looking to get a lathe for home projects

[Rob M]

I like the nice compact 36 bed on the 9A - and all the power feed features.   

Thanks. The power cross feed is nice for milling. I like the transmission. My Moody has a large set of change gears. It will cut some threads the southie can't cut, but it's slow to change. The Moody is a scaled-up copy of a South Bend 9C, with a roller bearing headstock and 1" bore.

i like the chips on the SB , nothing beats a classic being used!

[ricksplace]

I like the nice compact 36 bed on the 9A - and all the power feed features.   

Thanks. The power cross feed is nice for milling. I like the transmission. My Moody has a large set of change gears. It will cut some threads the southie can't cut, but it's slow to change. The Moody is a scaled-up copy of a South Bend 9C, with a roller bearing headstock and 1" bore.

i like the chips on the SB , nothing beats a classic being used!

Thanks. Both my old girls are workhorses and get regular (hobby)use. The Southie was a mess when I bought it, but the ways were in good shape, and the headstock bearings were in spec. Swarf was packed inside the apron so dense the power feeds were frozen. The swarf had to be scraped out. Gears with broken teeth were replaced (ebay) and a broken tooth on the bull gear was repaired in situ. It was obvious that some gorilla was whacking the chuck to remove it. Both lathes have the same spindle threads so chucks are interchangeable. Both tailstocks and my drill press have an MT2 taper, so drill chucks are interchangeable among all three.

[Tims229]

Is this a good brand?  Price is nice and some tooling included.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/tls/5912276152.html

[Rob M]

i dont actually think dunlap made that lathe.

[Rob M]

looks like a rebranded craftsmen/ atlas.. id pay 300-400 for it , there about.it has the changegears.. and an extra chuck

[CraigH]

If looking for a 6" Craftsman, go for an Atlas vs Dunlap.

[Tims229]

I found this atlas also.  It needs work as the listing states.  Good deal?

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/tls/5911898545.html

[Rob M]

the longitudinal feed is broken.. id pass on it  unless you know lathes pretty well. for 400 it would be good because some of the items includded ebay for a lot

[Technical Ted]

Is this a good brand?  Price is nice and some tooling included.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/tls/5912276152.html

The price is nice. Looks like he will take less than the $150 asking price, so you might be able to get it for $100-125. I don't think it's an Atlas because it has V ways. The Atlas lathes I'm familiar with have flat ways. But, maybe Atlas made some V wayed machines and I've just never seen one. Looks like the longitudinal feed is manual (because of the manual hand crank on the end of the lead screw). It most likely uses the lead screw and half nuts for feeding in addition to threading. Looks like it does have a threading dial for threading. There probably isn't any power cross feed.


There are better machines out there, but for $100 I guess it depends on what your budget is. I might hold off and look for a better setup, but for $100 you probably can't go wrong. The motor and chucks are worth something.....

Edit: I did a quick search after posting this and I did see where Atlas did make some Dunlap lathes, so it looks like it might very well be made by Atlas.

Ted

[Technical Ted]

I found this atlas also.  It needs work as the listing states.  Good deal?

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/tls/5911898545.html

Personally, I would pass on this one for that price.


Ted

[Rob M]

if hes a real seller , for 150 id be on the road so fast !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/tls/5912276152.html

[ricksplace]

If you are considering old iron for your first lathe, take someone with you who knows lathes. There are some types of wear that can't be repaired, and some lathes have very limited parts availability. Old South Bends seem to have developed an almost cult-like status, particularly in the USA. As a result, parts for these old jewels are readily available for machines that are up to 100 years old. My two old lathes are pushing 70. When properly used and lubed correctly, they don't wear out.

Any members with lathe knowledge live close enough to help out the OP? Kind of a long commute for me.

[Muldune]

If this is your first rig I would take a good look through grizzley's catalogue and pm imports.  Shy away from the belt drives look for a gear head with a cam lock if you can get it.  Minimum size for an all round would be a free standing 12 x 36.  That size should handle most hobby use.  If your looking through cl in the North U.S. you can get a gear head for about 1000$ don't be afraid of 3phase motors there are converters to be had to fix that problem.

[Tomg]

In case you havent found one, Littlemachineshop.com have some nice small Sieg's
I started out with one of those, learned on it, made parts on it, and now I am getting a medium sized one a G4003 (Grizzly)