American Made

[shep640]

Is there an american made engine lathe in production anymore?

[DMF_TomB]

Sherline is made in the usa

EPA regulations have made cast iron products in the usa too expensive

Deng Xiaoping who is considered the "father" of modern china merged communism and capitalism to create large modern factories with workers trained in world class schools and by world class experts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping

[shep640]

That was some interesting information so I guess there are no american made lathes.
I am not against world trade just not real happy with the 2 Birmingham lathes that I own. I'm not going to go into a b---h session just not happy.

[blades]

There are certainly some Chinese-made lathes that are junk, and this was quite common back in the 80's. I remember all kinds of Bridgeport mill knock-offs that were made in China, and most of them, although nearly identical in appearance to Bridgeport, were really junk. They simply didn't have the quality feel and precision of a Bridgeport. They were about a third the price though, which was the only motivation to even consider them.

[LeeWay]

All three of my machines are American made. They do however have parts from around the world. Just benchtop stuff, so they are easy to make yourself.
If you want real American made iron, you might have to buy used. That can come with it's own issues.
Good luck with it.

[Dirk Holcomb]

Only USA Lathe is Hardinage HLV-$50,000.00 Plus or the very small Sherline Lathes.

Next in qualitily seems to be the Korean Whacheon Brand for about

$30,000.00 New for the 19" swing, I believe Summits are Eastern Euorpe, These Lathes and are supposed to be good, as are Lugan From Spain and Romi from Brazil-I've been thinking about this for a long time too, if I had the money which should go towards a Mori-CNC first, I would buy the Korean as everything I have read says that they are good. Really, though I will limit my out put to 5-10 grand and that way I can pick up a good USA old school, such as Number 1 choice American Pacemaker, and then Monarch, Le Blonde, Alexson, Pratt-Whitney, etc. almost impossible to find cherry and parts are very expensive but look around, ask questions and always look at & run first hand. I have a 13" Le Blonde regal built in 1940 not perfect but I would not trade it for almost any new import. Once I get the spindle bearings changed and its accurate, I'll sell it and get that American Pacemaker 16", I've been dreaming of.

Of Course I need to finish up my Warner Swasey #3, but thats a different story.

[heilcnc]

any more on this

[Zap]

I have a Taig mill. They make a small lathe too. I believe they are American made and the prices are fair. Not any iron though. Aluminum and steel construction. I've been happy with the mill so far and I am thinking of buying another lathe from them. The only drawback is the 3/8" spindle hole but I don't plan to use it for anything bigger anyway. I also have a Chinese 8x12 and RF45 clone.

You can see them at www.taigtools.com

Tons of great info at www.cartertools.com

[mactec54]

Haas make a lathe, what are you looking for CNC, bench top etc