Re: Buying first metal lathe
Originally Posted by
dbfletcher
To be honest... that is where i started.... looking at grizzly machines. But it seems like every forum I was on said the same thing. The grizzly machines are fine if you dont mind totally tearing them down before you first turn them on because the are filled with gunk,grime, and grit and if you skip that step, the life of the lathe with be dramatically shortened. As a beginner and first time lathe user.. i wasn't sure i wanted to spend the first several weeks just tearing everything down and hope i get it reassembled correctly.
Doug
You are correct the Grizzly is a step up from the usual Chinese made machine and I would not have an issue with one. But LMS sells some pretty nice lathes and mills. A big step up from Chinese made and I purchased one of their 7x14 and very happy with it.
In the past i owned a Emco Super 11 and it was great. Sold to downsize my shop but If you can find one used in good condition, buy it. Built a rotary phase converter but later on went to a Hitachi VFD. Some will tell you to get a old American or UK metal lathe, but they are getting harder and harder to find and get parts for. I had a 1943 South Bend Heavy 10 and put a lot of money into getting it to be useable. Sold to purchase the Emco.
Retired Master Electrician, HVAC/R Commercial. FLA Saturn 2 4x4 CNC Router Mach4 Kimber 1911 45ACP