Paul,
I have had a Taig for five or six years and have enjoyed it, but it's pretty
limited IMO. I am seriously considering the Enco/Harbor Freight table-top
lathe at the moment because I having a devil of a time turning flanges on 1-
3/4" steel wheel blanks with the Taig. A couple of years ago, I turned some
somewhat smaller cast iron wheels, but they were right at the edge of the
Taig's capabilities, and this latest set have pushed it beyond what it will do.
The problems are the travel of the cross slide (too small to get the tool at the
right position and angle) and the speed of the motor (way too fast for steel of
that diameter). The Harbor Freight model has somewhat longer cross slide
travel and an infinitely variable motor.
I could fix the motor problem by getting a different motor and/or turning up a
reducing pulley, but when I have time to work in the shop, I want to make
trains, not fix my tools. And the cross slide travel will never get better.
The Taig is a fine little tool, and well made, but I don't think that even a small-
scale live steamer will be satisfied with it as the only lathe in the shop. I
haven't quite made the leap and gone to buy the Harbor Freight machine, but
I think I just talked myself into it.
As for tooling, there are a number of sites on the 'net telling how to buy, adapt
or make tooling for it. Start at <http://warhammer.mcc.virginia.edu/ty/7x10/>.
regards,
-vance-
Vance Bass
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Small-scale live steam resources: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass
