Well I waited a long time and finally bought my 12 x 36 lathe. I picked the Birmingham YCL1236GH because all of the good feedback I heard on the web in places like Practical Machinist and cnczone.com. Figured it was time for Dan the Metalworking Man to get one of these suckers and make some custom parts for my 1965 Ford Mustang. It took some time to get it downstairs into my basement, but with the help of a few close friends it was possible. It was crated when delivered and we left the wood on the bottom. Slowly but surely we eased the lathe down the stairs until it was in the basement. Once there we easily set the lathe up and it looks great in my Workshop/Mancave. It won't be long now until I start making parts and getting my money out of this investment.
You can pick one of these up at Penn Tool Co for around $3,195.00 at the time I bought mine. I looked around all over the web and from what I read the Birmingham makes a great lathe. There were a few minor parts missing off the parts list. Nothing too big and Penn Tool was quick to get the missing parts out to me. Hey it happens. No worries. It is up and running and I am one happy Metalwoking Man. Dan is putting his seal of approval on this one. The Birmingham YCL-1236GH Geared Head Gap Bed Precision Engine Bench Lathe is certified Metalworking Fresh by Dan!
