Well, I've been noticing that I'm surrounded by quite a few lathes in the shop I'm learning at that are older than me (although I'm only 17, they are apparently from the 40's). And even after that, some of the people I know who own lathes, all own ones that are 20 or 30 years old.

I mean, is it normal to be around so many lathes that are so old? Do they just really hold up over time? I mean, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't hold up over time with good use.

Anyway, what's the oldest lathe you would buy? I was thinking, that if I wanted a bargain on a lathe, it seems possible to buy them older for cheaper but still maintain their qualities.

What do you guys think?

If they don't have bearings in the head...I would steer clear of them...hardened ways are the way to go...

When I was still in school, some 12 years ago, we used schaublin lathes wich were build in the 20's.
They were maintained very well and capable of precision work.
I'm looking for a used schaublin lathe but even the old ones cost $$$/€€€ :(.

I have a 1934 vintage Logan 10"x24" lathe. The spindle runout is .0002" and the ways are straight as an arrow. I would buy the older ones because they were built to last and most of them can still be rebuilt.

Well, I've been noticing that I'm surrounded by quite a few lathes in the shop I'm learning at that are older than me (although I'm only 17, they are apparently from the 40's). And even after that, some of the people I know who own lathes, all own ones that are 20 or 30 years old.

Well twenty five years ago when ai first got my exposure to machine tools I worked extensively on stuff that was built for WW2. As to the age some of the old manual lathes on the market are true bargains, you have to remember that those where the production machines of the day. The CPU ran around on two legs.

Honestly many of the manual machines where built to differrent standards for heavy 24 hour a day usage. That is not to say that such machines can't be found today but almost unerveraly the heavey duty machines have some amount of automation built in. Manual machines now come from low wage countries and from my perspective are not even attempting to match the capabilities of older hardware.


I mean, is it normal to be around so many lathes that are so old? Do they just really hold up over time? I mean, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't hold up over time with good use.

Do they hold up?? Yes they do. On the other hand they can be worn out to an extent that requires complete rebuilds. If the castiron frame is OK, it can be very economical to keep an old lath in operation (well at least the larger ones).

In any event you have to realize that a lathe is a basic machine tool. It is simple and as you note can hold up well. If not abused that is, what you haven't seen yet apparently are lathes used to the point of not being economical to rebuild.


Anyway, what's the oldest lathe you would buy? I was thinking, that if I wanted a bargain on a lathe, it seems possible to buy them older for cheaper but still maintain their qualities.

If you want a bargain lathe the imports are where to look. The other avenue is to buy used, but you have to know what you are doing and how to work with & repair older hardware. Just becuase a lathe is older doesn't mean that there isn't issues with it. Now I'm not saying htat old lathes are a bad path to take, just that it is very much a buyer be aware situation.


What do you guys think?

First; deterime what you are about to do with the lathe. From there develop a shopping list of features you need. Things like swing, distance between centers, threading capabilities, horse power and what ever other constraints you may have. Then look at imports and used hardware that fills the bill. You may find a used machine that immediately fills the bill, or you may not and spend a lot of time looking. In the mean time you could have purchased the new machine and had it set up.

The reality is that there is no good answer. Now a days if you are targetting production type work a CNC machine is almost a requirement. For a job shop you might have a hard time getting by without a manual machine. It really comes down to your needs and how a used machine fits them.

Thanks
Dave