[smallblock]

After talking about the spindle design, I remembered that I had upgraded to R-8 on my old 1720 model. Shoptask used to offer this kit for the older units with Morse #3 spindles. It came complete with the new spindle, a new drawbar, a drill chuck and arbor and new bearings if needed. Shoptask had a trade in system where you would send in your old spindle to one of their customers who used a Shoptask machine to re- grind the inner taper to R-8 and install a key. You also had the option of sending in your entire cartridge for a completed unit.

[flatheadford49]

That was definitely the best upgrade of any to this day.
Kinda like moving from a file to a surface grinder.

Good Luck
Flathead

[smallblock]

That was definitely the best upgrade of any to this day.
Kinda like moving from a file to a surface grinder.

Good Luck
Flathead

Actually Shoptask had a lot good upgrades for the older machines- the R-8 was one and the Quadra Lift was another. The function is really not much different between the R-8 and the MT 3. The real difference is in the cost and availability of tooling. After I got involved in E-Bay, I realized that there was a huge amount of low cost R-8 stuff out there, both new and used, while MT 3 was pretty scarce. Once I converted the mill to R-8 my tool inventory went way up- good thing was that I kept all the MT 3 stuff for use in the lathe.