Saw this lathe, what is it, and is it worth it?

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underdog

underdog

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Sep 11, 2006
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Watkinsville, Georgia
Maybe some of y'all can help here.

I saw this lathe a minute or two ago, and wondered what it was, and whether it was worth getting:
metal lathe

Or should I just spend another $2-300 on the 7x10 HF?

(Hope posting the link doesn't violate TOS?)
 
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It looks like the Craftsman 109 lathe made by the Ann Arbor company. it is sometimes mistakenly identified as an atlas lathe. It is a great lathe for its purpose but I would not buy it for what you want. I have had one and they wont do metric threads easily, you will need the change gear set and a chuck and a live center, all of those are available on ebay but you will end up paying more than for the 7x10 and it probably has wear issues. The tail stock is MTO I would pass on it.
 
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:eek::eek: Jim: This is what you would call antique, ridden hard, and put away wet. It depends on what you want to do with it? If your only going to turn pens, it's overkill. Parts are going to be hard to find, and the open belts makes me a little shakey. If you are willing to spend a few hundred more, I would say step into the modern world and buy something new and more advanced. If you plan to turn metal as well, the auto advance is a plus for threading parts. A lathe with this feature would cost a lot more. You could buy a small lathe at HF for just over $100 with auto speed controll, or a metal lathe with all the gadgets for around $600. There are a lot of well made starter lathes in the $400 - 700 range. The final choise is yours!! I have been restoring old tools for over 50 years, and unless I could buy this lathe for under $50 I would pass. Even at that price I would still pass. Thats just my $.02. Jim S
 
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If you are going to use taps and dies, and not singe point threads, might be ok. I have an Atlas lathe that I don't have the change gears for, but for most of what I am going to do will be taps and dies. I don't like the drill chuck for a chuck, though.
 
I bought the Micro Mark 7x16 and I'm very happy with it! Plus I bought my tooling from LMS and Chris is great if you have any questions he is pretty quick to get back with you!
 
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