Can a lathe be to big

63Kcode

63Kcode

AKA Larry Vigus
Silver Member
I am going to look at a 12"X66" metal lathe. Other than the great size and weight is there any downside to haveing such a large lathe in my shop? Lucky for me I have a 6" slab in my shop and 12'X14' doors. There is also a 36" import lathe for sale close, but it is more than the 66" Lathe.

Thanks for any advice, Larry
 
I'd be very hesitant about buying the first lathe that comes along.
Maybe it's just the way I'm reading your post but that's what it sounds like.

66" btwn centers is way over-kill unless you plan on building/re-tapering house cues. Do you ever see yourself needing that much length?
Personally, I'd reconsider the 36" if it has adequate carriage travel.
Even then, I'd be looking at every lathe I could find.

The economy has made it a buyer's market and it's likely to be that way for a while. The lathe is the 'hub' of the CM's operation. Choose wisely and you won't have to choose again. If you have the room/space for the larger lathe, then that shouldn't be the determining factor. How accurate is it and what kind of use has it seen. Check the ways for wear, particularly near the chuck. Check the tolerance in the lead-screws.
Too good of a deal on a lathe usually indicates that it's worn-out.
 
While you may have the room for it, will you have the room later to add more equipment and storage if your machine inventory grows? That is a big machine.

Kelly
 
Talked to the seller of the 66" machine today. It's a american made milatary surpluse machine. Will go look at it this afternoon. My main concern is if larger machines hold tolerances as close as smaller ones. Will be checking for ware and damage. Hope I don't run out of room in my 40'X60" shop. It is getting kinda crowded with toys now. I do have 10 acers if I need to spread out more!

Thanks for the comments so far. Please keep them coming, Larry
 
63Kcode said:
Talked to the seller of the 66" machine today. It's a american made milatary surpluse machine. Will go look at it this afternoon. My main concern is if larger machines hold tolerances as close as smaller ones. Will be checking for ware and damage. Hope I don't run out of room in my 40'X60" shop. It is getting kinda crowded with toys now. I do have 10 acers if I need to spread out more!

Thanks for the comments so far. Please keep them coming, Larry
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I am certainly no lathe expert, but I don't believe a larger machine is inherently less accurate than a smaller machine. If it is a good lathe, it is a good lathe. Most heavy work and hence wear and tear in manufacturing is done near the chuck. Many would say because it is larger/heavier, it would be more accurate. What would be more difficult is if you were actually turning down a 60" piece and trying to hold tolerance the entire length.

What can be sort of difficult is getting the lathe set up so that you can throw a 10" piece between centers and turn it down and the end diameters be the same, then throw a 30" piece between centers and turn that down, and the end diameters are also the same. A little twist as a result of the lathe/ways not being set up on the same plane (read as level) causes this problem, and can lead one to adjusting tailstock games. It is possible the extra bed length could make this slightly more difficult. A machinist level helps here.

One thing I just thought of..with that extra space, you could do things like set up an indexer way out towards the tail of the lathe and leave it. Once it is dialed in, don't move it, and you could use it to do things like cut point grooves or make ring billets. There are better machines to do those things on, but they have been done on a lathe with success. With such a long lathe, it would almost be like having an extra station, though you would probably have to pick up and relocate your tailstock (not really a big deal) to run your carriage down to the indexer station. You can ofcourse do this on a 36" lathe as well, you just can't leave it up when turning between centers, so I'm not sure this is a sufficient argument alone for getting such a large lathe.

Kelly
 
63Kcode said:
I am going to look at a 12"X66" metal lathe. Other than the great size and weight is there any downside to haveing such a large lathe in my shop? Lucky for me I have a 6" slab in my shop and 12'X14' doors. There is also a 36" import lathe for sale close, but it is more than the 66" Lathe.

Thanks for any advice, Larry
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Are you sure that is between centers? Either way I have an old Sheldon that is 84 inches long and weights over a 1000 lb's and I love it.
 
macguy said:
Are you sure that is between centers? Either way I have an old Sheldon that is 84 inches long and weights over a 1000 lb's and I love it.
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I need to add I didn't go looking for this lathe but came across it in a defunct boat yard. I got it for $250.00 and it works perfect and has for like 20 years I have had it. I use the end of it to mount my grinder and made a work table that mounts on the extra bed. I can't say enough about the extra weight and how smooth it makes the lathe run, it is a 13 inch by the way. I have several other lighter lathes and I notice the difference. As far as accuracy, I once made a new stem for my vintage Accutron watch. I have a buck six jaw chuck in it and a three jaw on the out board side.
 
Not realy sure about distance between centers. Don't think afew inches either way should make a differance. Thanks for the imput. Am going to look at it in afew hours.

Larry
 
63Kcode said:
Not realy sure about distance between centers. Don't think afew inches either way should make a differance. Thanks for the imput. Am going to look at it in afew hours.

Larry
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No offense, but based on your comment, take someone with you to check out the lathe. What I meant is the distance between centers is how long something can be that you can turn. I have often seen lathes advertised as like 36 or 48 inches and when you go look at the lathe that is the size of the whole lathe not the distance between centers.

Check this web site out, lots of good info.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/
 
I'm guessing you dont have much lathe experence.First and foremost be careful because your body will give before a lathe that size does.I have never used a wood lathe but i have ran many metal lathes and I can tell you that lathe that size can be very accurate.I ran a Monarch that was made around 1910 and was still very accurate.It will only be as accurate as the opperator and I say that because even if it has some problems but you know what they are the opperator can compensate for most of the problems.Like I said I dont run a wood lathe and have never made a cue but I will bet most cue makers will agree with me when I say Dont buy the best piece of wood you can get and start practicing.Get a lower quality piece to practice with.I personaly would not suggest you just start running one,visit someone with some experence working with wood on a lathe and I'll bet you can get a ton of knowledge pretty quick
 
The only down side to large lathes is the weight of steadies and the length of the head stock.
Alot of large lathes like that are so long in the headstock , it makes it difficult to support a shaft at the end of the tailstock.
Also if you want to set up a shaft tapering attachment, most large lathes are not easy to adapt to allow a taper bar etc. However some large lathes are made for tapering attachments and have setups for copy or duplicator.
But have a look and see.
At work we had used to have a colchester lathe that was set up to copy and use a taper bar. The attachments went onto the back side of the lathe sadle and had an adjustment to bring the tool to the work piece, while the back of the unit attached to either the sliding bar or hydraulic copy attachment.
Neil
 
Can a lathe be too big for cue making? Yes. The first one pictured below is 25' between centers. That's right, I said feet. :shocked:
Mr H

biglathe.jpg


biglathe2.jpg
 
Guess I should change the title to the one that got away book2. The lathe went on craigs list last night for $450 I contacted the seller this morning and he wouldn't be avaliable till 2:30 today, to let people look at it. I was in his drive at 2:00. only to be told he sold it sight unseen and the buyer had paid on PayPal. Buyer has till 3pm Thurs. to pick it up or I get to buy it. Wish I knew whose tires I had to flatten to make them late!

Larry
 
triley41395 said:
I'm guessing you dont have much lathe experence.First and foremost be careful because your body will give before a lathe that size does.I have never used a wood lathe but i have ran many metal lathes and I can tell you that lathe that size can be very accurate.I ran a Monarch that was made around 1910 and was still very accurate.It will only be as accurate as the opperator and I say that because even if it has some problems but you know what they are the opperator can compensate for most of the problems.Like I said I dont run a wood lathe and have never made a cue but I will bet most cue makers will agree with me when I say Dont buy the best piece of wood you can get and start practicing.Get a lower quality piece to practice with.I personaly would not suggest you just start running one,visit someone with some experence working with wood on a lathe and I'll bet you can get a ton of knowledge pretty quick
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Thanks for the safty tips. The drill I operate has 41,000lbs of torque. I know were not to stick my fingers.

Larry
 
Mr Hoppe said:
Can a lathe be too big for cue making? Yes. The first one pictured below is 25' between centers. That's right, I said feet. :shocked:
Mr H

biglathe.jpg


biglathe2.jpg
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Ship Yards are where the really big lathes are usually found. They can get larger than a 100 feet and have over a 100 ton capacity.

mits1.jpg


Dick
 
63Kcode said:
Guess I should change the title to the one that got away book2. The lathe went on craigs list last night for $450 I contacted the seller this morning and he wouldn't be avaliable till 2:30 today, to let people look at it. I was in his drive at 2:00. only to be told he sold it sight unseen and the buyer had paid on PayPal. Buyer has till 3pm Thurs. to pick it up or I get to buy it. Wish I knew whose tires I had to flatten to make them late!

Larry
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Almost any lathe that cheap will sell pretty quick. I bought an old Atlas at a garage sale for $35.00. I parted it out on ebay and ended with like $400.00 out of what was an almost worthless lathe. Every single part sold. The big problem with a lathe is they are heavy and hard to move. Kind of like trying to sell a pool table. The average person has to pay another $300.00 to get it home and set up.
 
rhncue said:
Ship Yards are where the really big lathes are usually found. They can get larger than a 100 feet and have over a 100 ton capacity.
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I like the lathes with an operators station on the carriage .... a riding-lathe :thumbup2:

Dave
 
DaveK said:
I like the lathes with an operators station on the carriage .... a riding-lathe :thumbup2:

Dave
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Then you will like my drill then. Here is a photo of me at work.

DRILLING%20in%20Anna%20008.JPG


On an up note I am going to look at another lathe later today. Wish me better luck on this one. If I get it I will post the details later. Thanks again for the advice!

Larry
 
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