I was bitten by the lathe bug before I was in my teens. You are going about
this in a very logical way. Books. Then the lathe. No matter what lathe
you buy, you will probably want, sooner or later, a larger one.
If space is no problem, you will find, depending on where you live, that larger (0ver
12" swing) lathes are not nearly as expensive as new small ones. I turned
down a 15X48 one because I didn't have room for it. The cost is in moving
'em, and the further away, the more it is. That said, The biggest bargain
in a small lathe is one of the 7x Chinese Minis. I have 4 in the shop, one still in the crate.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: 7x12minilathe@...
[mailto:7x12minilathe@...]On Behalf Of mark@...
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 10:10 PM
To: 7x12minilathe@...
Subject: [7x12minilathe] New to the list
Hello,
I have a major interest in home shop machining, partly in support of
automotive hobbies but also just for fabrication purposes (small equipment,
tools, models, etc). For some weird reason I can't explain, I am also
interested in making my shop tools (yeah, even lathes, milling machines,
etc) but have to be tempered by reality so I can otherwise get things done.
I have yet to buy or build a lathe but have extreme interest in picking one
up near term. I've been looking small (Unimat, Sherline, Taig) to large (9
or 10 inch swing...yes they get pricey) and would be interested in any
advice on the best choice for a first lathe. I've been buying books from
Lindsay Publications for more than 20 years...and yes I know they are going
out of business in Feb 2013. I have their "last catalog". I also have some
vintage Southbend publications. In the distant past, I've done quite a bit
of fab work--lathe, milling machine, shaper, welding, all the other typical
tool suspects and so am not a complete novice, but have been a way from it
for quite a while as well.
Mark
Knoxville, TN USA
