Hello Jeremy,

​Welcome to the forum..

The Hardinge is a fine lathe with an enviable reputation; had I got the money I would be looking hard at one too. Importing a Myford will be expensive as you are finding and it will be hard to assess the condition at long range, no matter what people say.

​You might also find a good Hardinge HLV-H an expensive machine, but you are in the land of South Bend lathes which are a trifle larger in capacity compared to Myford and a good used one might be easier to find. They might be worth considering.

Good luck in your search.
​Regards

Brian

You could make a fine living exporting South Bend lathes back to the US or Canada. They seem to go for really silly money in my experience living in Vancouver, even more so than Myfords in this country – something to do with patriotism and nostalgia perhaps. If you get lucky and find a good example of either the Hardinge or SB at an affordable price, all the better. However, pragmatically, you may be better to set your sights on a Chinese machine, of which there are many brands and models available.

Murray

Jeremy

Welcome and I hope you find the forum interesting and thought provoking.

I would kill for a Hardinge lathe. In the UK they are very few and far between. A friend bought one from his place of work. He did take advice before putting his successful bid in and got all the collets and associated tooling. He had to get the bed reground by Hardinge at Exeter though. This cost more than a new Myford lathe!

JA