Andrew
The AA 109 lathes are antique hobby lathes. They make great
restoration and display items for the shelf, which is where my 2 early
AA lathes reside.
For what it takes to get a decent 109 lathe, you can buy a brand new
asian minilathe, which is a great starting point. These start at ~$300.
The advantage of buying new is you don't have to learn the hard way
about identifying wear and abuse.
The 618 Sears is next up, starting at about the same money
($300-$600), but able to handle longer workpieces. When you buy a used
lathe, you generally get some tooling with it, more than with a new
lathe. The late models with the square headstock are interesting.
In most areas, $500 will buy you a nice lathe in the 9"-10"-11"
range if you are patient. A logan with a quickchange box would be a nice
find.
You will also run across Atlas 10" lathes in this price range.
They are plenty capable, very plentiful, and a clean one well-tooled is
worth considering, but they are light, and they have pot-metal in places
were most others use steel or iron.
Check the local online classifieds daily - the newspaper,
Craigslist, American Classifieds, and anything else that might serve
your area. Something will turn up.
Good luck
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX
Andrew H. Wakefield wrote:
I've just begun learning metal turning with the help of a friend, and now
I'm in the market for a small to medium sized lathe. Though my preference is
to find something locally, I've been watching the auctions on ebay to get a
sense of the types and prices of lathes that are being traded. I've seen
quite a few of the Sears/Atlas 6 x 18 lathes, in a couple of variations. It
looks like the low-end model is the 109.XXXX, such as is shown in the
following auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4427679846
What's the collective wisdom on these lathes? Are they worth having, or ???
As best as I can tell they do have the ability to autofeed in both
directions--is that correct?
Any information the group can provide will be most welcome! But be warned:
if you answer this question, I'll likely have some more as I continue to
assess what is available. 
Andy