That's funny you mention a giant turret lathe. I ran across a nice looking Warner & Swasey when I was fixin' to buy the lathe I have now. I was soooooo tempted to buy the thing (it was less than a grand), but physical size eventually put the kibosh on the deal. I knew it was big, but even pictures didn't really convey just how BIG the thing was. Trying to get that thing into my shop would have been like trying to dock a destroyer in a slip made for a dingy. It just wasn't happening. But man, that would've been sweet. Yeah, I'm sure you've heard (and uttered) that phrase a time or two yourself. I know for a fact that you suffer from a similar type of machine tool obsession. [Evil Overload]We're not so different, you and I . . . . [/Evil Overlord]
Mine hasn't paid for itself but it is handy and you don't have to rely on anyone else. Worth the $800 I paid for it.
I think what the old timer told you was that a milling machine was the only tool that can build itself.
Had one in the family garage from age 5 and have one in my own garage 36 years later. I don't know what I would do without it. BTW, I would stay away from Atlas. Plenty of nice Logans , South Bends out there. Logans have ball bearing head stocks and are easy to rebuild. South bends are plain bearing head stocks but have shim packs from the factory so you can adjust them. SB heavy 10L models are nice but a bit more pricey. The carriage has a much better feed mechanism then most. Lots of Chinese **** out there but they are just that ****(IMO). Lead screws are held so poorly that trying to cut threads is impossible.
I run my machinery on static phase converters. Supposedly you lose some power, not that much I've noticed, so far. With rotary phase converters, you lose less, but they're big bucks in comparison. Bob
you can boar harley cylinders cut drive shafts turn hubs cut centers **** make hubs. make just about anything you wish. remember a large lathe can be a mill as well. no need to talk your self in to a lathe just need to talk your self in to a larger one or as big as your cash will buy. a small one just gets you in trouble always need one a little larger
My old Logan is not fancy, it's not the biggest (10") but I can make all kinds of goodies on it that have my friends drooling. I often get requests for "help" when a part is required that they can't find. Also works good just to chuck something up a polish it a little.
There really are more reasons than can be listed here. Since your are in Minnesota I'll cough up a few places to look for a deal. I hate to give myself more compe***ion but your a car guy. Check back on a regular basis with these three and you will find the deal of the century sooner or later. http://www.k-bid.com/Current.htm http://www.hoffhilk.com/ http://www.auctionmasters.com/cgi-bin/mncal.cgi?amasters
My grandfather had an old lathe...its at my dad's house now, but he never uses it. I don't even know if its complete or not (hasn't been used in at least 25 years). I'll be grabbing it and putting it to work in my shop before long. I have no idea how old it is, but I'm 40 and it was old when I was a little kid.
-On a static converter, you lose a full third of your HP, since you're basically running the motor on just two of its three phases. You also add vibration, if surface finish is an issue. With a rotary, typically you'll have one leg- the generated phase- being slightly weaker than the other two, but it's still one of the best bangs for the buck as far as residential 3-phase goes. The best solution for most home-shop types is a VFD, a variable frequency drive. It electronically converts single phase into triple, and provides a lot of useful features as well, like variable speed, dynamic braking, and so on. A VFD runs from $150 to $300 depending on the size of the motor- not cheap, but not really "big bucks" either. -Whatever do you mean? [slides second surface grinder behind couch] Doc.
I've had mine for about 25 years so I'd say it has paid for itself by now. Main thing is after I had it for a little while, I don't know how I ever got along without it. One of the tools in the shop that will never be for sale as long as I can belly up to it.
Magneto drives, distributers, acorn nuts from hex stock. Bushing for any number of things. About anything then wants to be round and concentric.
The Jalopy Journal
