Lathe- pass or buy it?

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
5,786
There's a guy in town selling a 1952 South Bend 10" lathe (takes up to 10" diameter stock, maybe 24" long he thinks, but he isn't sure). Comes with no tooling and the "lead and feed gearbox" is missing. He says it works, but for big pieces I'd want to replace the gearbox. I know less about lathes than I do about belt grinders, but sometimes a good deal can be hard to pass up. He says it works and it's in good shape, and there are parts galore out there for these things, but I know tooling for a lathe can coost several times what the lathe cost, and I'm honestly not real sure what I'd do with this thing other than hurt myself! But, he's asking $350, and he's not real solid on the price. He wants to be rid of it. He thinks it weighs $400-$500 pounds and I don't think I could get it into my basement, where the rest of my stuff is, and I don't think I have room in my garage, really, for it.

All things considered, is this a superfluous purchase? It would eat up half of my grinder budget I have saved up, and that's without tools. What do you think?
 
Does he have a headstock chuck and tailstock to go with it? If not, you are correct about having to spending some big $ before even being able to use it. If you had the tooling it would be a great deal. The tool hold tooling is going to set you back some. I have surfed used tooling for sale sites, and it's not that bad priced if you intend on using the lathe a lot. Personally, I would buy a good grinder before I would buy the lathe, if your intent is mostly going to be knife work and not regular machine shop work. I think that big monster would crowd you out of your shop. A lathe is really nice, but you certainly don't need a monster lathe for you regular knife work.
 
Oh, and if anyone is interested in this thing, just email me and I'll give you the seller's details in case you want to contact him and buy it. It's in West Michigan, about halfway up the state, so a few hours from Chicago, Detroit, northern Indiana, etc...
 
Seems like they're more useful for folders and such, too. I would probably mod some flashlights and do some stuff like that, who knows? As far as I know the tailstock and headstock chuck are there, but I didn't ask. I'm pretty sure they're there, though, because he said it's usable as-is for facing stuff and doing some basic operations.

I guess it would be pretty darn stupid to buy this thing and skip the thing I really need and am *almost* saved up to buy.
 
The tooling will cost you many times what the lathe does. A worn out lathe is not something a beginner wants because of all the knowledge required just to get it into decent shape. I know a fellow who has salvaged alot of old machine tools pretty cheaply, but he knows what he can and cant do and when to pass.
 
Pass on it...repeat till it sinks in.

Number 1 (of many) reason...You still have to grind a blade to get use out of it.
 
Shappa, I've ground lots of blades, just not with a grinder! A lathe would be fun to own, but blowing my grinder budget would be just plain stupid...
 
I've thought about getting a small lathe before but realised it would just be a large unused toy that would just be an expensive hanger for my grinding belts. :D
 
the ONLY reason to buy a lathe like that is for parts for one exactly like it that you already have!!!
 
Well, thanks for the insights, guys! If anyone wants this thing, the guy who is selling it is at www.towersunlimited.com. He also has a giant industrial chop saw that uses abrasove wheels, that he's selling for about the same. Says it cuts steel like warm butter.
 
I bought a chop saw from one of those travling tool outfits that set up in a town for a couple of days. I paid $39.95 for it and it does the same thing as his big chop saw for the price about the same as the junk lathe he's selling. It uses 14" abrasive wheels. It's not something I use every day, but it's handy to have when I need it.
 
You're not driving out from NY for it, are you?! Just for the record, I don't know the guy. The lathe was listed in the classifieds in the local paper. Talked to him on the phone and he sounded like a nice guy. When I asked him "How solid are you on the price" he said "I want to sell this thing" so if you buy it make sure you offer him a better price!
 
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