 40 years of operating. If you find a gear with a broken tooth, you pin it, shape it and make it work. If a gear bore is worn you make a bushing for it. That is about all I have ever had to do.Now for the most important consideration in buying a lathe, how much to spend. You can pick up larger older machines ready to run with motor, chucks and tooling for under $1000. This may vary due to geographic location but in the NE machines are quite common and available. There are plenty of good older machines out there, you just have to look for them. My 1917 20" Flather was the "Cadillac" of lathes in its day. You can find antique machines like this for around scrap price. My late father paid about $130 for this one back in 1972. They are made much more rigid than the newer machines. Iron must have been very cheap back then. Attached Images
Reply:i have a 13x40 china enco that irritates the hell out of me on some of the engineering.... I almost had an anxiety attack disassembling the tailstock to get my quill screw re-caught. I look at other american lathes and just drool at how logical and sturdy everything is. Im happy with the enco overall, but if I had it to re-do Id find vintage american steel, especially considering i now know how beautiful a run of the mill bridgeport is to run and service... american tools all the way
Reply:Not sure why you wouldn't get an older lathe. I have a 60+ year old Logan and it makes great parts. I wouldn't even hesitate to hunt for a lathe. I think you could find a great deal in your price range. I saw a few LeBlondes, Cincinattis and a host of others in that price range that would be great. I think if you bought something older, you would get quite a bit more for your money.My Logan is an 11" swing has a 6" chuck and I was turning 3" CR steel the other day no problem. I don't think it would be a problem to do 4", just watch out for the jaws. I want to get an 8" 4 jaw chuck for mine and it seems they can be had for around $100.Here she is the day I brought her home. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an even bigger lathe at this point. I built a 3 phase rotary converter the other day and it was really easy. I used a VFD on the Logan. Now that I am getting used to using it, more HP for bigger cuts and rigidity would be nice, but I'm still happy with the Logan.Last edited by kazlx; 11-23-2011 at 06:17 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by WFMAND DONT EVEN CONSIDER BUYING ONE OF THOSE RUSTY OLD MACHINES THAT HAS BEEN SITTING OUTSIDE IN THE WEATHER FOR YEARS WITH THE INTENTION OF RESTORING IT. It just isnt worth the time and effort. I dont care if it is free..
Reply:That's a beautiful lathe WFM!
Reply:Im new to lathes and picked up an old lodge and shipley a few months ago. its great old lathe but its like running an old piece of equipment you must remember every fart and burp of the machine or you can throw away the part you just spent 10 hours working on (rookie wanaby machinist here) . A 16" lathe will clear about 12" over the table. the available american iron is getting 50 plus years old and there is few plums left out there. if I had to do it over again I would follow vfm and jackalopes advice and get a newer quality Asian machine.Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Reply:Originally Posted by idacal........ I would follow vfm and jackalopes advice and get a newer quality Asian machine.
Reply:Sorry about that I didnt look up those names I should have said it doesnt have to be American to be any good, a lot of the import stuff is good qualityLast edited by idacal; 11-26-2011 at 11:50 AM.Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Reply:Watch the ads or run a search in Craigslist. Look for well-known brands such as Southbend, Hardinge, LeBlonde, Clausing, etc. just to name a few. Even if the manufacturer is out of business, used and occasional NOS parts can be found for the more common machines. An operating 16" SB would be a great find for your price range, and if one is patient they do show up in the ads from time to time. There is a LeBlond advertised on Craigslist in DeMoines: http://desmoines.craigslist.org/grd/2711656634.html I know nothing of this machine, just that it is currently advertised. You will need to call the seller to get the particulars.I have two Craftsman badged Atlas lathes, a 1934 12x24 that is operating, and a 1970's 12x36 Commercial that is currently dissassembled and shelved awaiting restoratation (clean and paint, mostly). I have turned a piece of 1" plate that is 8" square (11.31 diagonal) to make a press die for repairing drill chucks (had to bore a 2.75" hole with a 3" step) using an 8" chuck on the 12x24. Came out great! Though I like my 12x24 and I found it for less than $500, I'd prefer to have a SouthBend. Bigger, more accuracy, stability, durability. I can't say I have ever been in a position to acquire a bigger lathe, but I dream and watch the ads.-MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:Where in Iowa are you located at? I'm in Boone been thinking about upgrading to a bigger machine myself, I have a Logan 2957, 12" chuck 55" bed I'm looking to get $700 OBO out of it, has a chinese QCTP, some tooling and manuals/parts lists. Not perfect - its old, could use paint and needs a couple parts to fix the power feed and threading but the price is cheap because I need the space in my shop. PM me if you're interested.
Reply:Heres my enco. Not the greatest, but not the worst. the size and weight are right... so its got that that going for it. Power feed both ways... They sure did print that made in china logo nice and big on the front.... like they were proud of it or something. Attached Images
Reply:I like your enco. What model is that one?]Lincoln PT 225 Tig
Reply:110-1340 is the model.
Reply:I was also looking at the Grizzly lathes. What is the differance between a gunsmith lathe and a gear head lathe? http://www.grizzly.com/products/cate...spx?key=460000]Lincoln PT 225 Tig
Reply:Originally Posted by DrichI was also looking at the Grizzly lathes. What is the differance between a gunsmith lathe and a gear head lathe? http://www.grizzly.com/products/cate...spx?key=460000
Reply:there is no "difference" per se. A "gunsmith" lathe is just more or less a machine that has the niceties of typical gunsmithing applications (i.e. RPM range, distance between centers, and basic swing)A lathe that is the same size as Grizzly's "gunsmith" lathe is the same thing.Geared head means the gears in the headstock assembly as opposed to a pulley driven. You could have a lathed used for gunsmithing that is a geared head or an older belt driven one.The terminology is really a sales gimmick.http://jackalopefab.com/MM210Synchrowave 200DXMiller XMT350 w/60series feederMiller Bobcat 250 with SGA 100 and spoolgunHTP PlasmaFull Machine shop with everything |
|
发表于 2021-8-31 22:24:01