@140mower - that is awesome! I learned to lathe (if that is what you could call it?) on a Southbend - super great lathes. They took many a student and still kept running!!
My opinion only:
Great Lathes "should haves" for somewhat serious Hobby use :
Quick change Gear box - no messing with gear changes unless converting to metric and gives better feed/speed control.
Decent chuck speed (like 50 rpm or less to infinity) - Important to run a variety of tooling - carbide likes speed and feed and load- May be achieved on older lathes with VFD etc
Mass: Get one that is not on a diet - mass absorbs vibration, chatter etc It allows for a more "ridged" set up - this may not permit a lathe to be "basemented" or "apartmentated" you have to be reasonable.
Quality construction: Good bearings, nice fits, quality components and fixtures - plastic and such are ok for handle balls or guards but should not really be involved in gearing or parts that need to last and maintain precision.
Size does not matter - (this is funny Shite) but a good 7 to 12 inch will satisfy any lathe operator (wink wink) if it is used within its limitations and is built well. The mini lathes I cannot discuss as I do not have one and I do not have a need....HAHA
Precision: First off, if the lathe is pooched, ways disgusting, dings, dents, a right POS well, that is not the lathe we are discussing. Even so we will probably have some umms and ahhs here but...once the lathe is in fine working order, the precision comes down to
YOU. Me not caring about being offensive: Can you see? Like read the fine gauges and dials??? ....well if you are like me, it could be add a magnifying glass or other lens to improve things- take your time - get to know your lathe and what happens at a 0.005 cut compared to a 0.040 cut - can the lathe handle that?, deflection, bogging etc...
Operate your lathe at its best chance to give you success.
Ultimate usage: what are you thinking to make, fix etc? if you are doing pens, watches etc - really fine precise stuff, well, that will take a specific machine. If you are just into general fix repair and carry on and perhaps do some cool stull, well a 7 to 12 x 20 or 30 may be right in your wheel house! The bigger lathes are just that - bigger and longer - perhaps outside the scope of a "typical" hobby/repair person. Example: We had a 16 x 80 Kingston lathe on the ship. It could hold (with the chuck) a 6 foot shaft between centers - massive! but we didn't use anything past about 24" and some neglectful arses destroyed the bearings and it was expensive to repair. Replaced with a 13" x 24 lathe and never missed the length of the old one.
So Bottom line after rambling on:
With everything working on a 10 or 12" Utilathe you will be pleased. It will check most or all of the boxes I posted above. Chuck speed at 1500 RPM may max out a few things , but it depends on the application and diameter of the piece. The Utilathe is pretty solid - coming it at about 1000 plus pounds. The D1-3 (10/12) or D1-4 (11/13") spindle allows for a great variety of chucks.
The compound is solid and adept to taking an AXA (10") or AXB (12") for tooling. This size is pretty decent but do expect to face knurl with any great success. Clamp type. Surfacing cuts I have done is easy at 0.050" plus
Tailstock is a standard MT2 taper. For the 12" I might bore that out to an MT3?? and put a 1 HP motor on it.
@architect has an 11" and that would be the ideal machine as it has the 36" bed and a great MT3 tailstock, robust construction (some improvements) etc.
Not even sure what I am on about (LOL) but there are a bunch of super great small lathes.
