Lathe set up

corsair82pilot, I think you'll find about everything comes from Asia now, or at least equipment that is affordable.

Some of the combo machines are generally not set up to thread on. They wont have change gears, and a thread dial on the carriage. You could power thread using a die, or a tap in one, but not by using the lathe by itself. The cheapest lathe, that I know of, with threading capability runs around $900 on sale. I think it is a 9" x 19".

Take a look on Grizzly's website, as they have the same equipment, plus many more, and have the description that will say if it can thread, or if it has change gears.

Lathes:

http://www.grizzly.com/search/?s=category%3aMetal+Lathes&rankBy=price%3aascending

Combo Machines:

http://www.grizzly.com/search?s=category:Combination%20Lathe-Mills&rankBy=price:ascending
 
The G4003G has (from my research online, anyway) a pretty solid rep for a "Chinese" lathe. A lot of guys seem to be turning out some pretty accurate work with them.

I've been told over and over to get a SB Heavy Ten instead- but they seem to be selling for about the same dollars as the new Grizzlys- and they're 70 years older.

The Grizzly is out of stock, but I'm going to call to see when they expect more.
If I can put my eyeballs on a SB locally I will, but I'm not comfortable picking one up off Ebay. I can look for obvious "stuff" like worn ways, but very limited knowledge, and 70 year old machinery, don't seem compatible to me.
 
Today or tomorrow I am getting a mill that American and minty at a price competitive with a Jet or turn pro from China.... off Ebay.

One may find deals on American made lathes, not worn out, locally, but the amateur gunsmiths can soak up so many lathes, that the used American lathe large scale market cannot compete with made in China lathe values.

This is because industry did not buy manual lathes like the bought manual mills that they are selling off now.

And for every old gunsmith that dies, there seem to be a dozen amateur gunsmiths like me springing up.

And the next thing is shipping. I can buy a lathe from China, get it shipped to PA to get DRO installed, and then shipped to Seattle all for a few grand.

If I bought a used lathe off Ebay and had it shipped, the shipping would cost almost as much as the whole Chinese lathe deal

That is the difference between wholesale and retail shipping prices. I am paying $2k for crating and shipping 2,000 pounds 2,000 miles today. I am paying retail.
 
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