Good price for this lathe?

[Michael Weber]

Lathe for sale semi-locally. Is it a good price for the make/model? Just interested in getting a lathe on a budget for starters. Thanks. http:// fayar.craigslist.org/tls/2302909468.html

[Steve Vaughan]

There's gonna be some folks on board here that will have personal experience with this lathe...I do not. But, the guy's offering a 2 week warranty which to me would help. I do notice the belt drive and step pulleys, so you might have a challenge there...not sure of the rpm's which could be critical to anything out of balance. But still, you're looking for a place to start and it looks like he's got everything there to start.

The other side of the coin would be add a few more hundred and you'll have a brand new ride, with full warranty. You won't get the additional tools, so there will be other costs, but in this vortex, that sort of comes with the territory.

[Michael Weber]

Thanks for the info Steve. I guess I'll pass since I just don't have enough knowledge to really assess the value. If it was a great deal it's probably already gone anyway. Besides, who needs a lathe anyway?:D

[John Hart]

Wow....I want it!!! :) Too bad it's so far away. Too bad I don't have $300 :(
If all that guy did was table legs and baseball bats, it's probably not beat up or nuthin'.

'Course...this guy has a drawback. I checked around and looked at other similar Rockwell models, and it looks like your minimum speed is 900 RPM. That's a bit fast, and roughing would be a real bear. It seems that the motor is probably 3/4 HP.

If it were me...I would immediately retrofit it with a different motor and pulley system to try and get that speed down...