• July 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn a Multi-axis Weed Pot! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to James Seyfried for "NE Red Oak II" being selected as Turning of the Week for July 21, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Why cant I find a used lathe?

Robert Feingold

Robert Feingold

Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Messages
119
Likes
64
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Does anyone know why I cannot find any decent used lathes for sale anywhere?
I have looked on eBay, craigslist, Google, this site. What do turners do when they upgrade? I've been looking for months.
Thanks, Rob
 
If you are a member of a club, seems like some one is always considering an upgrade. Other than that, you have to be in the right place at the right time. Also, some times tool stores will have a bulletin board with used tools for sale.

robo hippy
 
They can be hard to find. They also sell rapidly so you have to cruise the local sales network, Craigs list and ebay almost daily. I've bought several lathe locally at really good prices. I pass these on to fellow woodturners, sometimes after I fix them up to improve them. I will often pass this info on to club members if it's not something I feel like playing with.
You do need to know a little something about what's good and bad. There are some really crappy lathes out there. It's also handy to know a little bit about lathes so you don't buy something with parts missing or a lathe that won't do what you want to do.
 
Rob

Central Florida clubs sort of share emails about used lathes. The good ones are usually shopped to the club members.
We also have Don Geiger contributing to our available lathes from time to time when he assists new Robust owners in selling their current lathe.

I usually see a good used lathe every coupled months and they don't last too long.

Check with your local clubs

Al
 
On the WOODWEB site, there is a listing of all sorts of used machinery, and often wood lathes of various levels of price are listed.
 
Also hard to find since some of us keep the lathe we are up grading from. I have owned 4 lathes in my time & all are still in use in my shop. It seems a waste to me to turn a pen on my 2 HP 36" diameter capacity Robust. Likewise turn a large bowl on my pen lathe is out
 
Like you, I've been looking to upgrade to a larger lathe for almost a year, searching the local Craigslist and other sites, with absolutely no luck. I was considering buying new when I found a General 26020 through one of our local clubs for virtually nothing. The previous owner died last year, and his son decided to sell the lathe to a club member who would put it to good use. It was only advertised on the club mailing list, and I claimed it within 20 minutes of receiving the email. As people said, they don't last long. My advice would be to join one or more local clubs if you haven't already, and let folks know you are in the market. You never know what will come up.

Wasn't the ideal lathe that I wanted (if I went new, was going to look at the PM 3520, or maybe a Stubby), but for the money, and for 5 miles from my house, it was a deal I couldn't pass up. Even if I upgrade again in a couple of years, well worth it - just the value of the chuck, faceplates, and toolrests being sold with it are worth what I'm paying for it. I'm picking it up Saturday. Can't wait.

-John
 
There should be a lot of powermatic 3520 soon. Powermatic just came out with a new lathe,I think it is a 4224 3 hp. no price yet .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top