Looking at trading out my lathe for another. Like to have some opinions from guys I trust, like on this forum.

I have an Atlas/Craftsman 12 inch. 1952 think it is.  When I bought it several advantages.  One owner since new then sent to a used machine shop I had bought from before and trusted Lots of tooling. No rust, no issues, and the Spindle and M/Tapers are the same as my Powermatic 90 wood lathe.  1 1/2 x 8 & # 2. 

Switched the Lantern post for a Aloris Chinese Clone QC, picked up a milling attachment and Steady Rest off EBay.  Plenty of chucks etc.   

On the negative side the cross feed and tail stock need frequent adjustment, and the pot metal parts are not very study. Dials not easy to read. Most of the time I adjust by feel or with a dial indicator instead of the machines dials. Lot of aftermarket and original parts available.  It’s big enough and even a bit bigger than I need.  ¾ inch spindle hole is OK with me. Lot of people have them and plenty of support on line, some have been very valuable.  Don't realy need another but looking anyway. It was not expensive don’t need to get a lot out of it which ought to make it a fairly fast sell.

Looking at South Bend 9 inch workshop lathes.  Several models, seems the Model A, power cross feed and QC gears is the one to have although I rarely use the power feed on my Atlas. Lot of South Bend support on line, good users group. Size suits my shop, space is at a premium.   One problem is hard to evaluate a lathe long distance, my Atlas spent several hours going over  in person it before committing, going home for my trailer then back to pick it up.   South Bends within a days drive I could look at several

What do you think about the South Bends and is there anything else in that class I ought to look at ? I think Hardinge made some small lathes in the same class as the South Bend 9 inch too.  Others ?

All advice apprecieated

Boats

For what it is worth...

I am partial to South Bend.  For me a 10" would be ideal for two reasons.   The added weight makes for a smoother running machine and the belt drive is both quiet and works as a safety feature.  If I overload the cutter the belt slips and I avoid damaging gears and such.  10" is ideal but I picked up a 14 1/2" and really don't mind the extra size.   Get the Dials that are direct reading as they are larger and easier to work.  Enjoy!

Good points all. Frank getting better bearings is one reason for moving on from the little Atlas, although they have never given any trouble.

My Band Saw, Crescent heavy 20, has Babbitt bearings that were replaced as part of a general overhaul 10 years ago. They run fine, band saws are not lathes though

May take me a while to find just right, picky about condition.   

Boats

Boats I have a 1985 Model DF12X37G Grizzly and it has done all I have asked of it and allot more. I bought it from the original owner and I do all of my barrel and mould making work with it. I have bored out several  basebands for myself and others and I can hold them to half a thousandths. About the only thing I don't care about is the off one switch is not per-say on the apron. But I use the lever to change the belts / speeds as a clutch or to stop the spindle of which I have gotten use to. I do most of my barrel work through the headstock so I would look for a large spindle hole. I myself would also look for one that has a milling attachment. Not having a Mill I use mine allot from cutting extractor slots and extractors to D&Ting for scope blocks and cutting bullet moulds as well as making the blanks and it has served me very well. It in know replaces a mill but it can do real accurate and limited use as mentioned. If I were to get another one I would probably get one of their Gunsmithing Lathes having read several reviews and the one, one up from the bottom one cannot beat all of the extra features for the price and the parts availabilty for a home shop lathe. Most SB's need some work if you can find a nice one and the ways are usualy worn out at the chuck amoung other things but a Heavy 10 can be quite nice if rebuilt or as new but I would much rather have a nice used Clausing tool room lathe if money were not an issue and it came with all of the accessories. The one I have now only cost me $940.00 delivered and setup with all the whistles and bells and only minus the taper attachment and collet closer and in real good shape and in all honesty I don't really need anything more for what I do even though I keep trying to talk myself into thinking otherwise.

JLouis

well.....
have a 13" clausing 5900 now and its my daily lathe, have had sheldon and logan. all good but man when you need a part (s) its pricy.
the clausing vari speed hydraulic control is a bugger to rebuild but love turning a knob for speed changes.  just pick out one that is the most complete, least abused and the least wear. may need a phase converter too. steady rest, collet closer, taper attachment, dog driver plate, follower rest, milling attachment?.....all nice to have. milling on a lathe works but is really a limited deal.

Bought a Causing 5900 13" brand new in 1970 with attachments, I used it for all my rifle barrel fitting and chambering work, used it every day without ever having any problems. If you can find one in excellent condition you can't go wrong. When I moved my shop I added a LaBlond tool room lathe, but I much preferred the variable speed control of the Clausing.
7~

Way it will probably go is buy the one that's in the best condition with the most tooling that's near enough to go have a look before commiting.

Good information like this gives me a working list to refer too

Again thanks to all

Boats

I have a South Bend 9" A model with the 4 1/2 ft bed with the full set of metric gears and a milling attachment. I also have an 11" Logan with a long bed. The South Bend is my go to lathe for most small jobs because it is so convenient and easy to use. I also have a milling machine but my milling attachment gets used occasionally.

I use the Logan for chambering and crowning barrels because of the large spindle hole. I hate threading on the Logan compared to the SB. I turn tapers on barrels with the SB between centers with the tailstock offset. Sometimes it's time consuming with the limited horsepower but it does a good job.

I was recently offered a South Bend heavy 10 that is probably one of the best condition SB 10's in the country but I turned it down, not because I didn't want it. It's just that at my age I did not want to be moving machinery in and out of my basement. What I've got does what I need to do and I don't need to make any changes.

9" SB'S are nice if in good condition but are limited in power. The SB 10K is a modern version of the old 9" lathe and would be a good choice also but they have the small spindle hole. A heavy 10 would be a much better choice for gun work but finding a good one is not easy. Many are heavily used and worn. A new Grizzly gunsmith lathe would be a good choice if you can't find a good used lathe.