Ordered my "dream lathe" EDIT: photos added

[Tyler]

In theory I should get it in about 2 hours!

I'm headed to tractor supply to get some gear oil and a lifting strap for getting it on the stand. If my plan comes together and I get the thing, and get it set up today, I'll update with pics this evening.

In the meantime, I had to share. I'm like a kid who woke up Christmas morning and has to wait until 10:00 to open gifts!

Oh, it's a Precision Matthews 1236 that's on it's way to me.

[the rev]

yay

rev

[Nate]

Awe. Some.

[jogilli]

Sweet

[Alden]

Thats just awesome Tyler !
Did you order it from the dealer or find it somewhere else ? I missed a used one locally that went for $2,000 with all the bells and whistles

[d.huber]

Dude! Sweet!

[Ocelot55]

Congrats on the lathe! What about your lonely little 9x20 Jet? You keeping it for stems and such, or did you sell it?

[Tyler]

Congrats on the lathe! What about your lonely little 9x20 Jet? You keeping it for stems and such, or did you sell it?

Sold it.

[Alden]

Its been two hours, I don't see any pictures ?

[archaggelosmichail]

Nice choise there!

We're waiting for the photos.

[d.huber]

Photos or it didn't happen.

[Tyler]

So the lathe arrived. Long story getting a Saturday delivery, but it has something to do with the shipping company screwing up and a good guy in the company making things right as best he could. He brought it in his pickup truck! (And refused a tip. ). I paid a guy that was clearing a lot across the street to pull it off with his Bobcat. Crazy arrangement!

Unfortunately the lathe wasn't babied on its way here, with several fork holes in the crate next to the DO NOT PUSH CRATE WITH FORKS sign. Chip tray is bent all up, as is one knob handle on the headstock. I nearly refused the shipment, but man, Saturday, pick up truck, landscaper. We noted all the damage and I reluctantly signed. After the guy left I had a horrible feeling of regret like I made the wrong choice.

So I called the company I bought it from, and got the owner on the phone. (I had called earlier to ask what to do with the damage, but no one answered.). The owner talked me off the ledge. He told me it was no big deal, none of the issues I described would hurt the lathe, and he's get me replacement pieces quickly.

Phew!

So it's here, and I can't wait to get it set up when the replacement prices arrive. Hopefully by next weekend.

[The Smoking Yeti]

Are you sure bout that? I'll take it off your hands for a cool $50, I'll even cover the shipping.

Sounds awesome Pics please!

[ajpl]

I'll up the bidding to $65.

[Tyler]

I'll up the bidding to $65.

Deal! (Shipping is $5000)

[SchmidtN]

You trying to give Mr. King competition in the "I'm getting a new lathe! " -> "it came broken... " department?

[Tyler]

You trying to give Mr. King competition in the "I'm getting a new lathe! " -> "it came broken... " department?

I hope not. A few bent pieces isn't near as discouraging as pushing the power button and getting no response.

Frankly, I expected a few glitches with the machine. On the one hand, it's sad that one must get accustomed to such issues. On the other hand, I could likely avoid those issues if I was willing to pay about $8K more for a similarly spec'd machine. In the end, I'll come out ahead with a little patience and the necessary tweaking that Chinese lathes bring. And those issues include incredibly flimsy packaging that is handled by people who don't care.

In the end, I'll get my lathe though, and I'm excited about that!

[LatakiaLover]

Frankly, I expected a few glitches with the machine. On the one hand, it's sad that one must get accustomed to such issues. On the other hand, I could likely avoid those issues if I was willing to pay about $8K more for a similarly spec'd machine. In the end, I'll come out ahead with a little patience and the necessary tweaking that Chinese lathes bring. And those issues include incredibly flimsy packaging that is handled by people who don't care.

It's a sad state of affairs, isn't it? I don't see how the Chinese Machine Tools business model works---you'd think it would collapse over time as the word spread about what you're (usually) in for after getting one---but it just keeps expanding. Finding tools of the same quality as were widely available forty years ago is now difficult in itself, never mind the cost. I guess it's because commercial manufacturing doesn't use humans much anymore, making manual machines a low-demand item; and small, specialized markets are easy to take over, Borg-style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyenRCJ_4Ww

In the end, I'll get my lathe though, and I'm excited about that!

Keep us updated regarding your excitement, Tyler. That $3K--$8K comparison doesn't take into account the straight-up labor involved in getting the machine to do what you want, or the opportunity cost of working on the lathe instead of pipes.

[Tyler]

In the end, I'll get my lathe though, and I'm excited about that!

Keep us updated regarding your excitement, Tyler. That $3K--$8K comparison doesn't take into account the straight-up labor involved in getting the machine to do what you want, or the opportunity cost of working on the lathe instead of pipes.

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.

I've got a lot of labor and opportunity costs I can put in before it wasn't a good deal.

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.

[LatakiaLover]

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.