I first bought a used 13x36 Grizzly lathe in the late 1990s that proved indispensable when building Kimini, my mid-engine "Mini." Later I wanted something more robust and capable, both to help out with Midlana, my mid-engine "Lotus 7", but also for use in retirement. I sold the Grizzly for $1200, the same price that I'd paid for it 21 years before. After a lot of research and searching, I found a used 14x30 Webb/Takisawa TSL-800 located very close to home. The trick is finding a machine shop that's closing or moving, and this was the last of their manual lathes, with them moving on to CNC equipment. I ended up paying $1500 for it, and while thrilled to have a real lathe, was the realization that real lathes are really heavy, around 2,500 lbs or so, and getting it home was an education.
The first heavy equipment mover wanted $800 to move it three miles - um, no. Then I realized that since the shop was moving, they were already using an equipment mover. I talked to them and they agreed to move it to my garage for $300. Done. Later I learned about renting heavy equipment trailers; they're great because they're both heavy duty and because the bed lowers down to ground level, something that's a requirement when moving such heavy stuff.
Once it was in the garage, the big clean-up began, and in addition to being really dirty, it also had a coolant sump and pump. To clean out the sump, which had apparently never happened in its 39-yr life was... well... imagine being handed gloves and paper towels and told to clean out a PortaPotty. Yes, that's what it was like, and the grossest thing of all was when reaching in and grabbing the next "load", the consistency of the stuff was exactly like what you're imagining. I would actually look the other way because my imagination was doing a number on me. I like to share...
So the point is that if you have space for a slightly bigger machine (this one actually fits in the same space as the Grizzly), you can get really good deals on them because most people don't have the space or the need, and shops are getting rid of them due to switching to CNC, so the prices are good. I wanted a manual machine because nearly everything I make is a one-off, so doing a CAD design and then getting a CNC machine set up would take longer than just doing it manually. The 5hp 3-phase motor is run by a VFD, and later, an electronic leadscrew was added. Very pleased with it and it's more accurate than I am. If you're looking for one, consider one with a bed shorter than 36". In all the time I used it, I never needed any more than maybe 18", but that was for my application, and your's may differ.
