Newbie getting in over my head?

All discussion about lathes including but not limited to: South Bend, Hardinge, Logan, Monarch, Clausing and other HSM lathes, including imports

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Bill Shields
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Bill Shields »

for those unaware, 'skid steer' is a Bobcat by another (non trade-marked) name....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Inspector
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Inspector »

Sorry I didn't know that wasn't universally understood. The neighbour's machine was branded Robot. Never run across another anywhere else. I supposed if I had said the neighbour used his Robot to help me you guys would have really been confused. 🤣
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Bill Shields
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Bill Shields »

:D

it is like a 'xerox' machine build by Canon....
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nessism
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by nessism »

This one popped up today in my area. Guy has this and a similar mill for $1200 for the pair. A deal. Thing is, I don't have the room for both right now. I'm 61 years old, and hoping to retire in a year or two and move to a lower cost of living area compared to Los Angles, where I am now. And moving a bunch of old machinery doesn't seem like a great idea. Anyway, this seems to be a Taiwan built 11-22/24 size machine. I think the headstock is the same as other Taiwan units, so it should be fairly sturdy for a small machine. Hoping the seller gets back to me with good news...
Carolina lathe.jpg
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Bill Shields
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Bill Shields »

I have it's twin sister with a slightly longer bed.

Price seems reasonable
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Are you still looking? I didn’t notice what your price range is/was….

Grizzly sells new lathes in the $5k range. As a relative new person to machining, You’ll never be able to bring a worn out old lathe back to its former glory… even to a semblance of decent tolerance for precision work. It takes vast amounts of money and years of machine rebuilding experience to restore these old, worn out machines. One of the problems is, every casting and every part wears out together. A lathe with wear on the bed, will have equivalent wear everywhere else- from headstock gears to the cross head screw, to underside of the lower tailstock casting. It’s not just a question of grinding the bed. It’s a question of bringing the compound back up to design height, replacing all the worn gears and threads and finding parts and pieces for OEM stuff that has have worn away beyond its service life.

I went this route when I got interested in machining and sustained years of pain and vast amounts of wasted effort trying to make parts with proper clearance. Finally decided to find the best shape lathe available- even then had to replace a few key parts to ensure .001” tolerance and quality finish…. But it was worth the time and delay to finally work with decent equipment.
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nessism
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by nessism »

Glenn Brooks wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 8:37 pm Are you still looking? I didn’t notice what your price range is/was….

Grizzly sells new lathes in the $5k range. As a relative new person to machining, You’ll never be able to bring a worn out old lathe back to its former glory… even to a semblance of decent tolerance for precision work. It takes vast amounts of money and years of machine rebuilding experience to restore these old, worn out machines. One of the problems is, every casting and every part wears out together. A lathe with wear on the bed, will have equivalent wear everywhere else- from headstock gears to the cross head screw, to underside of the lower tailstock casting. It’s not just a question of grinding the bed. It’s a question of bringing the compound back up to design height, replacing all the worn gears and threads and finding parts and pieces for OEM stuff that has have worn away beyond its service life.

I went this route when I got interested in machining and sustained years of pain and vast amounts of wasted effort trying to make parts with proper clearance. Finally decided to find the best shape lathe available- even then had to replace a few key parts to ensure .001” tolerance and quality finish…. But it was worth the time and delay to finally work with decent equipment.

Trust me, I get it!

A part of me, a large part, wants to grab the credit card and buy something new. A few months after the purchase, I won't even remember where the money went. EISEN 1236GH w/DRO brand new for $7k + tax?? Honestly, though, it won't get enough use to justify the purchase.

This one popped up on FB Marketplace for $2k. Looks low mileage. Made in Taiwan. It has oil reservoirs in both the apron and threading gearbox, which seems to indicate a higher level of lathe compared to many other 1236's from Asia. If the seller will have me, I'm going to look at it tomorrow.
CM-1236.jpg
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Harold_V
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Harold_V »

That's a Harbor Freight machine. Before you jump, check their website to see what a new one costs. They're generally relatively low priced.

How much you use any machine tool will depend on your future needs and desires. Once you understand the benefits of owning a lathe and mill, you may be surprised how much you rely on them. Or not! :wink:

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
nessism
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by nessism »

Harold_V wrote: Thu Nov 24, 2022 9:24 pm That's a Harbor Freight machine. Before you jump, check their website to see what a new one costs. They're generally relatively low priced.

How much you use any machine tool will depend on your future needs and desires. Once you understand the benefits of owning a lathe and mill, you may be surprised how much you rely on them. Or not! :wink:

H
Harbor Freight hasn't sold a lathe larger than 7" for years now. I suspect this one is from the early 1990's, before china machines replaced Taiwan built units at stores like Harbor Freight, Enco, Grizzly, and similar. Again, it has a sealed gearbox and apron, which isn't common in the china machines. If it's in good condition, I think $2k is a fair price for So. Calif.

Edit: it seems this unit was made in 1994. The photo in the ad is blurry, but this is how I read it. It comes with two chucks, steady and follow rests, and maybe other stuff. The seller isn't very communicative. Pretty sure they are a small shop that buys stuff from estate sales or what have you and then flips it.
Last edited by nessism on Fri Nov 25, 2022 11:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Harold_V
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by Harold_V »

I have to admit it has some excellent features, one of which is the D spindle.
Good luck with the venture....

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
hanermo
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by hanermo »

Moving a small under 500 kg lathe is no problem.
A 3000 kg chain hoist is under 100$ .. about 80€ on amazon where I bought mine.
2000 kg pallet jacks are not expensive.

Any local crane operator who delivers building materials, will likely lift and move anything for 100$ an hour .. and won´t charge the 4 hr minimum if you can wait until he is passing by anyway.
hanermo
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Re: Newbie getting in over my head?

Post by hanermo »

Anyway, I would buy any new or newish chinese lathe of 12x size .. as long as it is heavy.
My 12x24" was 450 kg .. and some are as light as 250 kg.

Heavier is vastly better.
I paid about 2500€ new, 12 years ago.

Excellent machine originally, now vastly rebuilt at great cost into a great small cnc lathe.
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