Reply To: Newbe advice on a lathe…

[david pierce]

Van,
I have been collecting these machines since 1971 and now have about 50 lathes. The Peerless lathes are definately among the best and, at least to me, are the best looking machines ever made. When I put a Peerless collet into a Peerless spindle it is the most perfect and precise fit I ever saw on a watchmaker lathe. As far as a piece of equipment goes my thoery is, if it does exactly what you need it to do then it is exactly what you need. The watchmaker lathe I use the most is a Boley with a Levin cross slide that I initially purchased as a rusted out piece of junk. It does not have the gorgeous look that the Peerless has but it turns accurately (after I restored and rebuilt it) and it accepts all of the collets and other accessories I have. There is a vintage collector mentality out there that places importance on brand name, does it have the original box. do all of the serial numbers match, did a previous owner modify it or refinish it etc.. The reality is that this is a tool and it will either do the job you want it to do or it will not. If your lathe does what you want it to do and does it well, then you have nothing else to worry about. If most people are not going to check out the spindle for runout and collet fit before buying a machine, then it won’t matter if the spindle bore is the original factory diameter or not; if and when you should sell it.
david