Printable View
Anybody know what the story is with our favorite combo machine company? I went looking for some technical files to archive and the site doesn't seem to exist. The Chicago Lathe site is kind of wonky currently and that part of the site is not working. Is this a reorganization after a change in ownership or what?
I have been in touch with them because I am wanting to upgrade from my current TC12-22 to a new machine. They are not too communicative for a company selling a $7000 machine, which doesn’t inspire confidence so I went searching.Quote:
Originally Posted by gahux
The company is still registered in Las Vegas but it looks like JT’s shop and house were sold several years ago and the new address is just a house.
Chicago Lathe is based in Southern California and I assume is the new owner. Again they are not communicative which is a bit disheartening, beck when I bought my used 12-22 I talked to JT and I believe his wife and had loads of questions before and after I bought it, he answered them all so I bought several hundred dollars of more tooling from him.
Unfortunately we now have to move so I will be putting off major purchases ...
FYI I own a 2017 Mill Turn and have been very pleased with it. It had a few bugs, but nothing major. If you want a machine that can easily be used in either manual mode or CNC it can't be beat. I sent the company a request for some information on the new Bridgemill and was promptly answered by JT, so apparently he is still involved.
I e-mailed JT about the name changes and he explained that for the first 20 years of business they were known as Shoptask, then in 2020 they changed the name to Shopmaster, now, after the second 20 years they have changed the name to Chicago Lathe. They had also created a new company called CNC Tool Express for a variety of tools, but he explained that the bookkeeping and tax filings got very complex since a lot of machine customers were buying from the tool company. So bottom line is that all the companies are now under the Chicago Lathe name. Still the same people after 40 years, but JT is not a big talker, so if you want info, it's best to e-mail.
I have a shopmaster eldorado bridgemill #03 568. I broke the 27t and 63t gear. Chicago Lathe does not have any parts to replace. Anybody out there have a source for these parts?
Thank you!
Johnbyus, I have a 1720 XMTC, and will not be using the gears if my gears will fit, I should be able to help you out.