LatakiaLover wrote:Tyler wrote:
It's not $3K versus $8K, that was $8K MORE. So $3K versus $11K. Actually, that's a conservative estimate. For example, South Bend, which is actually a Taiwanese lathe, doesn't make a 12, but their 13" is $15K.
An additional $3K makes the argument stronger, to be sure. The Taiwanese gear is actually pretty good from what I've heard, and shouldn't be considered "Chinese" for machine tool purposes, btw. (Oklahoma Red? You there?)
I totally understand why this market is expanding. It's a cash flow thing. Not many people can get to $11K, period. $3K is in reach. My 1000lb lathe will offer lots of advantages for $3K that I couldn't get for $3K from South Bend, and I'm not unique in that situation. A little patience and maybe some sweat equity, and I'm into something I otherwise couldn't afford. Besides, it's a hobby for me. If we factored labor and opportunity costs into our hobbies we'd have trouble sleeping at night if money was how we measured these things.
It boils down to purchasing such machines with both cash
and labor, I guess. Kind of like buying one of those finish-it-yourself houses that's framed, roofed, plumbed, and wired, but otherwise bare inside.
What changed my mind about "bringing a machine up to spec" being the way to go was the underlying metal itself, along with bearings & related. I had a friend in North Dakota who owned and ran a large machine and welding shop who told me the worst part of fixing/working on Asian-made farm equipment (like Mahindra) wasn't the slack tolerances, but the rate of wear. That adjustments and fixes didn't stay that way for long because soft, easily-workable alloys were used throughout.
It's true that making pipes as a sideline is an entirely different thing than commercial farming when it comes to load, stress, and wear-and-tear, but his words (and supporting examples---he'd pull me into the shop halfway through most of these discussions), definitely had an effect on what I bought from then on.
Anyway, the best of luck with your new thousand-pound baby. Your wife won't let you keep it in your bedroom, you know.
Oh yeah: pics or it didn't happen.
