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On 11/23/15 3:08 PM, Matthew Sweeney wrote:
Yes that is my concern, most of those import lathes are all the same just
rebranded with different accessories. I see the HiTorque is the better one
but even then I've seen a lot of complaints.
This grizzly gets much better reviews but still, an import and cheap for
what it is.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M67TJ2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000M67TJ2&linkCode=as2&tag=metallathereviews-20&linkId=ZPTWAZAATKLJAFY7
I found an American manufacturer Sherline they make some really nice
looking mini lathes that have all sorts of options for CNC conversion -
could be a fun intro to high-precision machining:
http://www.sherline.com/
Prices are still a bit high though, although it's made in the USA which for
tools means a great deal to me (it's funny I tend to go with imports for
almost anything else but USA tools are very high quality).
There's a huge community of Sherline modifiers out there. There's
countless widgets and adapters for everything from the knobs to full on
computer control and modifications to make a 5 axis CNC out of them.
I'll continue to look around I found a lot of craigs list but its mostly
older super-huge stuff and I really just want a decent dench top lathe that
has very high accuracy.
One of the real issues with traditional "machine tools" is that most of
them need 3 phase power for the motor, esp if it's more than 1 HP. If
you're running it in your residential garage, you'll need a rotary
converter or a VFD to make it run.
I'd love to have a CNC 48" Bridgeport, but a) I don't have the room and
b) I don't have the juice to drive a 5HP 3phase motor.