Pictures are here:
Right now, my "shop lathe" is a Monarch model AA 16x54 lathe. The amazing thing about it is that it is almost brand new (!!!) and has no wear whatsoever. I know that it is weird, but it is true. Somehow or other, it escaped the usual fate of these lathes, it was made in
1944.It has only two problems:
1) It is slow, top speed is 500 RPM 2) Someone told me that the lubrication system in the head may not be working right, based on what he saw in the sight glass.I recently purchased a AFM Toolmex or Polamco lathe. It has about the same size, and its top speed is a respectable 1,600 RPM. It does have wear, unlike the Monarch, but very little. It also has a removable gap, which we do not care for too much.
There is two people in my shop who use a lathe, me and another guy. I told him that we can now pick the lathe out of these two.
So, I wanted to solicit some opinions as to what lathe is better. I know that I can get good money for either of them, so money is not the issue.
Another option is to keep the Monarch and add a small Hardinge HC for working on small stuff at high speed. I bought three small hardinges for $200 each two weeks ago.
I will appreciate some intelligent comments. Thanks
i