[InFlight]

Originally Posted by hank2247

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.

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.