Lathe for die work? [Archive]

Casting Timmy

11-16-2011, 07:38 PM

I'd watch Craig's list in your area, the mill you show on ebay will work. I talked to a guy that has one and they aren't as forgiving when cutting threads as the gears are plastic and you can strip them. Teh good news for those little machines is they are still making parts and you can get a lot of accesories for them.

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_category.php?category=1

I can't remember if this is the right website, but they even sell a milling adaptor for those litle machines.

I'd probably buy a used machine like the one off ebay and then you can decide if you want a bigger lathe. Honestly you can always keep the small lathe around for doing some small parts.

Craig's list in my area will have one pop up every couple of months for 300 or 350.

alfloyd

11-16-2011, 09:01 PM

I use one like the ebay one, only mine is the 7x14 inch model.
I have made swaging and sizing dies on it and it is ok.
You just need to take it slow and small cuts to not overload the motor.
There is a web site that has lots of hints and mods for that lathe.
And Little Machine Shop sells parts and upgrades for it.
It has worked ok for me to learn on, but now I want a bigger one. :)

Lafaun

bob208

11-16-2011, 09:33 PM

a 9" s-b can be taken apart and moved easy.

i started with a 12" atlas it was in and out of 3 cellers with out a problem.

deltaenterprizes

11-16-2011, 09:37 PM

Save your money and buy a real lathe with a quick change gear box and gears made of steel. Spend your money once on a good machine and you will always be happy, spend it on junk and you will never be happy.

martin

11-16-2011, 10:23 PM

Stealthshooter,

I too use a South Bend 9 by 48 lathe. I agree with deltaenterprizes that a quick change gear box is the way to go. My lathe is in the basement and it was taken apart in 3 pieces. It took 3 of us to get the bed downstairs but it stays dry and warm.

In our area (Northern Illinois) there are a lot of used machines that have come on the market due to machine shops in the area either closing up or upgrading. Your best bet is to get a connection with someone in your area that has the inside track on the used machine market.

Note also that the lathe is just the beginning as you will likely spend as much on tooling as you did for the lathe unless it comes with the lathe. Then there is always the want list which will include measuring tools like micrometers and indicators.

This is my two cents.

Martin

BT Sniper

11-16-2011, 11:29 PM

YEP! Lathes! Listen to Delta!

I too got a well used 12" atlas for a starter lathe. I have learned a great deal on it. Quick change gear box is a MUST if you plan on cutting threades though.

I just picked up the quick change tool post for it. BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE! The AXA 100 import version. Highly recamended vs. the silly lantern tool post holder on the atlas.

Anyway you can go crazy searching the net for what might be the "best" or what one's "favorite" is. I am still looking. Buying used is tricky IMOP. Buying new is a gamble too. Best to have someone with you who "knows" what they are looking at if you by used.

You want to buy a good lathe and only spend/cry once but....... what lathe would that be? Beleive me I have looked and searched, considered used for $5K or new for $15K to new imports for $2-$3K.

I made a list the other day of all the "recamended" lathes I found someone make an opinion on. By the time I was done the list covered the page. So many clones or same machine sold under differenet names. Do your researce and good luck.

I have not used the mini lathe but I walked pass one at Harbor Freight. I have see guys make decent stuff on these lathes but to me, after using larger 12" lathe the little thing just looked like a toy.

It is a heck of a lot of fun making tools with a lathe. Tryign to decide what lathe would best suit your needs......... well that is the question now isn't it :)

things to consider

cost
weight
size
power source
quick change gears (quick change tool post is an easy add on latter for about $100)

My 12" atlas fits well in the garage, runs of 110, weights probalby around 200# ??, I can move it by myself carfully if need be, and can be found used for decent price, works for me but it was given to me for a tryle run then I purchased latter from the guy. I didn't know brand A from X at teh time it was given to me.

BT

ksJoe

11-16-2011, 11:57 PM

I'm no expert, but I'm also looking for a lathe. I've spent quite a bit of time reading, and this what I've found.

You'll find a lot of debate about "Old American Iron" vs. new import lathes. There are a lot of people who categorically dismiss all the imports. Many have never used one, some have.

There are good deals on "old American iron" for a person who knows a great deal about them. If you don't know what you're doing, you could easily get one that looks fine to an amateur but is worn out. If the ways are worn, the carriage will dip slightly as it approaches the chuck, and cut a taper.

I've run across several posts by machinists who say they have an old American lathe in their garage, and an import. They do more accurate work on the import (assuming it is a decent one).

From what I've read, nearly all the import lathes come from the same factory in China. They differ in features, accessories, price, warranty/support, and probably tolerances. The smallest import lathes have the worst reputation.

From what I've seen, Grizzly has a good reputation for product support and price/features.

If this Grizzly goes on sale for black Friday, I'll order it (http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-22-Bench-Top-Metal-Lathe/G0602). If not, I'll still probably order it within a few days. I've been looking for a month on craigslist, and haven't found any bargains. From what I've read, this one is a lot of lathe for the money, and its hard to beat without spending a lot more.

If you want to search craigslist, use searchtempest.com. It will search all craigslist posts for all cities within a distance of you.

cheese1566

11-17-2011, 12:30 AM

I searched and searched last year for a lathe. No used market in my area.
I went to oder a little 7x12" mini from Grizzly, but they were 3 months back ordered. I ended up spending a little on the 10x22" he links above.
I am glad I did! Love it for my tinkering, but I dont have a professional machine shop. Just want to learn and explore.

Plenty of power and size. Only thing I wish it did was run the lead screw in reverse when changing the spindle direction.

uscra112

11-17-2011, 12:32 AM

You'll find a lot of debate about "Old American Iron" vs. new import lathes. There are a lot of people who categorically dismiss all the imports. Many have never used one, some have.

I'll categorically dismiss cheap Asian lathes because I once worked for a company that imported them. They are 90% scrap in a new box. Bearings are the cheapest grade, castings never stress relieved, plastic gears, leadscrews not hardened, fasteners of metal that's barely even steel, bushings of brass, not bronze, and on and on and on. The Taiwanese were as bad as the mainland stuff. One country that DID sell us some good product was Daewoo, in Korea. Daewoo also made a lot of the machines sold here by Japanese companies, and may still for all I know.

The one really good bench lathe in recent years was the Austrian Emco-Meier. They don't make it anymore. Couldn't compete with the Chinese scrap, I suspose. If you find one used - buy it immediately.

IMHO you cannot buy a new bench lathe with any life in it for under $2000. And for much less than that you can get a VERY good used American machine that will outlast you. FACT: I just saw a very nice 12" x 60" Logan toolroom lathe (floor standing type) with taper attachment go at auction for $650. A nice Emco-Meier 10" bench type went at $750 at the same auction, but it had the leadscrew removed for some reason. I had to grit my teeth to avoid buying them both. I already have two lathes, and no room to even set up the second one.

BT Sniper

11-17-2011, 06:05 AM

Friend of mine has the Austrian Emco. Spoiled me.

stealthshooter

11-17-2011, 07:08 AM

Dang now my head is really spinning! What do I look for when inspecting a used machine?

Trifocals

11-17-2011, 08:26 AM

My advice is to befriend a good machinist or tool & die maker. They will be able to check a lathe and tell you if it is in need of parts or repairs. Buying them lunch and a few beers is worth it for the head knowledge you will get in return. I did a lot of small work on a 6" Atlas/Craftsman lathe years ago. I now am using a 7" X 14" Chinese import. I have nearly every accessory that is made for them. I am satisfied with mine. One must remember that most American made lathes are old and have seen a hard life. Occasionally you will find a really good one that is owned by a home shop machinist. South Bend, Logan, Delta, Clausing, are all good machines. The small Chinese lathes are sold under many names and are painted different colors. They are basically all as similar as peas in a pod. There is/was an outfit in Louisiana called "Lathemaster" that sells/sold a heavier version of the small Chinese lathes. They appeared pretty impressive. You probably wouldn't go wrong purchasing a Grizzly lathe. It has been reported they stand behind what they sell. Do a Google computer search for "Mini Lathe". You will be able to find a plethora of information on the small Chinese lathes. LOL

BT Sniper

11-17-2011, 08:48 AM

My head is still spinning too :) and I've had the Atlas for a couple years now.

EMC45

11-17-2011, 09:59 AM

I am looking at a Jet used online right now. Looks decent.

danr

11-18-2011, 08:39 PM

i all i have to say is, STAY AWAY FROM FREIGHT HARBOR HOBBY LATHES!! they are complete junk.

i used a 6inch atlas, works great and was damn cheap for $400 from craigslist.

just remember, whatever you get, make sure you can still get parts for it, or you'll be looking to adapt parts for it, or even making them by hand.

quick change tool post is a MUST. and try and stay away from the 3 jaw chucks.. they are pretty much junk, i've had several and have never had one that would center worth a beans.

thanks,
Dan

OneShotNeeded

11-19-2011, 08:36 PM

I purchased a mini lathe about 1 yar ago and it has been awesome. I have pics of it posted in my album. I've made a 22 de-rim die and am working on a core swage and point form die curently. Time is my biggest challenge. I would recomend starting small. I have a lrge garage and a ton of space for larger but it's nice to ba abl to sit next to my fridge and spin metal. Whatever you decide have fun.

ksJoe

11-19-2011, 09:47 PM

but it's nice to ba abl to sit next to my fridge and spin metal.

Is the fridge in the kitchen or the garage?

I'm trying to decide whether to put in the garage, or the storage room of the basement. Just wondering how much of a mess you make, and if it smokes much cutting hard metal?

OneShotNeeded

11-19-2011, 10:18 PM

To be honest I have it in my "Reloading shed". I'm fortunate enough to have built an 8x12 shed to have all my reloading stuff in. I really haven't had a problem with it smoking at all. When I cut hard metal I use a little cutting oil <---Marvel Mystery oil.... seems to work just fine. I have a small fridge next to it, along with a radio, TV, and extra stuff that may be needed. Thiking about it now.. I actually need to clean it up and organize it a bit...Ugh...work..

warf73

11-20-2011, 01:01 AM

ksJoe

11-20-2011, 10:43 AM

warf73 -
If you compare that lathemaster to the grizzly I linked to before, the lathemaster is a few hundred more delivered (+1 griz), the lathemaster has a lower minimum spindle speed (+1 lathemaster), and the grizzly has a 1" spindle bore instead of 3/4" (+1 griz - think gun barrels through the spindle). The grizzly is also a little bigger and heavier (a +1 if you're not cramped).

There is a yahoo group deadicated to that grizzly, and they post how-to's for several mods. For stuff like speed reduction, reversing, etc.

the lathemaster may be better for you because of the lower speed. But for me, I keep coming back to the grizzly.

Just something else to look at.

warf73

11-21-2011, 03:34 AM

Thanks ksjoe

I've looked at the grizzly and do like it but the lathemaster has options that I like. The biggest down fall to the lathemaster is the 3/4" spindle bore. I thought the griz had same size spindle bore also, I'll have to take a second look. If I could find a lathe with all the options the lathemaster and the griz price and the 1" spindle I would be set.

Buckshot

11-22-2011, 03:08 AM

..............You know yourself. You know how likely you are to want to grow and explore. You also know how interested you are in mechanical things. I do believe that to become a truly accomplished machinist it (your desire/interest) almost has to be something on the genetic level. Someone without that inborn desire may become a very competant machinist, but is also someone who may eventually become to hate it if doing it for a livelihood.

If what you want to do is to make some simple things for yourself and your shooting hobby, then one of the smaller change gear machines will suffice. Simply checking on the web search 7", 9" and 10" lathe. Imports in those sizes run $400, $900 & maybe $1100. South Bend and Logan to name 2 of the most common made thousands of 9 & 10" machines.

I personally no longer have a burning dislike for import machines, so long as they're from a reputable company that stocks spare parts, and stands behind them as in offering warranties at no extra cost. None of the Asian lathe builders are idiots. They won't intentionally produce trash, but they WILL if someone is willing to PAY for trash. They'll make what a customer wants and is willing to pay for.

Knowing what I know now, there are a few things I'd HAVE to HAVE on a new lathe. I currently have a pretty nice Logan (Powermatic) 11"x36" variable speed lathe that was made in 1981. I bought it from a friend, and how he aquired it is a long story, but he already had a 50's vintage Logan all set up he used, and he finally decided he'd sell the one I got. I paid him $1500 for it. It has a L00 spindle nose, QC box, 5C collet setup, and a 1-3/8" hole through the spindle, and it's on the factory cabinet. The lathe also came with 3 chucks. A Buck 6 jaw Adjust-tru, Buck 2 jaw Adjust-tru, and a Rohm (German) 3 jaw. It also has a 8" reach 6 tool bed mounted turret. I'd say I got a pretty fair shake.

So what I'd have to have would be the 1-3/8" (at least) spindle hole, 5C collet setup, QC box, and a digital read out, which I don't currently have. Now I'm not bad mouthing those that don't have that stuff due to their size. I'm seriously thinking of getting one of the small 7" machines so I don't have to break down a setup on the Logan to do things like Lyman "M" expanders, nose punches and die ejector pins and such things. The only reason I don't have one already is I don't have anyplace to PUT it :-)

.................Buckshot

44-henry

12-23-2011, 11:55 PM

I have a nice vintage 10" Rockwell lathe in my basement workshop in addtion to a 7x12 Asian mini lathe and a 4" Sherline. Even though my Rockwell lathe is really nice, I actually prefer doing smaller jobs on a mini lathe. I personally feel that the Asian mini lathes are decent machines and quite capable of precision machining if tuned up and used correctly. I wrote my dissertation on the use of bench top machine tools in educational settings and have equipped my university lab with a variety of small metal lathes. We also have larger industrial lathes in the same lab, but I generally use the bench top lathes for introductory classes and students do very nice work with them.

There are always those who will claim that the mini lathes are junk, but most of these people have never run one, or if they have, are trying to do jobs that they were never intended to handle. They will make snyde remarks about plastic gears and such, without thinking too much about it. It would never occur to them that those plastic gears are strong enough to work fine and help reduce the price of the machine to a point that is affordable to masses. They also fail to realize that the plastic gears act as shear pins to protect the more costly and harder to replace headstock gears in the event of operator error. At a couple bucks a piece one can afford to have extra gears on hand in the eventt of failure. In the last five years I have only had one gear fail and that is with several hundred hours of student use (abuse). Personally I feel the plastic gears work just fine.

ksJoe

12-24-2011, 12:03 AM

I had forgotten about this thread...

I finally ordered the grizzly yesterday morning. I got the shipping tracking number a few minutes ago.

Char-Gar

12-24-2011, 12:13 AM

Here is my little jewel. A 1947 Logan bought off Ebay. For a handloader it is all that is ever needed.

bpratl

12-24-2011, 09:13 AM

I purchased this 1927 model South Bend 9" x 36" lathe in 1961 and still use it at least once a week or more.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t191/BobPratl/FEB029.jpg

GerryM

12-24-2011, 11:41 AM

Put that lathe some place where there is HEAT and cooling for the summer.
When you start working on a prodject you will lose all sense of time. Before you know it it's evening. It gets pretty uncomfortable working in an unheated or un cooled garage.
BT there nothing wrong with an Atlas Lathe. Some of that Chinese stuff is pretty good but most of it is junk.
You have to pay a pretty good dollar for a decent China Lathe . You can buy a decent
American lathe for the same price. Check the used Equipment auctions
Some times you can get a really Great deal complete with tooling for an affordable price.

7of7

12-24-2011, 01:38 PM

I've been looking for an older lathe (just love the older stuff) but am leaning to a http://www.lathemaster.com/LATHEMASTER9x30Lathe.htm depends what happens in the next 2 months if I get a lathe or not. The only reason I'm looking at the lathe above instead of used is price.

I have one of these.. I like it. I bought it second hand, from the previous owners estate. I did have to replace the motor, for some reason, it started blowing the capacitors. I'd replace them, and they would blow again..
The new motor, I cannot get to run reversed.. but then, I don't see the reason to run a lathe in reverse.. They only cut rotating clockwise anyway..

He had it set up with a quick change toolhead already.

Red River Rick

12-24-2011, 01:52 PM

..............The new motor, I cannot get to run reversed.. but then, I don't see the reason to run a lathe in reverse.. They only cut rotating clockwise anyway..

That statement come from someone who is TOTALLY inexperienced with operating a lathe!

RRR

Reload3006

12-24-2011, 09:03 PM

the best reason I can think of running a lathe in reverse is to thread to a shoulder. Turn your threading tool upside down and run in reverse you will cut the right thread and will be threading off the workpiece. All you have to do is stick a half nut once and you will see the value in running in reverse.

7of7

12-28-2011, 11:44 PM

That statement come from someone who is TOTALLY inexperienced with operating a lathe!

RRR

RRR,
I don't recall saying I was totally experienced with operating a lathe..
Please enlighten us on why one would need to run the headstock reversed..

Thanks Reload, I appreciate the information. I will be looking into why I cannot get that motor to run reversed.
The old Atlas that I had, did have a forward and reverse for the leadscrew, but the headstock didn't reverse..

odfairfaxsub

12-28-2011, 11:49 PM

hey 7 of 7, if your lathe is 3 phase (maybe or not im not sure) reverse one of the phase legs (not the high leg though) and it will run backwards. on single phase jobs reversing a hot leg i have never seen that work ever to reverse a motor but sometimes the motor may tell you how to wire it on the blocks to get diff functions (208 power, ect)

colonelsanders

01-01-2012, 01:26 AM

I have a few things to say on this matter.

1) I personally own 3 lathes.
A 10" Rockwell 36" between centers. (currently with me)
A 12" Harison 40" Between centers (at the farm for my dad to use)
A 30" Lodge and Shipley 10' between centers (at the farm for my dad to use)

All are worn out to varying degrees but will do whats needed.

Due the farm being in the frozen north, my brothers and I pitched in and got my Dad a 10X22" Grizzley lathe so he could tinker in the heated house instead of the frozen barn.

He has used the import lathe alot and has used the harrison lathe alot.

His opinion is this.

The Grizzley lathe is cheap, but good value for money. For most hobby purposes it will last a life time and stay fairly true. It cuts well, is stiff enough for most tasks and runs quite true. (less than 0.001" runout). This is not something that you could use for production nor should you expect 0.0001" accuracy from it. He also managed to break the strange 4 jaw chuck that came with the lathe (more like a woodworking chuck).

The Harrison lathe although badly worn is his preference for most jobs that don't require accuracy do to the stiffness of tooling. However if he needs a straight cut to within less than 0.003" the grizzley lathe is what he will use.

I purchased my 10" Rockwell for $150 on Craigslist. It doesn't cut for **** right now due to the significant wear present. I will be sending to machinery rebuilder later this year to have the bed reground and scraped and the saddle cut for turcite. This will cost me $1,500 and I am glad to pay it to have a quality American machine that cuts straight.

If you want to get hobbying and learning NOW, then I recommend buying a Grizzley lathe, and the 10X22 is the best bang for the buck (my Dad chambers barrels in it, among other things).

If you have the time and money to spend on machine tool restoration then buy a solid used lathe with the features you want and rebuild it. Remember this may mean years of stinkeye from the wife each time you beg for more money!

This website has a wide range of lathe description for hobby size lathes.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html

Also, just in case we are in the presence of someone with money. You can still buy a brand new south bend made in china from the old casting forms.

http://www.southbendlathe.com/lathes/10K-Lathe.aspx

or a monarch EE toolromm lathe made here in the US

http://www.monarchlathe.com/products/lathes/toolroom/monarch-ee-series

One final closing thought. The grizzley lathe comes with a whole bunch of tooling such as two chucks, a toolpost, centers, a faceplate, a steady rest and a follow rest. All the used lathes I have ever purchased come with no tooling and in only one case did I get the steady rest and follow rest.

Just my two cents worth.

PatMarlin

01-01-2012, 02:31 AM

Tell ya one heck of a die lathe is the Hardinge Chucker. My 1950's manual machine will turn a mirror finish when you least think it might and is incredibly accurate for even an old worn machine. Dies are short, so you can work with wear. The power feed and large X slide wheel lets you make several 10ths of 1000 adjustments easily. I just love the lathe and paid $500 for it. My CNC's are both Hardinge, and basically the same lathe.

My first lathe- a Logan 11x28 is not perfect, bout 1951 and does very nice work. I use it daily. You just make adjustments for their shortcomings and can make old iron work well. Found all of my machines on Craigs list.

Some day I would like to own a brand spankin' new manual machine, but don't need one.

hutchman

03-11-2012, 12:10 AM

Hi,

Sorry for bringing up an old thread again but I need lathe advice too. I'm really tempted to get a 7x12" just because of funds. I think it would do 80-90% of that I would want to do ... custom dies, sizers, thread pistol barrels ... but not rifle work. So I started looking into lathes that can do rifle work and I found out they get expensive quick if you want something that can maybe do bench rest quality work.

I've been looking for an old American iron lathe and I recently found either a 1918 or 9" Junior South Bend from around 1930. I think it is a 36" bed. A guy has had it for 40 years after his company upgraded to newer/bigger lathes. He didn't do much with it as he wasn't a machinist, he was the supervisor.

How do I check this thing out? I've read about bronze bearings etc. so I don't know if the drive bearings can be replaced or not. It is currently rigged up to some giant motor that sits way above the lathe with belts and looks like it has some kind of gear reduction system built into it (looks like a transmission really).

I'm an embedded software engineer so using a treadmill motor and making my own PWM motor speed controller isn't a big deal. I just don't know if this thing is worth fooling with. I can get the lathe and a bunch of extras for a few hundred more than a 7x12 would cost me.

Is there a way to check the ways to see how bad they are? It looks like they have a little rust on them. Don't know if that is a show stopper or not. When the guy first sent me a picture of the thing I was like "Wow" and kind of dismissed it as it looked like Frankenstein. But then I got to reading about all you guys with old American iron lathes and I thought that I should at least look into it more. If the ways are OK and the drive & bearings can be replaced or rebuilt ... putting a motor and speed controller on it is the least of my worries.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Brian

Bent Ramrod

03-11-2012, 03:10 PM

If you are going into this cold, I don't know if you can check out everything that an experienced hand would just do automatically.

However, you can do a few things.

Try to wiggle the chuck up and down, and from side to side. If there is motion, the bearings are either loose or worn or both. If the lathe is from 1919, the bearings are probably cast babbitt, so you may have to take a course in lost technology and learn to cast and scrape your own, or find somebody who can do it for you. If it is from the 1930's, it may have Timken thrust bearings which you can replace, if you know how.

Check the apron and the cross slide in a similar way, by trying to move them back and forth by shoving and shaking rather than by the handles. Here you have less worries as some leeway can be taken up by tightening up the gibs, which have screws and lock nuts along the sides of the apron and slide. If anything shakes severely, and the screws are already in as far as they'll go, you may need new gibs and/or new nuts. Checking the nuts for cross slide, feeding and threading will require either taking some of the machine apart or expert eyes and a flashlight or both. I bought a shaper that worked pretty good for a few jobs and then the crossfeed nut, which had been hanging on by a few slivers of bronze, conked out and I had to make a new one.

Finally, check the ways by eye and with a straightedge. Most of the wear will be next to the chuck, as that is where most of the work is done. A serious dip in the metal or a lot of scratching, means that you will either have to do a lot of extra sneaking up on dimensions, or have the bed ways reground and perhaps rescraped.

I think a lot of the advice on "what lathe is best for me, the beginner?" is skewed by too much expertise and familiarity by the advisors. Most of the advised requirements for quick change attachments, heaviness/rigidity, etc., are made by people who need those capabilities to save time. A newbie can't take advantage of speeded up gear changes and tool changes, and doesn't need tenth-of-an-inch cut to .0001" capability. He's going to make a lot of mistakes learning the trade, and all that stuff will just enable him to make the mistakes quickly and irreparably. Get what you can afford, learn to work it and pay your dues. Go to a community college, take a machine shop course, and practice on their stuff if possible; the dues will be well worth it as you'll have a better idea on what to look for when you buy your own machinery.

Char-Gar

03-11-2012, 05:02 PM

About 12 years ago, I bought a 1947 vintage 9 X 18 Logan lathe off Ebay. It had all original paint and looked very good. I contacted the seller and he said it came out of the basement of an old fellow on Long Island. I had not been used in many, many years.

It came with multiple chucks, tail stock chuck, milling attatchment and many, many other smaller tooling items. I swallowed hard and bought it. It was $850, shipped to me UPS, broken down in three boxes. I just took a chance.

I had never put a lathe together, but my son and I did it in a couple of hours. We cleaned off the years of grime as we went and found a very good lathe with bright ways and very little visable wear. Once it was powered up, I put in 14 inches of old Krag barrel between centers and turned it on. The first cut showed a .004 taper from front to rear. I mess with the tail stock a little and took another cut. This time it was +- .0005 for the entire length. I figured that was a good as I needed or the machine would do.

I will admit that it was just luck that I got such a good machine. I could have gotton bit real bad, but I did not. I figured I could part the lathe out on Ebay and get most of my money back, if things went south. It has served me well for the small jobs around my reloading room and shop. It is all I need or want.

Pic is above in post #28.