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| Smith Machinery just west of Ames usually has many used lathes of all sizes. In times past they claimed a Gilbert address, but are on US 30 a couple miles into Boone County in a building with a radio tower at the front door facing US 30. Erickson Machine Tools in Story City generally has lathes on hand, new and used also though the last I checked they tended to believe some of their products were gold plated with solid gold nuggets inlaid. Last year they had some decently priced South Bend lathes, and listed them on epay.
Grizzly has an extensive catalog with South Bend and Chinese imports. The Chinese imports all seem to be of the same design for a give size, whether sold by HF, Grizzly, Enco, or Jet.
There are many lathes on epay, most at exaggerated prices.
The biggest wear points are the ways and the cross feed lead screw and nut. Ways are fixable at the factory, but difficult in the field and worn ways make for conical turnings. Lead screws and nuts for the cross feed and compound probably are easier to buy than to make. If you don't plan to cut threads a quick change gear box for the apron feed is not so needed. You just set up the change gears for a decent feed speed and cut from there. If you want to have both a fine and a coarse feed and don't have the choices of threading and feed different because a simple lathe (like my 6" Atlas) has only the half nut in the apron on the apron feed screw, no gear drive in the apron from a slit on that screw or a separate slotted shaft, then you have to pick a compromise feed OR change the gears between roughing and finishing, unless you can be patient to do roughing cuts at finishing feeds.
There is a vintage book by South Bend titled "How to Run a Lathe" probably they haven't printed in half a century but its been reprinted by Lindsay Publications. Googling that title just turned up several sources and much discussion, mostly praising it.
Gerald J. | |
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Metal lathe for beginners
