[garyMc]

The place is:

SOUTHERN-TOOL.COM: Southern Tool Home Page

I'm in central Fl and was thinking the same thing as you but in addition to not having any available they drop ship from Calif. so no savings on time or shipping. Just a big negative, Sales Tax.

Gary

[RTTIM]

The place is:

SOUTHERN-TOOL.COM: Southern Tool Home Page

I'm in central Fl and was thinking the same thing as you but in addition to not having any available they drop ship from Calif. so no savings on time or shipping. Just a big negative, Sales Tax.

Gary

Gary,

The 1030V looks like a nice machine - should work just fine for model engine building. I'm probably going to go with either that or the PM1127V. I also checked Grizzly and they have both the G4002(12x24) and G4003(12x36) in stock....at least in my neck of the woods (Bellingham WA store). Both of those are very capable lathes, and have the on carriage spindle control, which is really handy.

Tim

[garyMc]

Tim,

Yeah, I spoke with a lady at Grizzly yesterday and she told me they have plenty of the G4003 in stock for I think, 2799.99 without the stand. You can get the G4003G, which we know has several improvements over the G4003 for around 3059.00 which includes the stand. By the time you buy the stand for the G4003 you will have more money in it than the G4003G. Of course they have the G4003 in stock where the G4003G will not be available until May 25th. If it wasn't for the fact that I have to leave the first week in May to go North I would just wait for the G4003G. It's a very good machine.

I have a 20% off HF coupon and was looking at the HF 12x37 which looks a lot like the G4003 for 2488.99 with a stand after the 20%. Now that seems to be a good price but it doesn't have the Quick Change Tool Post or the D1-4chuck. The Chuck is not a really big deal to me but I can see where a person who is switching between 3 and 4 jaws on a regular basis, it would be a big deal.

The PM1030v is a nice looking unit and would more than handle what I am doing at the moment.

So, if I want to get a lathe before May 1st my options are the Grizzly G4003, the HF 12x37, the HF 13x40 (2799.99 w/stand after discount) or the PM1030V. Any of the these would be more machine than what I need it for now.

That PM1127V looks to be a very nice machine. If you get that or the PM1030v I'm sure you will be happy.

Talk to you later.

Gary

[garyMc]

HlydeDaue, Let us know if you order it. I think you will be very happy with the PM-1030V. Keep us posted on your progress.

Gary

[cornbinder23]

Gary,

The 1030V looks like a nice machine - should work just fine for model engine building. I'm probably going to go with either that or the PM1127V. I also checked Grizzly and they have both the G4002(12x24) and G4003(12x36) in stock....at least in my neck of the woods (Bellingham WA store). Both of those are very capable lathes, and have the on carriage spindle control, which is really handy.

Tim

A fellow Northwesterner, I am 10 min North of B'ham
What do you think of their showroom?
I have the G9972Z Which I have converted to cnc I love it, it does everything I need so far.

JTCUSTOMS

[cornbinder23]

I forgot to mention everyone that buys equipment from Grizzly's showroom to pay attention to the color, they went to cream/green combo instead of the all green, they told me they were phasing out the old colored equipment, and thats when I saw the all green 11x26 next to the cream colored 10x22 I asked for a deal on the 11x26 and I got it for less than 1000$.
Just remember you never get a deal unless you ask for one, my tightwad Pops taught me that.

And their tent sale in B'ham is in June I was there last year and there were alot of great deals on lathes.

JTCUSTOMS

[RTTIM]

A fellow Northwesterner, I am 10 min North of B'ham
What do you think of their showroom?
I have the G9972Z Which I have converted to cnc I love it, it does everything I need so far.

JTCUSTOMS

Yep- I live in Portland. I get up to the Bellingham/Ferndale area several times a year on business - have stopped by their showroom a couple of times....pretty nice facility....way too many toys to drool over!

I'm in the process acquiring a couple new tools for my home shop, so space is limited. I just sold my old Jet lathe - it just took up too much room for what I need. First priority is a benchtop CNC mill - leaning hard towards the G0704 with a CNC conversion & Mach3. I'll also be getting a smaller lathe to replace the Jet - leaning towards a PM1030V or PM1127VF...might go with the G4002 though....

Tim

[cornbinder23]

Thats where I am at on the outskirts of "Ferngully"
Mind if I ask what business you are in cause the only thing out there in refineries and a large aluminum smelter.

JTCUSTOMS

[RTTIM]

Thats where I am at on the outskirts of "Ferngully"
Mind if I ask what business you are in cause the only thing out there in refineries and a large aluminum smelter.

JTCUSTOMS

Those would be the clients we work with. We do industrial consulting for predictive maintenance & reliability engineering applications - things like vibration, infrared, ultrasound and laser based alignment & geometric measurements, as well as some analytical instrumentation for process measurements. We both sell equipment and do field measurement services. The lasers are pretty neat - we can do measurements to a resolution of 1 micron over distances up to 300 feet.

My home shop is primarily for hobby use - building things like model steam engines. A friend has a set of plans for a scale model triple expansion launch engine that I'm itching to get my hands on. I'm also working on my own design for a single stage curtis wheel steam turbine, but that's going to take some time.

Periodically we have to do some custom fixture design, mostly for laser measurement applications. I do the proto work in my home shop and bill my company for it. Doing some of these manually can be a real pain in the butt. My designs are done in TurboCad and I try to use a building block approach to maintain as much commonality as possible, so migrating to CNC on a small benchtop mill is a natural move and will save me a bunch of time.

My 25 year old Jet 14x40 & belt driven mill/drill were taking up way too much room in my shop in the garage - time to upgrade to some new toys!

Tim

[cornbinder23]

I just actually lost my job in the engineering dept of the company I worked at for the last 5yrs they had an explosion and fire that will limit their production to about 35% for the next year or so.:violin:
I did all the thermal imaging and vibration analysis as well.
I also have a friend that got me into this hobby that has developed an amazing CMMS program and is just finishing it up. It has all the bells and whistles, process management via smartphone, inventory control, maintenance solutions, and more. So if you know anyone who is interested in that type of software just let me know (shameless plug)

I am in the application process for one of those refineries engineering dept now so hopefully that goes well.


JTCUSTOMS

[RTTIM]

JT,

I assume you're referring to BP's little OOPS! I heard they're moving up a turnaround to coincide with the repairs from the explosion & fire. Whole thing is projected to take about a year.

Good luck on the interview - hope it works out. Would like more info on your friend's CMMS system - will send you a PM.

Tim

[garyMc]

Well I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the 13 x 40 HF lathe. The more I looked the more I came to the conclusion that most of the lathes from China must be made by one or maybe two different companies. I will use it to make small to medium steam engines. This lathe with my existing CNC mill should make this easy work. Thanks to all for their advice and help.

Gary

[dneisler]

Ok, so I have made a little extra money, is there any lathe out there that is a step up from a G0602 but not above $2000?

Or should I just spend the extra money on tooling, vfd and etc?

[RTTIM]

Ok, so I have made a little extra money, is there any lathe out there that is a step up from a G0602 but not above $2000?

Or should I just spend the extra money on tooling, vfd and etc?

The G0602 is a decent machine for the money. You might also want to take a look at the PM1030V or PM1127VF. Both are under $2k and have power cross feed and left hand threading capability, and the PM1127VF has both a feed rod and lead screw.

[dneisler]

I think I am jut going to get a G0602 since I know allot of people have them, and appears to be a good canidate for CNC at some point.

What tooling should I get, this is my first lathe.... Links and etc would be great. I don't want to cheapest stuff, but I don't want to break the bank either.

[hoss2006]

Lots of links across the top here.
G0602
Hoss

[RTTIM]

Tooling is kind of a personal preference kind of thing. The G0602 will take up to 1/2" tool bits, but I'd suggest 3/8" as they're a little less expensive. At the bare minimum you need some basic turning tools, maybe an AR, AL BR & BL, plus a 60 deg threading tool if you want to cut threads. Might figure on a cut off tool as well. Unless you have experience grinding your own tool bits I'd strongly recommend buying them pre-ground.

Carbide tool bits will last a whole lot longer than HSS & you can cut faster with them. The next decision you need to make is whether to go with brazed tool bits or indexable inserts. Brazed are cheaper, but you need to regrind them when they began to dull. The indexable insert type cost more up front, but replacement inserts are less expensive. Additionally, most inserts have more than one cutting edge, so when one begins to dull, you simply rotate the insert to use a new edge. Another advantage is that you can simply change insert type to match what you are doing. For example, C2 is great for 200/300 series stainless, cast iron & most non-ferrous materials, while C5/C6 is often better for most carbon and tool steels.

The price for set of indexable tools can vary widely, depending on things like where they are made. For example, a decent set of imported 3/8" (AR, AL, BR, BL &E) can be had for less than $45, while a set of US mfg might cost 2 or 3 times that.

Beyond a set of basic turning tools, you need to figure what else you might want to do with the lathe. For example, if you want to drill using the tail stock, you'll need a chuck with MT3 adapter. For turning longer pieces, a live center is real handy. Want to bore holes you'll need a set of boring bars. A quick change tool post can save a lot of time if you change tools a lot. You get the idea.....

Hoss' reference has some good links for tooling. Places like Enco also frequently run specials that can save you some bucks.

Hope this helps!

Tim

[garyMc]

Don't know if you're intrested in making the G0602 variable speed, but here is a great site with a step by step procedure on how to do it. Hope this helps you.

http://www.rcdon.com/html/the_revers...ject3.html#VFD


Gary