I've had a 10" Logan for several years. It was built in 1946 and will still
hold 0.001. I've had no trouble getting parts for it (what few I've
needed...).

I think the flat belt is an advantage. If you overload the machine, it will
throw the belt before something of consequence busts.

I paid, as I recall, $700 for it, with a roll-around toolbox full of
assorted
tooling (some of which hadn't been used in years and needed a good
cleaning up...).

Jerry

"GTO69RA4" wrote in message
...


After many weeks of scouring the universe, I have found 3 lathes that
are available for the taking.

1. One is an old Craftsman/Atlas 12" x 24" that the owner describes as
being in pretty good shape. I haven't yet seen it, but he is sending me
pics. It has what he thinks is the original greenish paint, has the flat
bed, and the stand with heavy cast iron legs, a couple chucks, and
various pieces of tooling.

2. I have also found 2 old Logans with collet type headstock. Both are
in good working order, and seem to be in fair to good condition. I will
examine them a second time this week, and hear them run etc. They both
have the flat belt drive, one of them has the integrated belt tensioner
in the belt cover.

The price is approximately the same for all the lathes, $800 - $900.

The pro's and con's, as I see them, include:

Logans are much older, and I don't know what part availablilty is and
will continue to be.

The Logans have the flat belt drive, the Craftsman has the more modern
V-belt. Being a newbie I'm not sure if one is inherently better/worse
than the other, although continued availability of the flat belt is
certainly questionable.

There seems to be an absolute abundance of parts for the
Craftsman/Atlas series of lathes on Ebay. Logan seems to run a distant
third in this regard, just behind South Bend.

My intended use is a home/hobby lathe, making mostly aluminum parts.

Please provide opinions (be gentle, now) as to which would be the
better advised purchase decision.


--
J. Mark Wolf

The 12" Craftsman/Atlas was made from the '30s into the '70s in various
versions. Price totally depends on age and condition. They are good home
shop
lathes (I have an Atlas 10", basically same thing) with a ton of parts
support,
but they are also the lightest 12 inchers out there. Not exactly hogging
machines. The older ones can be problematic with bad castings and
bearings.
$800 sounds about right for the high end but I'd try to get a better
price,
unless it's in great shape and/or loaded.

I know very little about Logans, but they are high quality and may not be
as
old as you think. Scott Logan still supplies parts for many models. Most
are
heavily-built.

V-belts are easier to get, tension, and maintain. Flat belts are smoother
to
run, provide some clutch action, and look great. Not too hard to get if
you
have a good belt shop. It's a wash.

GTO(John)