On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:33:01 -0600, F. Hayek wrote:

I like the idea of finding something like a South Bend 9" lathe to get
started. And go from there. I'm a Toyota 4x4 enthusiast though, so I
might like to be able to cut some metric threads.

That may be difficult, depending on the particular thread pitch, without
modifying the lathe (i.e. replacing one or two of the gears). The old South
Bend lathes (and most American made lathes of that vintage) were designed
to work in the inch system, not metric. Some metric threads have inch
equivalents, or are very close, and can be made on old American lathes
unmodified, but not all of the metric threads can be.

I've never operated any such machine tool and I'm not too keen on taking
regular classes. I'm hoping I can learn from the American Gunsmithing
Institute's 30 hour video course.

http://www.americangunsmith.com/mill_lathe.html

They've got lots of cool stuff for gunsmiths too.

To get yourself oriented with machine tool basics, you
might want to skim through the US Army's "Fundamentals
of Machine Tools" training manual:

http://155.217.58.58/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/tc/9-524/toc.htm

I found this to be very helpful when I first decided that
I wanted a lathe, etc.

Another book which is always recommended by people here
is South Bend's "How to Run a Lathe," which was produced long
ago but is still in print from a few sources:

http://www.lindsaybks.com/bks/lathebk/

This a classic primer on lathe anatomy, basic operation, and etc.
I've never read it myself, but so many people here recommend it
that I feel I can too.