New VFD Patriot Shopmaster

Hi! First I think this is a great website. It's been awhile (5 or so years) since I posted. I was previously trying to build a CNC lathe from scratch (in my 1 bedroom apartment while in grad school) and it got too expensive and I ran into an issue (which I recently thought of how to fix...haha)...so I abandoned it. I, however, still have all the motors, ballscrews, gearheads, and miscellaneous parts. After I graduated and moved back home, I decided to buy a shopmaster 3-in-1 machine. Moving the machine to the basement from the driveway was an adventure in itself since I had to do it all by hand after it was lift-gate dropped off. I used particle boards, car jacks, ~3/4" steel rods, and I put 2 U-beams on the bottom of the machine so I could move it along the long direction (otherwise it was too wide to fit through standard single doors). I used cement blocks get it down 4 steps into a backdoor outcove. I built up with the cement blocks on the steps and inside the outcove so I could move the machine straight into the outcove. Then I lowered it little by little side by side til it was on the ground. It took me 2 days just to get it into the outcove (so it spent 1 night outside..I covered it with a tarp and the weather was nice). Moved it through the laundry room, through, narrow hall way into the cellar doorway. Then down the 5 cellar steps using cement blocks (it cleared the ceiling by just a few inches)...got it into the cellar and finally lowered onto the floor. Then I moved it into place, rented a "port-a-hoist" from a local rental place, lifted it up and got the stand bolted on. Below are pics of it in the laundry room and setup in the cellar.

Bought a SM Patriot a few years ago. The ways are not machined evenly and the table binds. The quality control on these is poor at best. There is a huge casting hole in one of the rails and the shims are so rough that if you tighten them enough to stabilize the table you can't move it. The coating on the screws pealed off almost immediately and gummed up the works. Over all if I were to do it again, I would not purchase one.

I've had a number of machines from Shoptask/Shopmaster over the years- starting 20 years ago. Like all Chinese products, they will have quality control issues, but I always got good tech support and spare parts when i needed them. The new MillTurn machine is coming out of a different factory and you can really see the improvements in overall quality.