How...

[PipesByDesign]

Whew... after looking up pricing on those PM's I think I'll try the "grow into" concept.

A little smaller... and Grizzly... anyone have a G0602? There seems to be more positive reviews for Grizzly's smaller metal lathes (10x22) than bad. A used one...lightly used it seems... just popped up in St Louis (a couple of hours from me). The guy is asking basically new price, but I'd try and talk him down. Worth looking into?

Good call on the furniture dolly. I've moved enough pianos for friends and family I should've thought of that.

[PipesByDesign]

Nevermind about the Grizzly. Holding off for now anyway...

[caskwith]

If you are buying new then Todd's advice is sound, buy the best and biggest you can afford so you just have to buy once hopefully. If you are buying second hand however then "growing" up is probably a better idea. Like cars, machine tools depreciate after being bought, buying second hand means you will end up spending less but will also get proportionally more of your money back if you come to sell later on. My lathe for instance is worth just as much as it was the day I bought it, possibly even a little more so if I wanted to upgrade I would not have wasted any money by buying this one. Not that I ever would sell it of course, if the need arose for a bigger lathe I would just have both of them

[Alden]

I would just have both of them

Dont you mean all 14 of them ?

[caskwith]

I would just have both of them

Dont you mean all 14 of them ?

A man can never have too many lathes! lol.

At the moment I really don't have anymore room except for mini type lathes. When I move house and get a bigger workshop (hopefully) I will be looking into getting a larger lathe for bowl turning I think, then the super 7 can be left set up to do the job it does best, precision turning and stem work.

[Charl]

I think it's contagious: I have 2 at the moment
The more lathes, the merrier, don't you think, Chris?

[caskwith]

Certainly is. I have a small proxxon that is just there as a jig lathe. When I am turning a bowl on the myford and somethings goes wrong like a flaw shows up or I want to change the design a little and add a cap or something then thats when I use this lathe. It saves me having to switch out chucks and turning tools on the myford and being small and high speed it actually does a better job working on small plastic components.

[birba]

I googled this machine and this forum popped up, how convenient


is this the one for which it is hard to find tools?
I noticed the missing tool post (?) is it an issue to find a fitting one for this lathe?

comes with 3 and 4 jar chuck for $1600. good price? bad price? good price but considering additional costs, bad price/lathe?

[Alden]

Thats a good machine. The biggest problem with it is, it sold over a month ago as far as I know. I was looking at the same machine.

[birba]

Haha okay
But now I know.

[caskwith]

For future reference.

Getting a tool post to fit a lathe is never a problem, quick change posts are made in a wide range of sizes and are adjustable by design so you just need to find one that is about right.

Chucks can be harder. It's important to know the spindle mount, many of the larger industrial lathes are cam mount (often in the D series) These mounts are tougher and more accurate however they are also more expensive to buy back plates for. If possible I would say stick to a threaded mount as the backplates are cheaper and if needed you could even machine your own assuming you have at least 1 chuck when you buy the lathe.

For what it's worth i would never buy a lathe without at least a 3 jaw chuck in fair condition, the only exception would be if buying another myford or if it was a cracking deal and I knew the spindle mount in advance.

As to other lathe features, quick change gearboxes are unneccesary for pipe making, even if you do intend to do threading on your lathe at some point the change gears will be more than sufficient (make sure you get the full set though). Powered saddle cross feed are also nice features for a machinist but not needed for pipe making. A DRO is a great feature but you can usually fit an inexpensive version yourself. One of my favourite features of my lathe is the clutch, unfortunately a fairly rare addition to most lathes it seems.