lathe upgrade???

[laddy]

Hey,
I have been offered a 9" South Bend with some tooling. Presently I have a 6" Craftsman with Timken bearings and ALL the tooling in great shape. Is this a transition that I should take? Are there significant advantages to the South Bend? I realize the larger capacity but......As of now I don't know which model or what tooling.
Thanks for any input Fred

[JCHannum]

The 9" South Bend lathe, of course, is larger and somewhat more rigid. It will be able to use some of your tooling, but will require the purchase of additional tooling. The 6" Atlas is not a bad machine, and selling it could raise the money for additional tooling.

Does the South Bend have a QC gearbox? If so, that would be a major advantage over the Atlas.

The decision depends on your needs and the work you do. If the Atlas is capable of performing the work you do, the moderate increase in size might not be worth the exercise of changing machines. If it were me, and I wanted to upgrade to a larger machine, I would look for a 12" or 13" machine. That size change would be significant.

[laddy]

Hey Jim,
I knew you would be there to help. Yes, it has a quick change gear box. That is what really attracts me. Changing the gears on the Craftsman is a time consuming pain. I will go look at it tomorrow. From what I have heard the increase in rigidity is significant. I don't do a whole lot of big stuff, mainly steam engines. I have always chosen project size based on my equipment, so it would open up some doors to other plans. Thanks for the help! Fred

[BillH]

Of course you want it!
Two lathes is better than one. If one lathe is setup for one operation, you can use the other. I use my taig all the time for 2nd ops.

[laddy]

Then what do I do with those two Unimats???

[camdigger]

Then what do I do with those two Unimats???

Whatever you want! Face plate on one, 3 jaw on another (like the SB for threading ), 4 jaw on the atlas (since you say it's still in great shape), and a pair of centers on the last lathe. Think of all the time you'll save on set-ups

[garyphansen]

All things being equal, a South Bend Lathe is much, much better than a Craftsman or Atlas. Gary P. Hansen

[tdkkart]

If you decide to go with the South Bend, do not get rid of the Craftsman. I had one and foolishly got rid of it when I got my 12" Atlas(which was foolish in itself).
I've many times wished I'd kept my 6". In it's size class it's a pretty decent lathe, and I'd buy another if I came across one at a decent price.

[laddy]

The Crafstman is fully tooled and darn near new. I can't think of getting rid of it but the opportunity to go for bigger and " better" hangs in my face. I am going to look at it tomorrow. If it is descent maybe, if not No. My wife will hit the roof with another piece of machinery coming in the house! Oh well Fred

[Astronowanabe]

Then what do I do with those two Unimats???

mount one of them on the toolpost of the 9" ... no I'm not kidding.

[laddy]

My wife? Or the other lathe?

[Astronowanabe]

if you must ask ... yes

[BillH]

My wife? Or the other lathe?

Your wife like all woman, runs on emotion, not logic.
The logical choice is to get the lathe. Logic wins over emotion.

[doctor demo]

Then what do I do with those two Unimats???

Get rid of one of the unimats or both the unimats if you must.... but don't get rid of the crafstman.


Steve


PS unless ya want to give the crafstman to me, then it would be ok to dump it.

[tiptop]

I think Steve would be a good candidate for your craftsman lathe and I would be happy to get your Unimats.

Jay