Lathe brands

[The Smoking Yeti]

So I'm desperately trying to find a lathe that is NOT produced in Asia- any European/ American made lathes you guys have heard good things about? Please share. Seriously.

[Jos]

Most U.S. and european lathe producers have focussed, in the last decades, on high-end CNC lathes for industrial use - e.g. Hardinge, Weiler, Gildemeister etc. These are, of course, completely unpayable to poor pipemakers ...
If we're not speaking about very tiny ones (Taig) I dunno if any suitable american-made lathe is still being made.

Wabeco lathes are still being made in Germany, of suitable size, and fairly payable - which means, twice the money paid for a comparable chinese lathe.

If you're going for an american or european lathe, I recommend looking for an old one.
Brands to look for are e.g. Craftsman, South Bend, Hardinge, Myford, Weiler ...

Hope this helps.

Jens

[Kenny]

Are Sherline lathes US made? I know they're small, but they may do the trick. I think they're larger than a Taig, and they're supposed to be very precise machines too, and easily upgraded to CNC, although I doubt that's of concern.

Jens is right though, there are very few US manufacturers left, of anything in reality.

However, there are several very nice small lathes coming out of Asia these days, plenty accurate enough for the average home shop. I've heard a lot of good about several lathes in the Grizzly line, especially their gunsmith lathes.

Even the new South Bend lathes are made in China and Taiwan, at least the smaller lathes anyway.

It's a sad truth, but little is made in America any more, especially machine tools.

Used would be the way to go for an American machine. And if you look around a bit, there are some really nice lathes to be had at fair prices!