I agree with many of the previous posts. Myford / Southbend / Boxford – you wont go far wrong. Myfords seem to be the most expensive of these – £500 – £850 seems to be the norm. Boxfords seem to be slightly cheaper and southbend’s cheaper still. I bought a Southbend 3 years ago which had Q/C gearbox, and came with 3 & w jaw chucks, full set of metric and imperial Collets (1/8″ to 1/2″ and 3mm to 13mm), + Q/C tool post for £350 and its been great. A Smart & Brown can also be great value – dont seem to be too sort after – so can go quite cheap – yet they are a serioulsy good machine.
Dripfeed’s recommendation to get a copy of “The Amateurs Lathe”[/i] should not be overlooked – I was lucky enough to server a 4-year engineering apprenticeship whioch covered turning & milling – but I still learnt alot from this book.
Good luck with your searching and enjoy those hours listening to the humm of your lathe 😀
