Old-time machinists will tell you it's the man, not the machine. It's possible to get very good results with that (with a little tweaking and good tools). Where's the pics of it in your shop?
When I was in school we drove from Kansas to Pike's Peak just to watch the sunrise and burn some gas.
SkinnyG
HalfDork
9/13/11 10:00 a.m.
Once you get used to the machine and it doesn't suit anymore, just clean it up and you could probably sell it for what you paid. Then buy something bigger/better/faster/more. In the mean time: you have a lathe!
I have driven far further for less. Picked up a 1946 air compressor in Buffalo NY a few years ago for $50, gas was considerably more.
I've made chocolate covered bacon, and I've driven 8 hours round trip because I could. To be young and dumb, I guess. Then again, I didn't know how to make chocolate colored bacon back then, either.
Isn't the lathe the only machine that can replicate itself with higher accuracy? One you have one you can just build a new one!
So, that machine did not pan out.
Over the weekend I went to see a G9972Z 11x26 that was only 30 miles away and came home with it, a steel table, a bunch of boring bars, a live center, drill chuck, as well as a cast iron band saw, a big-assed 2HP bench grinder and 40' of 1.5" x .095 square tubing for about the same money. Bonus me.
That is the good - the bad is that the lathe is missing the chip tray, backsplash, steady rest and is covered in sticky oil and aluminum chips. It has a few dings in the ways right under the chuck but the trolley can't go that far without hitting into the chuck so I don't think they will effect anything. The rest of the travel is nick-free. It has a cracked cast on the cross-slide screw housing and the drive belt and plastic gear need to be replaced.
It runs smoothly but until I tear it down and clean all the chips out I don't want to do much more with it since the reason the plastic gears and belts need to be replaced is the thing was run with the cover open and chips chewed them up.
Parts are available and reasonable from Grizzly
but take a few weeks t come in. That isn't really an issue because it will probably take that long for me to clean it properly.
I used the horizontal bandsaw all day cutting 1.75x.095 yesterday while caging in a buddy's car. That thing is all win.