So.....you veterans don't laugh, please. Everyone starts out at some point. I've been doing a lot of research and weighing many options for buying a lathe for home/shop/hobby use. Have always been interested in learning to turn metal. Even thought about buying cheap HF lathe to learn on, but my better judgement dictated I should wait for a good used lathe with metal gears to show up. Well, one showed up on Craigslist that caught my interest. It's a Logan Model 200 vintage 1946, and I bought it for the right price after quite a bit of back-and-forth. It came with a lot of tooling, 4-way jaw, etc. Online reviews on this lathe have been positive with quite a following on Youtube, etc. Forward/Reverse with power cross-feed. I learned enough before buying on how to assess the condition. Bought from a guy who's grandfather bought it originally and he inherited it upon his death. Stored in a wood shop. Dirty as can be but mostly from sawdust. All the v-ways, head stock, tail stock, etc., seem to be tight and everything looks to be in really clean/lightly used condition. I'll be tearing this thing down and restoring/re-painting as needed before using. The original instructions book came with it and it states to use a machinist's level to ensure it is spot-on, else it could throw the bed off and cause the lathe to turn and bore taper. "It is impossible to do accurate work on a lathe that is not level and the lathe will be damaged beyond repair". Yikes. Should I foot for an expensive machinist level? Will be buying machine levelers as I can't drill into my concrete shop floors to mount it (have in-floor heat). As near as I can tell, all bearings seem to be in good condition but replacement parts appear to be available as needed. Opinions please..... Pics to come....just wanted to get advice from you pros.
...and you thought motorcycles were an addictive hobby...HA!...and so it begins.