ATM Lathe Pros and Cons

["Barry Carter" <chiron@mail.oeonline.com>]

A big lathe is fine; if you have a spot for it.  But most of use don't have
the space, nor want to deal with 500+ pounds weight of such machinery.  Most
ATM stuff made on a lathe is small stuff (adapters, eyepieces, focusers,
finders, etc.), thus 95% of your cutting will require less than a 6 inch
swing. A small vertical mill can extend your capability to make most any
device you can draft up. The problem with a lot of the China Made imports is
the accessories tend to be a little rough around the edges (e.g. chucks,
collets, lead screws, cross feeds) and not very accurate. But this is QC
issue, as they vary all over the place.  I own a Prazi SD300 (5 x 12) and
the MD400 Milling head.  The whole thing weighs under 200 lbs and sits atop
my workbench.  The Prazi is not cheap (Made in Germany), but is very
precise; typical of German Stuff.  I want to also put a plug in for
Sherline.  I just got a Sherline 4 inch Rotary Table, and it is one
beautiful piece of equipment.  The controls are buttery smooth, and for
$250, it is worth every penny IMO!  I have read about the Taig Lathes and
they have their own cult following.  The following sight has more to say
about it:
http://www.pioneer.net/~felice/taig.html

                             Clear Skies...Barry Carter