What lathe to buy

[john bunsenburner]

Well I do persume you get a thread with the above title every few weeks but because I am a bit of a special case I decided to make a new thread, If there was a previous thread that covers my needs then please tell me so that i can find it, as i am a bit doubtful there is here I go:

I am a 14year old who greatly enjoys metal working. I live inswitzerland, and mainly build from alli. The main projects I make are steam engines, spudguns and really anything else from anythign else. Therefore I would like to get my self a lather, perferably from an European company(not swiss as they have ridiculously high prices). I would like to get a new lathe therefore ebay is not an option. Also I would like to own a lathe, as my school has no metal workshop(heck, i doubt they even own a single hammer!) and enrolling in some kind of class is not an option both because of my age and the fac that i have lots of tutoring and so my time is very limited after school. as for the price, my very generous dad(who doesn't know much about tooling or metal working at all) said that I have a budject of up to 735$. I would like to have a lathe that is long eanoth to perhaps even manufacteur chair legs and the like, but do not need a diameter over 4-5inches.

Do any of you have any recomendations for me? I am grateful for any advice, comments questions or anything else from you, happy posting!

[pug]

Hello there John. Sounds like you have a right interesting hobby. I am afraid here in the US the only new lathe that can be purchased for that kind of money is one of the asian 7x10, 7x12 or 7x14 mini metal lathes. Does not compare to the quality of a swiss or austrian made lathe but then again neither does the price. You should be able to find a european dealer of one of the mini lathes. Acquiring a used high precision small lathe would be a better deal but I see where that may be a problem for you. I believe the Sherline lathe is exported also so that may be a option.

Here is a link to a US company that sells a mini lathe for reference.
I use them instead of others because they keep parts on hand.

http://grizzly.com/products/G8688

Good luck with your search. By the way you do not want to mix metal and wood working on the same machine. Better to choose one and get the machine for the job.