Hi Richard & welcome.

You will as asked above need to more specific. Lathes are anything from a few inches long to the size of a house.

The basic idea would be , what sort of length would you need, what sort of diameter would you need & so on.

Often the size of lathe would be gauged on the room have for it. Take a look at some of the site sponsors on this page. Lots to choose from & they will tell you the specs of the machine including the power.

Another is your budget as some can be very expensive, especially as once bought you will need some tooling etc , which is never cheap.

Steve.

Edited By Steviegtr on 01/10/2020 17:17:04

Welcome Richard.

Size matters, basically bigger is better unless you do clockmaking or small model work.

Sparey's classic 'The Amateur's Lathe' is an excellent overview; the machine he uses is Myford 7 size. These days you might prefer something bigger, either second-hand or new Far Eastern.  The book doesn't cover modern developments, you might try 'The Mini-lathe' for that.  I expect others will chip in with their favourites.

Much debate about second-hand vs new hobby machines. The latter are available off the shelf with a warranty in a range of sizes and prices, and a nice man will deliver it to your door. Bad news, they are hobby machines, not as well made as similar western machines, but then they are considerably cheaper. My workshop is entirely Far Eastern and it all does what I want. Second-hand is second-hand; you have to be careful. Personally, I think Myford's are overpriced, especially as industry and education have spent the last 20 years dumping much more expensive equipment on the market. They're dumped for a good reason – most of the professional world has moved to CNC big time, making lots of expensive machines available long before they've worn out. Boxford, Harrison, Colchester and other famous names. See lathes.co.uk

But it can't be assumed that a high-end lathe bought second-hand today is in good condition – might be scrap.  Also, may have power supply problems and spares are full-price, as in a set of new bearings costing more than the whole machine!

Money is usually a limitation, but how much space do you have, how easy is it to get to, and how strong is the floor? A 250kg lathe that fits nicely on the concrete floor of a single-garage, is more practical than the same machine up a flight of stairs in a back bedroom. They're also too noisy and dirty for most domestic situations. (Divorced men have more freedom!)

A mini-lathe can be lifted by a strong individual on his own, though not a job for the unfit or anyone with a bad back. It's an easy two person lift, can be plonked on an ordinary table and isn't anti-socially noisy. I bought an engine crane to move my machines, both under 300kg, but heavy machines can be moved with a few intelligent blokes using rollers etc.

I learned a lot from my mini-lathe, but it's a bit small for my sort of experimental work, as are the Myford 7s. Roughly, a mini-lathe is OK for general small modelling, but the bigger machines are more satisfactory all round, including features and rigidity. A Myford allows small steam locomotives and most mid-range work to be tackled, but is on the small size for motorbikes and bigger steam locos. My machine (a WM280) is in the zone for motorbikes, but really a tich for man-sized jobs. I can't thread the end of scaffold poles or refinish railway axles! The size of 'swing' and length of work that can be mounted limit what the lathe can hold. Confusingly Swing in the US is diameter, whereas in the UK it's radius. Both tend to be optimistic about what can actually be turned.

Metric or Imperial, size of spindle bore, and features like power traverse might be important.

Lots of targetted advice if you can be specific about what the lathe is for. For general learning, I found the mini-lathe invaluable. One of the lessons learned (after a few years) was what was wrong with it. My next lathe purchase was much better informed! No regrets.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 01/10/2020 18:32:48