Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"
bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:26:40 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"
bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

Your guy is right. The lathe in question is very nice! However..its
primary purpose is to turn long stuff, pipe etc etc and frankly is way
too long for efficient use in the average small shop. Now if it was a
16x48...it would be handy as hell to have around, particularly with
that marvelous spindle bore. Very..very few shops need a lathe with a
work envelope larger than 36"..let alone 48...and yours is 3x as
long. Everything to the right of the normal tailstock position is
ultimately going to become a storage shelf.

Gunner

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On 2016-01-01, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:26:40 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"
bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

Your guy is right. The lathe in question is very nice! However..its
primary purpose is to turn long stuff, pipe etc etc and frankly is way
too long for efficient use in the average small shop. Now if it was a
16x48...it would be handy as hell to have around, particularly with
that marvelous spindle bore. Very..very few shops need a lathe with a
work envelope larger than 36"..let alone 48...and yours is 3x as
long. Everything to the right of the normal tailstock position is
ultimately going to become a storage shelf.

Gunner

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:20:24 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

On 2016-01-01, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:26:40 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"
bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

Your guy is right. The lathe in question is very nice! However..its
primary purpose is to turn long stuff, pipe etc etc and frankly is way
too long for efficient use in the average small shop. Now if it was a
16x48...it would be handy as hell to have around, particularly with
that marvelous spindle bore. Very..very few shops need a lathe with a
work envelope larger than 36"..let alone 48...and yours is 3x as
long. Everything to the right of the normal tailstock position is
ultimately going to become a storage shelf.

Gunner

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

I kept saying it was good. Just a ****load bigger than you are ever
going to need and its going to be a huge drain on your floor space.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:26:40 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

Hey, well done on the file sizing/optimization and thumbs.


It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"

Wow, now you can turn your own metal telephone poles! It looks to be
in great shape. How are straight/parallel/unclapped the ways?


bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

One question: Will your lathe guy -use- it if you switch out the
Monarch?

If noone else has a negative opinion of it, and you have room for it
(obviously) and it will add the missing features you have wanted, I'd
say Go For It!

--
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.
-- Scott Adams, 'The Dilbert Principle'

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 11:25:52 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:20:24 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

I kept saying it was good. Just a ****load bigger than you are ever
going to need and its going to be a huge drain on your floor space.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Yabbut, he has an entire warehouse to work with, not just a shop space
like most of us.

--
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.
-- Scott Adams, 'The Dilbert Principle'

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

Gunner Asch on Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:01:51 -0800
typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 10:26:40 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

I bought this lathe from a company who is a friend of my company. It
is a Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe.

http://www.machinerymoverschicago.co...C-16120-Lathe/

It seems to be really nice and loaded. It is 16x120. It has a 4 1/8"
bore (HUGE), power everything, DRO, and even a taper attachment. It
came with traveling and steady rests. It can also do imperial and
metric threads and goes up to 1600 RPM. It also seems, in every way,
to have seen very little use.

I have a business, but I am not a machine shop, I am a machine mover
and buy and sell industrial items on ebay. Nevertheless, we have a
machine shop with Monarch AA lathe and we use it at least twice a
week.

The Monarch AA, against all expectations, is in like new condition
(believe it or not). However, it is slow, and does not do metric
threads and has a much smaller bore.

My question is should I keep the Monarch, or upgrade to this one.

I think YES but my guy, who also uses the lathe, says no. I need some
arguments here.

I told my guy that this Birmingham is the "lottery" lathe, like "what
lathe should I buy if I win the lottery".

He says, forget it, it is too big, worth too much money, and such.

I reminded him that he himself needed metric threading a few months
ago.

Overall, my question, is THIS Birmingham a quality machine. I believe
that it is better made than the smaller 13x40s and so on, this is an
industrial grade lathe with a big bore, power oil lubrication,
etc. But, perhaps, I am mistaken?

Your guy is right. The lathe in question is very nice! However..its
primary purpose is to turn long stuff, pipe etc etc and frankly is way
too long for efficient use in the average small shop. Now if it was a
16x48...it would be handy as hell to have around, particularly with
that marvelous spindle bore. Very..very few shops need a lathe with a
work envelope larger than 36"..let alone 48...and yours is 3x as
long. Everything to the right of the normal tailstock position is
ultimately going to become a storage shelf.

OTOH, there will come the day "Ya, I gots a machine which can do
dat!"
--
pyotr
Job creation and destruction are both relentless.
The small difference between the two is what we call prosperity.

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 14:00:37 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 11:25:52 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:20:24 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

I kept saying it was good. Just a ****load bigger than you are ever
going to need and its going to be a huge drain on your floor space.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Yabbut, he has an entire warehouse to work with, not just a shop space
like most of us.

If he does..why bother selling the Monarch? Keep em both. His guy
loves the Monarch for his day to day stuff...so let him keep using it.
When something big comes along..use the big girl.

Gunner

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On 2016-01-02, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 14:00:37 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 11:25:52 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:20:24 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

I kept saying it was good. Just a ****load bigger than you are ever
going to need and its going to be a huge drain on your floor space.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Yabbut, he has an entire warehouse to work with, not just a shop space
like most of us.

If he does..why bother selling the Monarch? Keep em both. His guy
loves the Monarch for his day to day stuff...so let him keep using it.
When something big comes along..use the big girl.

Not enough room for two, for sure. Plus, the Birmingham lathe can do
everything that the Monarch can.

i

Birmingham DLC-16120 lathe quality
 

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 20:52:19 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

On 2016-01-02, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 14:00:37 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 11:25:52 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:20:24 -0600, Ignoramus18273
wrote:

Gunner, being long, does not make the lathe bad, it just makes it
capable of things that may be rarely necessary. What could be "bad" is
low quality, or lack of features.

i

I kept saying it was good. Just a ****load bigger than you are ever
going to need and its going to be a huge drain on your floor space.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Yabbut, he has an entire warehouse to work with, not just a shop space
like most of us.

If he does..why bother selling the Monarch? Keep em both. His guy
loves the Monarch for his day to day stuff...so let him keep using it.
When something big comes along..use the big girl.

Not enough room for two, for sure. Plus, the Birmingham lathe can do
everything that the Monarch can.

i

It is noticeable though that given a choice of machines most
machinists will select the smallest machine that will do the job :-)
Cranking the carriage around on a 16" lathe is more work then on a,
say 8 inch.

There was a similar lathe in a shipyard where I worked in N. Sumatra.
I don't know who bought it but it, but it was a similar size, maybe a
little bigger, and looking at the dust, dirt and dried oil on the ways
it was obvious that the carriage hadn't been down to the tail stock
end since it was installed.
--
cheers,

John B.