I've been watching this forum for quite some time now, absorbing al
your suggestions regarding which metal lathe to buy.
I've been squeaking by, doing some very limited metal work on my 5 year old Delta-Milwaukee wood-working lathe with a compoun cross-slide. Now I'm wanting a "real" metal cutting lathe.
My first choice was to find some old American-made 10" x 24" iron, bu I have been striking out so far. I did find a ratty old Atlas wit broken teeth and inoperable tail stock, and who knows what else, tha the seller won't budge from $860.00.
I've been haunting Ebay for some old iron, and have found som candidates, but the typical crating and shipping costs preclude thi from being an economical solution, not to mention the risks of buyin sight-unseen, etc.
I'm going to look at some old Logans tomorrow at an equipment broker i the Detroit area, but expect that they will be well-worn.
I've taken to heart, the stated opinions here that Jet is typicall higher quality than Grizzly, but Jet doesn't offer an 11" x 26 version. Now I'm seriously considering the Grizzly 11" x 26". Some o my main considerations are economics and weight. Economics because m allowance is only so big, and weight because I have to get it down m basement steps.
My application is hobby use, mainly turning aluminum parts, and I ma never need to, but I've seen some posts here regarding the inability o this lathe to cut left handed threads.
The poster alluded to a modification that would render this lath capable of cutting LH threads. Can someone elaborate on what it woul take to make this modification?
Thanks in advance
-- J. Mark Wolf