The Home Machinist!

Ike, I am the KING of finding great machines at rock-bottom prices, ten minutes after somebody else bought them. If you ever need help finding a great deal someone else just got, look me up.

I got the picture a few posts back. I would guess that Grizzly is tired of angry calls from people who can't get their gaps back in, so they inserted that language in the manual. Sounds like you should avoid it in a Chinese lathe, do it with impunity in an expensive lathe, and if your lathe is cheap...

STEVEC said:

And Steve, I don't know for sure, but I would never argue with your last statement.

HA! Now I feel pretty smug.

Wait...

What's the minimum top speed you would settle for in a home shop lathe, and why?

HAROLD says: Truth is, when you work in a trade, as I did, and you have concern for the work you turn out (as I did), you learn how to do things well--or you don't survive (I did). You get to the point where you simply won't do things certain ways, which are often commonly accepted as being normal. ...

Man, I know it's nice to have a couple of beers with lunch, but let's slow down and take another look. It's obvious I was addressing Harold. He's worried about offending us by dropping too much knowledge on us.

I got a reply! It's not a mint-condition lathe. It's a paint job! Good afternoon, I apologize; I never received your first inquiry. Year of manufacture: 1959 Spindle speeds: 32-1000RPM I do not know what it was previously used for The paint is new Lathe has been fully inspected & runs great Plea...

Man, I was going to offer you a mint-condition Tree for forty cents.

It's supposed to be a top-notch machine, but the features are behind the times.

I'm surprised no one has grabbed it. Maybe there's something wrong with it.

So many people get sweaty over a decrepit 15-owner South Bend made when FDR was in short pants. This looks a whole lot better to me.

Well, I read all the drivel. I figured everybody did.

The gap isn't important to me any more. The thing is, a lot of lathes have them, so you sometimes you get one when you don't really want it, and I wouldn't want a lathe that was permanently misaligned.

I think he just locks my threads on pure reflex these days.