Lathe Purchasing Advice

[bthorne]

I've been thinking about getting a lathe recently, and saw this ad come up on Craigslist. http://richmond.craigslist.org/tls/712592781.html

The seller responded to my email questions with the following:

The lathe I believe is 110 v, (plug is 3 which fits in any outlet) and the lathe is a UL (r) Bench Pro 4 speed wood lathe written on front. It is 5 feet long and 12" tall, the wooden bench my father made to work from is table length high (3 ft) and 4 ft long. I do not have the ability to load photos yet on the site. Sorry

Any thoughts on what brand/model this might be, and whether it's worth driving 1.5 hours out there to check it out? It sounds like the seller's father was in charge of the industrial arts program for many years in Richmond, and might have had some quality tools. Seller says it's in great condition.

Also - if I do go take a look, what things should I be looking out for, especially if it's an older lathe?

Thanks for your advice,

Bryan

[Russianwolf]

you should ask him what the bed construction is. Pressed Steel, Steel tube, or cast iron/steel.

The pressed steel beds tend to flex a lot, the tubes can be hard to maintain alignment. The Cast beds are the easiest.

Otherwise a pic is worth a thousand words, maybe more. Even a camaera phone and texting the pic would give you more info.

[Uncle Cracker]

Seems the ad has been deleted, so this may be a moot point.

[Russianwolf]

works for me

[Uncle Cracker]

I meant in this case, Mike. Your points are still valid, but the OP may have to use them to consider a different lathe...

[Russianwolf]

no, I mean when I click the link the lathe is still there. I don't see the usual "this post has been deleted'.

[pelligrini]

I get a deleted message. You might be looking at a cached page.

[Russianwolf]

DOH!!!

Nevermind.