Conover lathe

[Larry Zablackas]

Now that I said my hello,
Would like any input o n purchasing a Conover lathe.
One is available locally and sure would be an upgrade for me.
Like I said in my welcoming post, I enjoy refurbishing older US made machinery.
All pros and cons will be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I bought a Conover new several decades ago and got a lot of use out of it. Given how they are built it is unlikely that any refurbishment will be required in at least their first century of use. I loved the look and power (had the VS DC motor option), and loved being able to use arbitrarily long ways. The #3 MT in the headstock made finding drives problematic without using adapters, though it was a very strong, positive connection. Chucks were no problem to find. I was not such a fan of the locking system for the toolrest, which seemed always to be slipping. Getting the tailstock off was a hassle as well, so I have a number of new dimples in my elbow from unfortunate encounters with it.

A hint is to be sure you register the tailstock with either the front or back edge of the ways (pick one and stick with it) every time you move it.

So, while in many ways I hated to see the Conover go, I find my Robust AB much more pleasant in daily use.