Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

I would definitely recommend buying the largest lathe you can afford. An old used lathe (hardinge, monarch, hendey) will be better than a modern machine but can be harder to find.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-x...campaign=zPage
these seem to be pretty good for the price and size.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Seconded. Grizzly is better than most cheap end machines.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Quite a few other good American Lathes to consider used including South Bend (9 Inch, 10 Heavy), Atlas or Craftsman 9 inch, Clausing, Leblonde, Lodge & Shipley, and Sheldon. Need some experience when buying a used lathe to evaluate it's condition, and understand what parts are present, or if replacements are available. (total cost).

Other than HASS, there are no domestic lathes in production. The current South Bend ones are all imports.

If you have limited shop space; a Bench Top to unit would be the way to go. Otherwise their are a lot of "tool room" sized lathes in the used market.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Hardinge and Monarch both still make HLV-H and 10EE lathes...but they are custom order and the last I heard a 10EE was over $100,000...so not exactly FRC friendly from a budget standpoint.

Standard Modern makes lathes in Canada, which afaik is the only North American lathe still in regular production. They are not cheap though. I got a quote last fall just to see and a 1340 was $16,000 and a 1640 was $27,000.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Smaller lathes are cheaper, however smaller sizes can be killers on precision. If your doing non-critical shapes then small lathes are good but if you want precision definitely go for a bigger lathe. It really matters what you're going to use it for. Sometimes its better to spend a little more money and get what you need.
Also be careful using carbide, its great but it can chip too. The smoother motions you can do the less chance you risk of damaging your cutter. Its the same way for mills, unless you use CNC machines its actually recommended you don't use carbide.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Look for a Hardinge HLV-H tool room lathe. They are wonderful machines and can be found in your price range

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Avoid the Atlas/Crafstman 9" lathes, they are somewhat fragile. They are inexpensive for a reason. A 10" atlas will serve you well, but they tend to be rare and expensive. Even a 6" atlas is fine for precision work, if you know how to use it, but might be a little small for FRC.

Craftsman (Sears) lathes were made by Atlas, parts are identical.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Please find me an HLV-H for $3k, I want one. :P Maybe it's just CA, but I've never seen a good one for less than several thousand $.
I also wouldn't trust a high school kid with one (and I am a high school kid) just because they are so nice. It would be a shame for one to get killed.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

Look for the "TFB-H" - same as the HLV-H but without the threading gearbox. Might catch one cheaper, but be careful that it isn't run into the ground, since a lot were used for production parts. 10ee's are beautiful as well, but make sure you do some research on the specific model/model year. The controls can be tricky to sort out.

Otherwise - the Taiwanese machines are generally nicer than the mainland China manufactured machines. Lots of brands sourcing from the same factories and putting their label on it (Precision Matthews, Eisen, Victor, Sharp, etc).

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

My mistake. A quick search led me to Hardinge DV-59 lathes, not the HLV-H I expected. After looking more, I also would gladly accept a $3k HLV-H

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

You cannot find a good HLV-H for less than $10-14k, at least around here.

A TFB-H that isn't beat to hell and back won't be in OP's budget either. We spent $8k on ours. Without DRO and accessories it was $5000something.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

There was one on Craigslist for $2k for about 6 hours a couple of weeks ago >_>

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

If you're looking to buy a used lathe, I recommend watching this video: https://youtu.be/bP-rh6LfteU

It's a little long, but it goes really in depth in what you should be looking for when evaluating a lathe. Also, there are a couple of tips on actually moving it.

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

For someone like me who is not an expert on these Hardinge lathes, what is the difference between these two models?

Re: Lathe Suggestions
 

No threading gearbox on the TFB-H. "Turn, Face, Bore" only.