Miss me? Its been a minute. Stuff happened and now trade lathes?

[vpt]

It has been a bit since i posted. Life happens. I'm divorced, looking to move shop and all come spring.

I am still doing what i do. Didn't lose anything in the divorce. 50/50 with the kids and they are all doing fine. Haven't stuck any gas tanks in the freezer in awhile but I did buy a new chest freezer so I have the room if I need to.

So I've come to make a post because I've been offered a deal of sorts. I went to a clients shop to look at a project I will be working on for him. While getting the shop tour we came apon his lathe. It is a Logan (15") quickly looking at a tape measure held up to the chuck. A 3 phase machine, out of a tool shop that he has bought but has never powered or used. I noticed a belt up the side to the headstock so I assume a geared head lathe. He mentions looking for a smaller atlas type lathe because the work they do is typically smaller bushing type jobs for cars and such. I mention my 10" atlas and the conversation starts of trading lathes.

I didn't take an inventory because I was there to look at a job and didn't have a real lot of time. I did notice a taper attachment on the lathe and he showed me a mess of tooling in the lathes cabinets. Some of you know I am very well tooled up with my atlas, nearly anything you can get for it. Initially the short talk sounds like a strait up trade. I have always wanted a 14-16 lathe but never had the intent to get rid of the atlas because of the tooling I have for it and the good condition it is in. But being in the place I am now (more poor) it might be worth it to me to trade if the logan is similarly tooled and I can do all the same stuff on it as my atlas.

I came to make the post and ask the folk here what they think about a strait up trade? Money wise I honestly think if the tooling is the same the cost is close. The atlas being a smaller more manageable 110v machine is worth a decent amount. The 15" logan is a bigger harder to move and power machine making it slightly less attractive but is a much much more robust and better machine making it worth its weight as well. What would you guys do? Should I trade my 10" atlas for a 15" logan?

[Ringo]

I would trade in a heartbeat.
Trade lathe for lathe, chuck for chuck, attachment for attachment, one for one for piece by piece. tool for tool.
all the leftovers on the 10" Atlas could be mounted on the Logan and still be useful.

[RB211]

Trading a light duty hobby lathe for an industrial one? You have the means to make use of it, do it.

[wierdscience]

I was wondering where you had strayed off to, glad to hear you're mostly okay. If the Logan is the one I am thinking of and it's in decent shape, it would be a step or two up in capability.

[Dan Dubeau]

I'd trade too, but keep all the tooling that will cross over (centers, tailstock chucks etc) that you can. Check it out with an indicator and run it a bit to see if it's in good condition before you say yes though. No point in trading a good one, for a basket of bigger problems.

Glad to see you back Andy, sorry to hear of the divorce.

[RB211]

Yes, welcome back, and sorry for the divorce

[Fasttrack]

Trading a light duty hobby lathe for an industrial one? You have the means to make use of it, do it.

I'm not sure I would call Logan lathes "industrial lathes", maybe "light commercial" versus "hobby"... but they are definitely a big step up from an Atlas. I would put Logan on a par with Southbend and maybe Sheldon, although I tend to rank Sheldon slightly higher than SB. They always seemed to be made just a little stouter than comparable sized SBs.

Should I trade my 10" atlas for a 15" logan?

I helped a buddy of mine in college restore a little 9" Logan we found lying on its side in a dump. Decent little lathe for what it was AND you can still get parts (but be prepared to pay $$): http://www.loganact.com/ I would probably trade the 10" Atlas for a 9" Logan and I would definitely trade for a larger Logan, assuming both machines were in roughly the same condition. I don't think they made a 15" lathe though. Maybe you're looking at their 14" model?

Sorry to hear about the divorce. Went through that myself and can honestly say it was one of the best things that's ever happened to me, even though it was tough at the time. Hope things work out well for you in the end.


Edit: Scroll down towards the bottom of Tony's Lathes.co.uk and you'll see some text about the 14" model. Seems pretty nice. http://www.lathes.co.uk/logan/

[754]

I would trade as long as the logan is decent, has at least 1 inch or plus spindle bore, at leastv1200 rpm capable, and a gearbox.. I hope.
what chuck mounting system , foot brake, sit on a cast box base or sewing machine type legs ? Any idea of age ?
my guess us they feel somewhat intimidated by the Logan, and dont understand how to use it.. lucky for you..

[Doozer]

Hey Andy, Sorry to hear about the divorce. I seen you mentioned it on FB too.
Sounds like an excellent lathe to trade for. Hope you post some pics.
--Doozer

[Arcane]

Dan in post #5 nailed it.

[JRouche]

Very cool to see you back. Sorry to hear about family issue. JR

[vpt]

I'm going to take a closer look at the Logan soon and get a few pics too. If I can work a deal with the owner I will wait till I move shop in the spring to get the new lathe so I don't have to move it twice. I do remember some surface rust on the chuck and a couple other places. Ill take along my oily rag and wipe it down to keep it from getting worse. I've wanted a lathe this size for quite awhile. I hope it works out.

[A.K. Boomer]

Wow - yeah been wondering and sorry to hear but also glad to hear your still kickin cuz that's what it's all about --- the gas tank in the freezer really got me,,,

don't know a thing about lathes Andy - just get a mill and turn it into one lol good to hear from you... for those of you just recently tuning in --- great member of the board has just revisited :-)

[tom_d]

Sorry about the divorce. S**t happens. Nice that you and the kids are doing ok. They all too often get lost in the battle.

Yeah, sounds like trading machines would work out well for both parties. As was said in post #5 you should keep everything that will fit the bigger machine. This is especially true where the shop will only be making small bushings and stuff. Most of your tooling would just sit and collect dirt/rust. If they ever do need to make something complicated chances are you might get the call to make it anyway? I've always thought of the smaller Logans as on par with the Atlas. Little machines for little projects. The larger Logan is a far cry from a Colchester or old Monarch or Cincinnati, but will be more than you'd ever want in a home shop environment, where shopping for a machine in the 15" size range the market tends to be saturated with overpriced crappy old South Bends. Do that thorough evaluation first and enjoy your new capacity to make chips.

[J Tiers]

Not much will cross over. Does that have the L-00?

Even if it is threaded, the nose is a LOT larger, and the T/S is MT3. Not even sure the toolpost would fit without a raising block.

Reputed to be very nice.

(BTW, the 10" has the same setup, and bed is 7" wide, so they are more related than the other poster thought. Not an issue, even the 10" is a good machine)