Yes, there are a variety of chuck-mounted collet systems. One is called a
spin closer. Don't know if the Bison is this type.
Bison is a good brand--Polish. Several cuts above the Chinese stuff.
Priced inbetween Chinese and American, a bit closer in price to the Chinese.
Chinese 5C collets: $6; Bison: $13; Royal: $27; Hardinge: $1K.

Btw, practicalmachinist.com has a forum for Schaublin lathes. I just helped
a buddy pick up two from NJ, w/ snap handle collet closers and some kind of
hydraulic tracer attachment, and one *big-assed* transformer. Excellent
lathes, I'm told, quite on par w/ Hardinge.
Looks like my buddy will be spending a lot of time on this forum!

Oh, and to the OP:
Even tho he expressed a desire for new, there are a lot of really nice small
Southbend lathes, still a tad heavier than the requested weight, but good
complete machines, often w/ 5C snap handles. Problem is is that dealers
often charge a premium for these small lathes, as the hobbyist crowd tends
to drive up prices. A dealer here in Yonkers, NY has a few of these, all
going from around $2K+.
Some hunting around might turn up a relative bargain or two.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Trevor Jones" wrote in message
...
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:

I would highly recommend as many of those options as you can afford. A
5C
collet system is fairly essential for small parts, and moreso if any kind
of
production is anticipated. Super-essential for thin-walled tubing. The
snap handle is but one system (imo the best) of closing sed collets.

However, in these smaller lathes, you might not be able to fit 5C (which
go
from near-zero to 1.125 diam). Thus, to go the 5C route, you *might*
have
to bump up the size of the lathe a bit.

It's worth looking at the Bison brand 5C collet chucks. Not super
expensive, though not cheap, and available in both 4 inch and 5 inch
sizes.

I use one of the 5 inch ones at work on a Schaublin 150, and its much
more convenient than the factory collet setup.

On the smaller lathes, you will be limited to the diameter of stock
that will fit through the spindle, but you will still be able to utilise
the larger 5C collets for shorter chunks of bar.

Cheers
Trevor Jones