Is this a decent lathe?

[thewoodnerd]

I inherited this old 1970s Craftsman lathe from my dad when he died a few years ago. Is this at least good enough to learn on? I don't want to go out and spend a ton of money on a new lathe, but I don't want to waste my time trying to learn on a machine that isn't capable of doing good work.

[Bubba]

I have one exactly like that and find it to be very useful. You need to keep in mind that it is not the most rigid unit out there (quite flexible in fact) but it will do the job if you take your time. Make sure the gibs are snug on the cross slide and especially the compound which is where a major portion of the flex problem is.
Oh and one thing I recently found on mine is there is an oil fitting inside the bottom cabinet for the lower counter shaft. It is hidden behind the double pulley and on top of the casting. They put sleeve bearings on this shaft and mine ran dry as I thought it was sealed ball bearings like the top countershaft!
Your's looks like it is in fantastic shape and well maintained.

[MILLMARK]

Looks like a really cool little lathe to me. As far as being "good enough to learn on", I think you will learn a lot about the intense forces inherent to metal cutting by learning on a less rigid machine. Some people never seem to grasp this. Then, if and when you upgrade, some things will seem lots easier. I think it will make you a better machinist in the long run.

[neutronics]

It's an oldie but goldie. Plenty machine there to learn on. I learned on a China-made 7x10, which probably weighs less than the chuck on your lathe. With a flexible lathe you have to pay more attention to setup and make more spring passes... these are good basics to learn, and when you make mistakes it forces you to figure out why they happened.

[bobsch]

It's a horrible machine.

Send it to me for recycling ;•)