I have long been disatisfied with my CNC-converted Chinese lathe. It is a cheap copy of the Emco Compact 8 (not a paragon of over-built perfection) stretched to 9" centre height and 1000mm bed length. Then a milling machine was bolted to the back to really highlight the fact that the saddle isn't held down very well.
So, I have been looking for something to replace it, and I found this machine locally (very locally) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Centre-lathe-made-by-Stankoimport-Russian-built-/191526503823 It is _very_ solid for a machine with pretty much the same capacity as the CCL. It has 1" more swing and rather less between-centres distance, but it has a bigger spindle bore (30mm rather than 20) The apron is huge. Built-in oil pump and a joystick to choose traverse or feed in either direction. The good: Solid. Very solid. 1400kg. 2-speed geared head + something in the base which can be replaced by a VFD (possibly). 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks, + collets and collet closer. Decent top speed (2000 rpm) About half a mile from my house. The Bad: A lot to throw away. Including the lovely apron gearbox. The chucks attach in a funny way. What looks like a Camlock is in fact a flange that you poke studs + nuts through, then rotate a collar, then tighten the nuts. Not a _bad_ way to attach a chuck, but unusual and possibly fiddly. Spare parts are likely to be hard to find. And there is probably no ready market for the bits I pull off, whereas there would be with (say) a Harrison or Colchester. -- atp If you can't fix it, you don't own it. http://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dive into the World of Parallel Programming The Go Parallel Website, sponsored by Intel and developed in partnership with Slashdot Media, is your hub for all things parallel software development, from weekly thought leadership blogs to news, videos, case studies, tutorials and more. Take a look and join the conversation now. http://goparallel.sourceforge.net/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
