What do you think about your shop equipment

[Ye-Ole Steam Dude]

The cost of repairing a lathe, in time and money, can be non-trivial.     I've rebuilt my lathe, and posted the rebuild here...If I had to do it again, I'd do it, not because of the cost savings, but for the experience...then again.   If I was looking to use a lathe to make parts, I'd go option 1 every time.


Love my SB...but it was a lot of work.

Dave

Hello Dave,

Well you have one of the best machines on the market in the South Bend and they are no doubt worth the time and effort to rebuild when needed.

Like you and the other hobbyist here on the forum, we do not build "machines/engines/etc" for resale but for our love of the challenge. And we most likely wind up making "things" a little better than what manufactures sell.

Thanks again Dave, I appreciate your opinion.
Have a great day,
Thomas

[Florian Eberhard]

Hi Thomas

Like it has been said, I would also make up the decisison by judging how the geometry and the general mechanical condition of the lathe is.
If the geometry on #2 is as good as #1 then definitely #2 - otherwise you would have to decide on what the problem was;
- Any misalignment of the tailstock that can't be adjusted
- straightness of the bed (which could be checked with a high precision spirit level)
- runout of the main spindle
- Any cracks?

Florian

[Ye-Ole Steam Dude]

Hi Thomas

Like it has been said, I would also make up the decisison by judging how the geometry and the general mechanical condition of the lathe is.
If the geometry on #2 is as good as #1 then definitely #2 - otherwise you would have to decide on what the problem was;
- Any misalignment of the tailstock that can't be adjusted
- straightness of the bed (which could be checked with a high precision spirit level)
- runout of the main spindle
- Any cracks?

Florian

Hi Florian,

Yes that would be a good assessment to consider especially for the physical condition. I do understand and agree that the "looks"/cosmetics is just that and it plays no roll in the accuracy. However, when buying a new piece of equipment I expect everything to be correct.

Thanks for you feedback and have a great day,
Thomas

[Brian Rupnow]

I would go for the number 1 option and pay the $3000. I would suspect that other things of a mechanical nature would be wrong with the poorly painted one. For a very large portion of my life I was poorer than dirt, and had to fix up old crappy machinery because that was all I could afford. Now I would gladly pay the price for the well painted one.---Brian

[Ye-Ole Steam Dude]

I would go for the number 1 option and pay the $3000. I would suspect that other things of a mechanical nature would be wrong with the poorly painted one. For a very large portion of my life I was poorer than dirt, and had to fix up old crappy machinery because that was all I could afford. Now I would gladly pay the price for the well painted one.---Brian

Hello Brian,

I understand 100% what you have stated. Sometimes it is money wise to pay the higher price.

Thanks Brian.
Have a great day,
Thomas

[Flyboy Jim]

The question I would have to ask myself is: How long will it take #1 to look like #2? i.e. Is #2 a new machine that had a poorly prepped surface that got like that from just sitting? If that's the case.......how long will it take #1, from the same manufacturer, to look the same way?

Jim

[steamer]

The cost of repairing a lathe, in time and money, can be non-trivial.     I've rebuilt my lathe, and posted the rebuild here...If I had to do it again, I'd do it, not because of the cost savings, but for the experience...then again.   If I was looking to use a lathe to make parts, I'd go option 1 every time.


Love my SB...but it was a lot of work.

Dave

Hello Dave,

Well you have one of the best machines on the market in the South Bend and they are no doubt worth the time and effort to rebuild when needed.

Like you and the other hobbyist here on the forum, we do not build "machines/engines/etc" for resale but for our love of the challenge. And we most likely wind up making "things" a little better than what manufactures sell.

Thanks again Dave, I appreciate your opinion.
Have a great day,
Thomas

No worries....it's a surprisingly  personal question, because we do what we do as enthusiasts.   If we were trying to make a buck....The extra grand is in the noise..   A couple of tight tolerance jobs done on a $3000 lathe and it's paid for.    If I was trying to make money I'd be out of my mind not to spend the extra 1000.

Dave