Lathe guys, is this a good buy?

[WyoRoy]

I have one of those. I never could figure out the protractor.

Ummm....yeah....did you say you were Polish? Most, maybe all for all I know, T-bolts aren't generally used for protractors, Mike....just sayin'. If mom is still down at the beer joint, Uncle Roy would begrudgingly walk you through the steps toward realization, but it may cost ya'...

[mikecwik]

Ummm....yeah....did you say you were Polish? Most, maybe all for all I know, T-bolts aren't generally used for protractors, Mike....just sayin'. If mom is still down at the beer joint, Uncle Roy would begrudgingly walk you through the steps toward realization, but it may cost ya'...

Quoted the wrong post. My helmet that I had as a kid had too many air vents in it and I took too many shots.

I don't get that General tool.

[WyoRoy]

Quoted the wrong post. My helmet that I had as a kid had too many air vents in it and I took too many shots.
I don't get that General tool.

I prefer the drill point gage/protractor as I find it easier to use the legs to line up the angle, but for ease of reading maybe a protractor sort of similar to what you used back in Special Ed. would work better for you. Skinny base on those type of protractors, but it can be an advantage when you wish to get close in. BTW, I would have been willing to bet DinahStevie's Miller blue dress that it had been too few vents back in the day for you...

[Jeff in Pa]

Thats a nice lathe. More pics wouldn't hurt a thing as far as I'm concerned.

You gotta use what you got and buy what you can afford. I started with an ancient LeBlond 12" then bought this....

I skipped the hobby size stuff and went straight for something bigger. I also had the room and money for it too. Nothing wrong with those little lathes. Sure, a SB Heavy 10 is every guy's wish, but a lot can be done on the little imports if you take your time.

IMHO of course

My first home lathe was a 1932 Atlas 9" x 18". After running "real" lathes at work, it drove me nuts with the lack of rigidity. Did it work? Yes it did but I felt I was wasting time with wimpy cuts.

Here's my Atlas lathe ( half way down the page, it's the blue one )
http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas/page2.html

I purchase my 1942 Monarch CK12 lathe for $1400 and couldn't be happier. A true work horse at a very good price. The downside is it's big and heavy ( about 4000 lbs ) so it won't be a good option for everyone. I have pictures of unloading it, I will post them up here later.

Here's the one lathe I run at work. Daewoo Puma 600 It's a 60 hp CNC lathe with a 24" hydraulic chuck and a 12 station tool turret that will accept a 3" boring bar. The part in the lathe is 24" in diameter, 62" long and weighed 5500 lbs. We also have a 32" four jaw chuck for it too.

[7A749]

Great pics!!

Gotta love Daewoo Everything from DVD machines, to heavy machinery to machine guns!

I've grown very fond of my Model 61. It's great for anything I'll ever do with it. I like yours too. It's the perfect size for a home shop.

[Bluewelders]

The machine that is more useless than a small machine is one you don't have the room for or can't afford.

[farmall]

Sometimes it is best to buy something else and skip machines you cannot obtain at reasonable quality. If one's shed is too small one option can be an ISO container.

They are frequently converted into mobile machine shops. I have three, two joined 40' High Cubes. They protect their contents nicely (I love dry gasketed storage for my welding gear) and keep out critters.

One 20-footer would do for a lathe. That size is commonly delivered by light duty rollback and is easy to manipulate. (I placed my 40s single-handed with winches and pipe rollers and misc. items.)

Sometimes what ya need is shop space first.