Lathe advice

[entsminger]

  It seems that alot of you guys on this forum have lathes and make your own repro. scaled down barrels. I've been looking for a lathe for some time now to try and make some small cannon barrels of my own and would like some more advice on finding a good one. I've been looking on e-bay and talking to some people in shops who use lathes but still haven't come to any real usefull conclusions about what is a good lathe to get.Someone suggested to take a class on lathes. I have no spare time for that now, besides I pretty much have learned how to use all my tools by trial and error the last 30 years anyway. Once I get the tool, any tool, I can figure out how to use it.
   I'd like to get a lathe with at least a 13 inch swing so I can make a fairly good sized barrel.It seems that South bends are good lathes but most are a zillion miles from my house so it's hard to check for quality and wear or anything else. Is there somewhere other than e-bay where I can look for a good used lathe in the $2000 area? I'm in Virginia . I'm guessing alot of the lathes on e-bay have been workhorses and could be worn out? Is e-bay a good place to find a good lathe? What are some good brands to look for and bad ones to avoid?

  Scott

[GGaskill]

This is a question that returns almost weekly on the machinist forums I frequent.  Start by researching the issue at Home Machinist and Practical Machinist.  What brand to get is an emotional subject with some people, kind of like Ford vs. Chevy vs. ....  Try to see through that kind of cheerleading.  A machine of one brand in good condition will be a better purchase than a machine of a supposedly better brand in worse condition.

Unless you have infinite trust in your fellow man, you should look at any used machine before buying it.

[CU_Cannon]

Get the biggest lathe you can afford.  Once you get some experience you will want to build bigger barrels.  It is no fun to be limited by the size of your equipment.  (maybe I should rephrase that...) 

Good names to look for are Monarch, LeBlond and South Bend.  I’ve had experience on all of them and they all perform well.  I would avoid Enco and similar brands.  They work well but, to me they don’t seem to be up to the same standards as the others.

[Powder keg]

Get the biggest lathe you can afford.  Once you get some experience you will want to build bigger barrels.  It is no fun to be limited by the size of your equipment.  (maybe I should rephrase that...) 

Good names to look for are Monarch, LeBlond and South Bend.  I’ve had experience on all of them and they all perform well.  I would avoid Enco and similar brands.  They work well but, to me they don’t seem to be up to the same standards as the others.

I'll second That!!! Get the biggest lathe you can afford! I have a 1935 LeBlond that is 13" X 60" And a 9" X 36" South Bend that was made in 1927. Even though they are older machines I can get them to do what I need. The leblond is the lathe I use the most and it was probably wore out in the 70's. I use it the most because of the size and legnth. One of the lathes I run at work is a 20" X 80" Enco. The quality is coming up on these machines and for home use I think an Enco would be just fine. I'd love to have one that big in my garage. I agree with Cu that they are not the same as a Monark or Axleson, But your not planing on running it all that hard.

Wes

[Michael Az]

Good advise from CU and Powder. I also advise getting the biggest and heaviest you can. Mine weighs 3,000 lbs and many times I wish it were bigger. I know that right now you are thinking about just making models, but once you have a lathe you will wonder how you ever survived without one and you will discover how many times you will use it for many other things. Like the time I discovered an aluminum wheel on my truck wasn't running true, hey no problem, I can fix that.
Trying to find a good old lathe will be the hard part though. Very many of the old lathes will be worn out so I just advise doing what you gotta do to get one. I would highly recommend finding a machinist to help in your search as it is very difficult for a novice to even know what to look for when inspecting a lathe. A very good way to go is to buy what you can find at a good price and keep up the search for a better one. This way you do have something to use until a good one comes along.
Getting a machine from ebay can be a great deal providing you can inspect it before you buy it. But the most important thing is, without experience you need help from somebody to make your choice.
Sorry, didn't mean to write so much.
Michael

[Michael Az]

Apology to George. With the response I gave, it appeared in one way I didn't think much of George's reply. Sorry about that George, that wasn't intended, I just somehow neglected to mention you also gave good advise.
Michael

[GGaskill]

Isn't a problem with me.