Help me decide - Lathe Choices

[Animus Cycle Fab]

Happy Friday everyone.

I'm in a bit of a trilemma and I'm hoping for some advice.
There are three lathes currently for sale reasonably close to me that I'm considering buying, but I'm having a hard time deciding.

Option A - Le BLOND Rapid Production Lathe 16x24 - Very clean and nice $1500
pro - Closest to me, very rigid, easy to adapt tube holding, small footprint, Nice Cushman 3+4 jaw chucks and some tooling, 1500 rpm max, 72" OAL
con - No threading, no compound, pneumatic ram tailstock for centers (not drilling/reaming), 250 rpm min

Option B - Le BLOND Heavy Duty 18x21 - good condition $800
Pro - Very rigid, easy tube holding, standard tailstock
con - No threading, no compound, further away, heavier than Option A
comes with 3 jaw chuck and minimal tooling. not sure on condition, not sure on spindle speed range, not sure OAL

Option C - Clausing 15x48 - good condition $3250
pro - 2" spindle, compound, threading, 37-1500 rpm, lightest of the 3
con - furthest away, 92" OAL, not as rigid nor easy to mount tube clamp for miter
Comes with a 3 jaw chuck and some tooling

I really like the way size and spacing on both of the Le Blond lathes. Obviously made for heavy work, so to me, seems perfect for coping tubes.
Mostly FB use, but not entirely. I feel like I can live without a compound and threading. (I can't do anything at home now, and if need be, I can thread on the south bend at work)
Is 250rpm too high for mitering with flood cooling?
I'll be running whichever with a VFD to achieve 3 phase, so I can slow the motor down.
Will I affect the torque enough to have issues w/ harder tubing?

I'm leaning towards the Le Blond Rapid Production due to proximity and condition.
Next would be the Le Blond HD, with the Clausing in third due to cost and size.

Thanks in advance

[Dazza]

38mm min spindle bore is my thing
a lathe will be a lot more useful to you then just mitering tubes, such as making many parts and fixtures etc. The list is endless
A lathe is a beautiful thing

[Mark Kelly]

Re the VFD vs torque thing:

An induction motor develops torque by "slipping": the rotational speed of the rotor is lower than that of the stator field, the relative motion induces current in the rotor windings, the current produces the rotor field.

As long as the VFD allows the full current to flow (they generally have a software current limit) the max torque will be the same. The max power will be reduced (power is torque x speed) and the percentage speed loss to achieve max torque will be increased because the torque is proportional to the absolute value of the speed difference.

[afwalker]

+1 on lathe threading, especially metric and imperial.
I'd rather have a precision lathe that does metric and imperial threading than a larger non-threading lathe.
+1 on a 4 jaw chuck, you will rapidly get the hang of it and it does so much more than a 3 jaw, nice to have both of course.
Try for at least a 1 1/2" spindle bore and most fork steerer tubes will fit and you can clean up the fork crowns easily.
add dro later for fun:)

[EricKeller]

I have never fixed the gearbox on my lathe, so no threading for me. And if I did fix it, it only does SAE threads anyway. But no tailstock would be a real problem for me, is there a way to fix that? I agree with Dazza, I like to be able to pass tubes through the headstock. My lathe is only a 13", but it will pass a 1.5" round through the headstock.

[Animus Cycle Fab]

All three have a spindle bore of at least 1.5" (1.5", 2", 2.13")
I'm 99% convinced I can live without a compound, assuming I can thread elsewhere. (Work, buddies shop, etc)
The tailstock issue is giving me second thoughts though.
I won't entirely be unable to drill/ream if I add a toolpost drill chuck/collet body (PITA, but an option nonetheless. I love complex, finicky, single use set-ups!
I'm also checking around if I can acquire an manual tailstock or modify the pneumatic one to retrofit the production lathe.

Thanks for your thoughts

[bencooper]

Threading is not all that much use I've found - much simpler to just have taps and dies, unless you're making something really obscure. A tailstock is vital. For bike use, a 6-jaw chuck is wonderful, no more problems with deforming thin tubes, so see if you can retrofit one. A compound is very useful, as is power feed and traverse.

But I use a horizontal mill for tube mitring, not a lathe.

[Rody]

Kevin,

If your goal is tube mitering, there are other options that will be more efficient, have a smaller footprint, and require less tooling than a lathe.

You want a lathe for the myriad processes it opens up for the fabricator to process and produce parts in house that are impossible or very difficult without one.

rody

[Animus Cycle Fab]

I'm still searching for a tailstock to add to my primary choice. Agreed on taps and dies.

I'd be interested in adding a 6 jaw to any, but not in the immediate future. This is sort of an impulse buy (set financially) as it's kind of rare to have these options all at the same time to weigh.
I'm pretty fortunate to be in a heavily manufacturing oriented area. Especially now that machine brokers have stopped buying every piece of old quality iron sight unseen to load on trucks for delivery to south America. Just a few years ago, an infrequent 9" x 48" South Bend meh quality lathe (ubiquitous shop class lathe around here) would pop up for $3500-$5000 and not be around long. Things have calmed down now

I had my heart set on a H mill for a long time.
They are rarely seen within reasonable distance to me (usually broken or missing crucial components, MASSIVE, and/or/all very expensive)
As it is, I'm really pushing it on space for a not needed machine.
Just hobby building so far. I believe a lathe is the most versatile single piece for more tasks even w/o a lead screw. turn, face, ream, bore, cope, post fab ream+tap, some milling

Mostly leaning towards either Le Blond due to size. Both footprint and intended use. aka heavy cuts daily for years, so I can use more shaping type tooling as opposed to chamfering w/ a compound.

[Rody]

Kevin,

Don't discount shipping a machine in...you can often get solid machines for cheap with reasonable shipping, like these...

https://www.hgrinc.com/productDetail...LL/06150680007

https://www.hgrinc.com/productDetail...LL/08150540003

You'd be surprised what you can get for the money when you are able to ship it in with bulk pricing from some re-sellers.

r

[Animus Cycle Fab]

Rody, I agree.
I'm pursuing a hobby+maybe pay work someday garage shop fit out currently so not looking at just mitering tubes. Wood shop in basement, electronics shop in spare bedroom, so only metalworking in garage. Composites are in the pipeline.
I use the South Bend at work as required, and at will for gubment werx. Almost daily. It is worn and under powered, yet I still can make most anything I need at least to the accuracy of standard inspection tools and cheap digi calipers. Also use Bridgeport about as frequently. I've got a real laser guy. I have the parts to build a large format profile router/mill+100W laser in the basement.

As stated above, I have space for 1 metalworking machine due to current space restrictions. I've considered knee mills, H mills, modern engine lathes, abrasive machines, etc.
Production duty lathe keeps coming out on top

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Animus Cycle Fab]

Missed your most post recent while typing.
A small H mill like that would save me some floor space, but I'm not sure it'll be as useful for general metal shop tasks.
Hadn't really pursued shipping as I assumed it would be astronomical. Worth a quick call to see.

I think I'm trying to talk myself out of either Le Blond for no good reason.
I've seen+ran the Rapid Production for a minute. Primary choice so far.
I'm trying to go see the Heavy Duty sometime soon (45min highway trip). Lower cost+moving+needed tooling basically makes the cost a wash between the two.

If the HD runs and is just not as clean, I'll probably go that route. It's more machine that isn't limited by hunting for a different tailstock.

[Rayburn Shaun]

Kevin-

I sent you a PM.