[a Bill]

You know, I never bought a Dremel and have absolutely no intention of doing so. I haven't migrated to CNC equipment yet but I do keep a fairly decent selection of tools around and a Dremel would never even begin to do half the job I'd require. They're just too light duty. I use an industrial high speed die grinder with solid carbide cutters when I need to shape something

Good tools are fairly expensive but you only buy them once. How many TV sets have you wasted money on over the years? How about radios or stereos? You can waste some serious cash on those things and they're worthless five years later but I'm still using the same die grinder I bought 15 or so years ago. Same with my little Sherline lathe. I ordered that lathe online using a very expensive computer which was outdated and retired the next year but I'm still using the lathe.

I might buy one high end tool each year. The cost is still important but it's not like I'm buying one a month. Plus, once I've bought the tool I'm good for a looonnnggg time before it'll need replacing. So I save my money and buy the right tool the first time. It might take me a few years to save up for really high end stuff but that money is well spent compared to the money I wasted in my youth on killer car stereo components that no longer work.

 

[Iceman]

My friend motorsportnut,has a Sherline lathe,and the lathe appears to be very well made,and I know he is very happy with it.

I just ordered a Sherline lathe,CNC ready,and am looking forward to getting it.Lots of different options and accessories to choose from.

Iceman

 

[CoolScientist]

QUOTE My best advice, Hawkwind, is to make sure you get a silver machine.
They look so much better in the workshop.

 

[McLaren]

Hehe... went into the labs for the first time yesterday at uni....

20 huge, awesome, precision lathes which are free for me to access at any time

Wow, and I don't have to pay a thing... great stuff. Just thought you might want to know....

McLaren

 

[howmet tx]

Thanks, Mac-
I'll have 12 pair of 13" front wheels, set screw fitting. Then while you chuck-up some Mura endbells, I'll send you a few dozen rears tyre sets and some arms with scratchy comms for truing.
Very decent of you sir.
What else do you do in your lunch-hours? Perhaps you could have a sniff around for the laser chassis cutting equipment. And the vac-forming machines. Any resin vac-moulding gear? Plastic injection moulding? Chrome plating?

I hear West Hamley University (formerly Hornby Polytechnic) is offering a BSc in scratchbuilding, but they only have a Black and Decker and a tube of araldite.

 

[NickG]

http://www.broncosaurus.net/links.html

This is a comparison of low priced lathes. I bought a Homier for $199. and use it for most of the things Ecurie Martini does. It is also useful for making silicone tire molds.
A lathe is a highly adjustable tool and its precision depends on how diligent
the user is at keeping the slop out and how good she or he is with measuring tools.
The cheaper, Chinese lathes are perfectly good for the things mentioned here. The
difference is in how often it needs to be adjusted. For those who intend on going into business these lathes may not be the best thing as they may need more time to keep
in adjustment but for the hobbiest who wants to learn, they are still quite capable of machining to tolerances of 0.001".
NickG

 

[gascarnut]

Great link - thanks for that!

I finally broke down and bought the 7X10 Chinese Mini lathe from Harbor Freight. It's a bargain when you consider what you get for the price. Now I still need to be sure that the accuracy is up to snuff, but it certainly looks good so far (only took delivery yesterday!)

The mini-lathes.com site listed in Nick's link has tons of good info on extracting the best performance from these machines.