Metal lathe search

Dave Black

Member
Messages
638
Location
Central PA
I know this is the wood lathe area but I alread have a wood lathe and now I need a metal lathe. I don't know much about metal lathes so I don't know what to look for in one. I will be using it for miscellaneous stuff, making parts for the wood machinery I build, making replacement parts for old machines. I can see needing more than a 6" or 8" swing and 24" length would probably be fine. I have a friend that has what I believe is an Atlas craftsman 618 that he is pondering selling. It seems in decent shape. What is a reasonable price for something like this. Are any of the smaller grizzlys any good or should I be looking at old iron. Thoughts in general?
 
I have the small 7x12 grizzly G8688 and use the heck out of it. It's a little smaller than you're after, but they have a 9x20, i think that is pretty good. The lathe is only half the cost, just remember that. You'll easily spend as much on tooling - easily. Chucks, tool holders, cutters, centers, etc. That stuff adds up quick. Watch for Enco 20% off and Free Shipping deals they come around pretty frequently.
 
Jet, Grizzley, Enco, and maybe others, too, have a 9" X 20" metal lathe that's worth looking at. They've been making it for well over 25 years, and it's a pretty solid machine with threading capabilities from 2 tpi up to about 56 tpi, and the metric equivalents.

I've had mine since about 1988, and while I haven't used it a lot, it has saved my bacon numerous times when I needed to make a jig or a part.
 
:lurk:

On the eventual list, probably won't happen at this house though :(

One thing a machinist buddy told me was if its your first lathe get one with a belt drive so it can slip if you mess up and take to big of a cut. The 100% gear head lathe sounds like a good idea until you strip out all the gears on your first pass (he didn't clarify how he knew this :rolleyes:). That and some exceedingly vague recollections from shop class 25 years ago about sums up my knowledge on metal lathes.
 
My friend said his is well tooled so that's a plus. He's not sure if he's ready to sell it yet though. He has another in a shed he wants to sell that has a 16" swing and weighs 5000 lbs. I'm not sure how I would load it on a trailer let alone get it in the basement
 
has a 16" swing and weighs 5000 lbs. I'm not sure how I would load it on a trailer let alone get it in the basement

Very very carefully but soon befure someone else decides to buy it?

The trailer part seems doable with sufficient time, motivation and 2x6's, the stairs might be a bit more of a challenge. I wonder how heavy the components are once its broken down some.
 
The Atlas Craftsman 6" lathe was a really good one, and they still command good prices today. Be aware, though, that they are gear drive, and the gears are some sort of soft cast metal (pot metal? zinc alloy? :dunno: ) Anyway, a mis-matching of gears, or a heavy catch in the cut can easily result in stripped gears. A whole lot of us learned to turn metal on an old Atlas, though. They're a great little lathe.
 
I have a little Atlas.

If I were really wanting something I would seriously consider the Grizzly metal lathe as it is more rigid than the old Atlas.

Yeah, the Grizz is a much more solid machine. Probably weighs at least twice what the Atlas does. The 1½ - 8 threaded headstock is a pretty common size, too, so faceplates and chucks are readily available. Blue Ridge Machinery has a nice milling attachment that'll fit it, too. Also, in case they're needed, Grizzly and Jet both carry parts. Atlas parts are pretty scarce these days.
 
I've been slowly researching this too. Lot's of info at: littlemachineshop.com I'd like to have one of their mini lathes with power feed but a bit pricey for the size. However, they have lots of tips, tooling recommendations, and tools and parts for lots of the other small lathes.
 
I'm in the same boat as ken, slowly researching and looking. I'm going to do dome researching into the actual turning process to get an idea of what tooling I might need and how this whole process works.
 
I have an big old cast lathe that I haven't cleaned up or started using. I have a little/mini chi/tia lathe as well as the same type of milling machine. I also been given by my dad his old lathe he used in the station for slave cylinders on brakes. Have no way to help answer your question, the info about the little machine shop is spot on. That is where I would start.
 
Well I took a look at the large lathe again. Its a lodge and shipley 14". The size is about 9' long and 4' deep. It doesn't have a chuck with it, just a faceplate, no tailpiece, no compound slide, no other tooling, and it has a 3 phase 10hp motor. So I think this would be too big of a job and pain and just way overkill for what I need. After getting a While I was there he showed me a drill press he wants to get rid of, its like this one
http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=12824
I just upgraded my own drill press, see
http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?34906-Delta-17-959l-upgrades

His has been sitting in an out building for 25 years so it need some work, the gears in the head are rusty and need pulled and cleaned, the 440volt 3 phase motor needs rewound. It can't be replaced easily since the spindle shaft goes inside the bore of the motor shaft. Im not sure if thats normal for a gear head drill press but it seems overly complicated since the motor could have just been mounted at another place eliminating the need for a hollow motor shaft. He is asking $150 or so for it. And thoughts about this. I'm not sure how much it would cost to rewind the motor, the rest I could probably clean up and get working for little or no cost, but the amount of time it would take, I'm not sure if its worth it. With as seriously beefy as this thing is I would guess that it could do some light milling, so that may make it worth the effort.
 
Very very carefully but soon befure someone else decides to buy it?

The trailer part seems doable with sufficient time, motivation and 2x6's, the stairs might be a bit more of a challenge. I wonder how heavy the components are once its broken down some.

If you can get it to the top of the stairs and push, it'll probably go into the basement....:wave: you may have to use it where it lands though.:D

Real question is: If you ever have to take it out, how??? :huh:
 
the 440volt 3 phase motor needs rewound. It can't be replaced easily since the spindle shaft goes inside the bore of the motor shaft. Im not sure if thats normal for a gear head drill press but it seems overly complicated since the motor could have just been mounted at another place eliminating the need for a hollow motor shaft.

I was wondering why it wasn't already home until I got to that part! Yikes! I dunno, you'll have a hard time finding a DP in that class for better money anytime soon even in that condition, but that design.. I guess it depends on how much time/effort you have to sink into it. I have no idea on how painful/expensive the motor would be to rewind - seems to vary wildly depending on if you can find s a good shop or not.

Real question is: If you ever have to take it out, how??? :huh:

Its amazing what you can do with some skids, a couple of come-alongs and a dead man at the other end. Slow and easy wins the day. As long as the stairs don't have a corner... stairs with corners are perhaps the worst idea ever for moving stuff up and down them.

The other alternative is to dig a hole alongside the basement and put in a lift. Makes moving materials up and down easier as well :D
 
Top