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Help spend my money on a lathe

WiscoF100 said:
New listing

$1,500 for this 1340 gap bed Birmingham. Has DRO and face plate. Kinda rough considering the corrosion. Gonna be a nightmare to extract from the workshop of an estate.
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I would go check that out and if there's nothing obviously roached on it, jump on it. That's about the size machine that I'd like to get to replace my Craftsman, if the right deal were to pop up near me.
 
bgaidan said:
I would go check that out and if there's nothing obviously roached on it, jump on it. That's about the size machine that I'd like to get to replace my Craftsman, if the right deal were to pop up near me.
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I replaced my 3-in-1 lathe mill with absd import version of that and it's a really awesome machine. Powered cross feed, decent spindle bore etc..

I got some good tooling like that I it has, big face plate, follow and steady rests
 
bgaidan said:
I don't like threaded spindles on machines that big. The smaller ones don't really have the HP to spin off the chuck but those big ones will let it fuck right off, making having reverse on the almost pointless.
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I assume the Hendey is threaded? Will it kill me? What operation is performed in reverse? Threading?

I’m a definitely a noob but I’m not dumb. I appreciate the opportunity to absorb what others can share to help get me started. This world is familiar to me but I don’t have have any formal training. In the modern world of cnc I’m having difficulty finding old school 101 building blocks.
 
WiscoF100 said:
I assume the Hendey is threaded? Will it kill me? What operation is performed in reverse? Threading?

I’m a definitely a noob but I’m not dumb. I appreciate the opportunity to absorb what others can share to help get me started. This world is familiar to me but I don’t have have any formal training. In the modern world of cnc I’m having difficulty finding old school 101 building blocks.
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Threading away from a shoulder (in reverse) or turning a feature opposite the chuck, like a v belt groove or something.
 
CarterKraft said:
Threading away from a shoulder (in reverse) or turning a feature opposite the chuck, like a v belt groove or something.
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Or hitting the brake in a panic :lmao:. Just like those stupid new Milwaukee grinders. If you don’t tighten a big wire wheel with a wrench to max torque, you release the trigger and the fucker comes unscrewed and go flying across the shop.
 
WiscoF100 said:
I assume the Hendey is threaded? Will it kill me? What operation is performed in reverse? Threading?

I’m a definitely a noob but I’m not dumb. I appreciate the opportunity to absorb what others can share to help get me started. This world is familiar to me but I don’t have have any formal training. In the modern world of cnc I’m having difficulty finding old school 101 building blocks.
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Can't see it 100% from the pics, but I'm pretty sure it is....unless it's an L taper and you just can't see the nut behind the chuck.

Definitely not the end of the world and probably one of those things you won't know you're missing. I've run a few materials where it was nice to flip the tool over and run it in reverse to direct hot or stringy chips to the table. And I've done some threading that was a lot easier in reverse with the tooling I have.

Personally, between the machines you've posted, I'd go after that last import one if it's at all feasible.
 
Its been 2 days already. That is plenty of time for you to make a bad decision, buy the wrong lathe, and post pics so we can all tell you that you fucked up. The real good advice on what you should get, wont come until after you buy something:flipoff2:
 
Just what I was thinking. No matter what I buy it won’t be the one.

Green SB…weird flaky old guy says someone serious is stopping by in the morning. The Birmingham in the estate…daughter is selling dead fathers stuff. She bumped the price to 1,900 when I messaged her. A Good Samaritan must’ve tipped her off.

Vevor imports…fuck that. $1,200+ to go beyond 16” bed. No tools. No chuck. Limited thread pitch choices. A lot of reviews and videos that the dead center isn’t so dead-on with the spindle.

I’ll just have to keep committed to watching the avenues. I convince myself the money isn’t there to finish the stroker for KOH but I’m bent on a lathe.

It’ll be a bench top I settle on for now. A “1440” just wouldn’t be a good idea knowing I’m moving to another state in 3-4 years.
 
Steve300xcw said:
You kinda need 2 lathes. A big one an a small one
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This... I used to think that the "You can do small work on a big lathe, but can't do big work on a small lathe" mantra justified just having one bigger lathe... but now that I have my Colchester Clausing Mascot Mammoth and the Colchester Student as a pair... two lathes is the life. Looking forward to having the two mill life here soon too, an older small table Bridgeport with an M-Head and a shaper head, in conjunction with the High Speed Cinci No 2 I need to work on, which is actually the plan for tomorrow's rainy day.
 
AlxJ64 said:
This... I used to think that the "You can do small work on a big lathe, but can't do big work on a small lathe" mantra justified just having one bigger lathe... but now that I have my Colchester Clausing Mascot Mammoth and the Colchester Student as a pair... two lathes is the life. Looking forward to having the two mill life here soon too, an older small table Bridgeport with an M-Head and a shaper head, in conjunction with the High Speed Cinci No 2 I need to work on, which is actually the plan for tomorrow's rainy day.
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If you have a big lathe the amount of money you need to spend on a small lathe goes down drastically.

You're shopping for a sub $500 benchtop 6" lathe instead of a $1k 10-12" lathe.
 
Looks like a nice machine and a reasonable price if it comes with some decent tooling.
 
That way we can correct you on how you shoulda hauled and moved the wrong lathe.

You also put it in a dumb spot in your shop, an it shoulda been over there
 
WiscoF100 said:
Has a 3 ball too :laughing:

He agreed to $3,750. Has quite a few quick change holders etc
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Are y’all mothfockles gonna tell me now or after I drive 12hrs and figure out how to get it off my trailer that this was a good buy or impressively dumb?
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Seems pricey is all I got, nice machine for sure.

Birmingham is $1900 but not as nice?
 
Probly depends on the area. That would sell for $4k pretty quick around here
 
CarterKraft said:
Seems pricey is all I got, nice machine for sure.

Birmingham is $1900 but not as nice?
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That machine sold. Was pretty dang rusty from humidity or acid shop environment. Another Birmingham has popped up in much better condition for $4,500 firm, no tooling and the tail stock goodies are pretty neglected if not someone’s unwanted junk added to complete the deal.

I’ll agree it’s slightly pricey if you compare upfront costs of grizzly’s current sale pricing but add freight, taxes…

I’ll certainly make mistakes with it even if the first one is how much I spent.
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
FYI
those things are REAL top heavy
be careful
(I hate moving mine)
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They're not bad if you're not, lazy, in a hurry or a complete fucking idiot.

I think the reputation comes from all the complete idiots who own forklifts and big machines with bucket forks and have gotten used to being idiots when there's no consequences.. It takes a pretty good amount of angle to tip a lathe over but that's pretty easy to do when it's a steel machine on steel forks and you're driving 10mph through a dirt lot.

Mills are worse but they don't have the reputation because they're much easier to lift from above and not nearly as tempting for idiots to put forks under

Someone who's making do with manual tools and rollers/skates and consequently working slow will probably be fine.
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
Or hitting the brake in a panic :lmao:. Just like those stupid new Milwaukee grinders. If you don’t tighten a big wire wheel with a wrench to max torque, you release the trigger and the fucker comes unscrewed and go flying across the shop.
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Happens with cordless drills when using those stupid ice fishing drills.

Let go of the trigger and instant stop of the motor. The inertia of the heavy drill bit unscrews the chuck after shearing the left thread retaining bolt. :homer:
 
WiscoF100 said:
That machine sold. Was pretty dang rusty from humidity or acid shop environment. Another Birmingham has popped up in much better condition for $4,500 firm, no tooling and the tail stock goodies are pretty neglected if not someone’s unwanted junk added to complete the deal.

I’ll agree it’s slightly pricey if you compare upfront costs of grizzly’s current sale pricing but add freight, taxes…

I’ll certainly make mistakes with it even if the first one is how much I spent.
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You're gonna like it, it's like big boy shit but still fits in your 2 car garage.
:beer:
 
My intention is to sling it as high as the machine will allow from the bed or whatever I find….I’ll bring every sling, strap, chain, shackle, dunnage etc I have. I have a rigging-ish background so I shouldn’t fail too hard

Using 2 cherry pickers to get it on the trailer. It’s a farm town/rail station. I’ll find a resource if needed to get it on the trailer safely.
 
WiscoF100 said:
That machine sold. Was pretty dang rusty from humidity or acid shop environment. Another Birmingham has popped up in much better condition for $4,500 firm, no tooling and the tail stock goodies are pretty neglected if not someone’s unwanted junk added to complete the deal.

I’ll agree it’s slightly pricey if you compare upfront costs of grizzly’s current sale pricing but add freight, taxes…

I’ll certainly make mistakes with it even if the first one is how much I spent.
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You're getting a decent deal. On older Jet like that is way better than a newer grizzly or other version of the same import machine. Pretty sure the old Jets were made in Taiwan and the new shit is all Chinese.
 
bgaidan said:
You're getting a decent deal. On older Jet like that is way better than a newer grizzly or other version of the same import machine. Pretty sure the old Jets were made in Taiwan and the new shit is all Chinese.
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Big difference IMO from Taiwan to Chinese in tools.

My Smithy is China and it shows...
 
OP now that you're gonna have all the whiz bang fancy shit don't forget to engage your brain before using. I got all sassy over the weekend and crashed my powered cross slide and now shits a little "sticky" :lmao:

With the reverse turning options comes all sorts of new variables.
 
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