I’ve been shopping for a lathe. I didn’t want to spend the money on a new one (and still don’t), but the used market seems iffy. I explore eBay and Craigslist almost daily and occasionally find one. The search is limited because most sellers won’t ship (for good reason). The ones that turn up are usually school surplus from schools that bagged their shop program or got new lathes. Most have three phase motors as well. It seems like the better examples are in the $1,000 range and most will need to have the 3 ph motor replaced to run in my shop.
When I can get a new Oneway for ~$2400, should I keep looking for a used one? Are there other places to look for used? What are the things I should be wary of in a used lathe?
Replies
You should mostly be concerned that castings are not broken. Bearings are fairly easily replaced, and even the arbor isn't all that hard. You don't need massive horsepower so replacing a 3 phase motor wouldn't be a back breaker.
The other things to consider are what "accessories" come with it. When I bought my Delta HD lathe it had about 4 faceplates, a second banjo, a a long and a short tool rest, and an articulated rest for bowl turning. I also got a mumber of turning tools, though of carbon steel not HSS. When you start adding up the cost of such things, you will see that they don't come cheap.
You want three phase. You then hook up a VFD and get variable speed. This is a better way to go by far. The new high end lathes use this technology. Talk to folks at http://www.factorymation.com on VFD. DO NOT try to just read the site info to undrstand and choose a VFD. You WILL get it wrong.
Edited 7/2/2009 9:49 am ET by RickL
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