[MetalShavings]

I've been saving up for several years to buy myself a CNC hobby lathe. I don't mean one of those little
bench-top models like Sherline and such.

I was wanting something mid-sized. In the same way my tormach 770 is "Mid-Sized" compared to a full sized vertical mill
and a Sherline.

During that waiting and saving-up time I got news that Tormach was working on a new Lathe of their own
that they were going to introduce to the market not long ago.

Well; where is it? What's happening on the Tormach Lathe front?

I'm nearing the point where I'm ready to buy and I've heard nothing more about it other than inquiries by other
interested potential buyers.

I've selected two other CNC Lathe candidates for possible purchase but if possible, I'd rather keep the same Tormach brand
in my disproportionately small home shop. I have nothing but good things I could say about my CNC mill. I figured
if or when Tormach does introduce a new lathe to the market the quality should be just as good as the quality I've found on my
770.

Has anyone heard anything more about this elusive Tormach lathe? Time is quickly ticking by. I don't think
I'm the only one who's not averse to going with another brand if there's not at least some updates on the progress
of this Lathe venture by Tormach.

MetalShavings

[Gerry Sweetland]

Have you tried asking Tormach?
Gerry

[gjvander]

What are models are you considering?

Geo

[MetalShavings]

Not sure if this is a setup question or a genuine curiosity inquiry. On some forums, when one gets this type of questions, it's sometimes asked by
one of the self-appointed guardians of the name-brand or a resident know it all. It's their segway into a lambasting session against any
answer that's given.

I've not run into that to much on this forum so I'll answer as if having been asked by a genuinely curious fellow CNCer; with my apologies for any offense to the assumption
above.

Since I've been working with a smaller manual metal lathe for a while now and have never even seen a CNC lathe in person,
I figured that any CNC Lathe I decided on would have to be based on something I was accustomed to using.

Right now my second choice (1st choice being a tormach lathe) would be one of the cncmasters models. For me the positives are the included accessories, spindle bore and the fact that it will easily convert back to a full manual lathe. I'm not very electronics or computer savvy. If the CNC part of
such a lathe took a dump on me I could change it back to a manual lathe until I could get it fixed. It wouldn't leave me with a thousand-pound
paper weight.

My third choice for basically the same reasons would be one of the microkinetics cnc metal lathes; although these don't convert back to manual as easily.

In reply to Gerry's question about asking tormach; I knew this one was coming. In fact I'm not the only one who's inquired of tormach about the status of
this new lathe. And like most of the other inquiries, I got basically nothing in the way of definitive answers.

It's simple enough to visit their website and search for any info on this elusive cnc lathe. There's nothing new there. I'm getting the sense that maybe they've
bitten off more than they can chew with their new lathe build project. It would have been better to not even have mentioned it until they had completed
it and had it ready for market.

Thanks for the quick replies.

MetalShavings

[Scott_M]

I was at Tormach late last year and saw the lathe. It is Very nice. I also know that they had 5 built for the first BETA testing. It was my understanding that they should be able to start production this spring and they were hoping to have it available by the years end.

It is a monumental task getting a project like this to the production stage, even more so when they are made half a world away.

At least this will give me time to re-plan my shops floor space layout so I can fit the lathe in.

Scott

[gjvander]

Genuine curiosity

Thanks for posting. I like the latest Tormach version with slanted bed and rotary tool changer. The ones you have listed have some serious limitations, in my opinion - typical problem of converting manual machine to CNC vs design for CNC from the beginning.

Geo

[keebler303]

I'm getting the sense that maybe they've
bitten off more than they can chew with their new lathe build project. It would have been better to not even have mentioned it until they had completed
it and had it ready for market.

MetalShavings

LOL

Customers beg and beg for a lathe, Tormach tells them they are working on one, now they should have just said "NO" when the customers asked for a lathe?

You try your hand at designing a CNC machine from scratch, securing the supply chain, doing tons of testing and being ready to put your name on the line with it. I'd bet you would have to work out some kinks too. I've seen this many times on the forum where users have closer access to the inner workings of a company and so develop unrealistic expectations based on a "tidbit" of information the company has provided to satisfy the flood of annoying inquiries.

If you told tormach you were ready to purchase a lathe and they didn't say "we will have one ready soon" then I would take that to mean they are not confident in the release of the product and you should buy another available lathe if you need one. Tormach does not owe anyone an update on the development of their future products.

Regarding the lathe, a machine designed for both manual and cnc work will be best at neither. There are always compromises and what makes a good manual lathe does not mean a good cnc lathe. I don't have any experience with the line you are looking at but if you want a CNC lathe, I'd suggest buying a CNC lathe that is made to be a CNC.

Good Luck
Matt

[MetalShavings]

Hi Scott:

Can you tell me what the overall dimensions of the tormach lathes you were able to view? Did you get any sense of price points?

Thanks.

Hi Geo: I agree with you completely. These are my choices based on my own limitations as a self-taught machinist, pricing, space requirements and accessories. Like I mentioned in my previous reply, I'd rather have the tormach lathe but they're not available until some time in the future. Who really knows when that will be for certain.

Keebler: I know you mean well and believe it or not I did consider all the criteria you've touched on before making my remark. My point was, given the present circumstances surrounding their lathe build, in hind-sight, perhaps they should have never even mentioned their lathe until they had all their ducks in a row.

I'm afraid that's the best explanation I can come up with for you. In lieu of that, please refer to the first few sentences of my previous reply.

MetalShavings

[mike sr1]

Not sure if this is a setup question or a genuine curiosity inquiry. On some forums, when one gets this type of questions, it's sometimes asked by
one of the self-appointed guardians of the name-brand or a resident know it all. It's their segway into a lambasting session against any
answer that's given.

I've not run into that to much on this forum so I'll answer as if having been asked by a genuinely curious fellow CNCer; with my apologies for any offense to the assumption
above.

Since I've been working with a smaller manual metal lathe for a while now and have never even seen a CNC lathe in person,
I figured that any CNC Lathe I decided on would have to be based on something I was accustomed to using.

Right now my second choice (1st choice being a tormach lathe) would be one of the cncmasters models. For me the positives are the included accessories, spindle bore and the fact that it will easily convert back to a full manual lathe. I'm not very electronics or computer savvy. If the CNC part of
such a lathe took a dump on me I could change it back to a manual lathe until I could get it fixed. It wouldn't leave me with a thousand-pound
paper weight.

My third choice for basically the same reasons would be one of the microkinetics cnc metal lathes; although these don't convert back to manual as easily.

In reply to Gerry's question about asking tormach; I knew this one was coming. In fact I'm not the only one who's inquired of tormach about the status of
this new lathe. And like most of the other inquiries, I got basically nothing in the way of definitive answers.

It's simple enough to visit their website and search for any info on this elusive cnc lathe. There's nothing new there. I'm getting the sense that maybe they've
bitten off more than they can chew with their new lathe build project. It would have been better to not even have mentioned it until they had completed
it and had it ready for market.

Thanks for the quick replies.

MetalShavings

Gerry is one of the nicest and most helpful people on the forums period!

[Steve Seebold]

We weren't "PROMISED" a lathe. We were told they were working on one.

[BAMCNC.COM]

Scott heard the same as I did.

[tbaker2500]

We weren't "PROMISED" a lathe. We were told they were working on one.

This is very true.

I'm a manufacturer in the entertainment/gaming industry. I have to say this is a problem we struggle with constantly. Our goal is to not mention any upcoming products until they are within spitting distance of selling. But at the same time, loyal customers need to know that we are working on the latest and greatest, and we'll occasionally talk about things before they are fully baked.
But the problem with companies in this size range, is often fully baking that product takes longer than you expect. So what people really want is a release date. And that's the last thing that can be truthfully given out, because the company just doesn't know. And making up a date is worse than not giving one.

I feel that if Tormach isn't providing a release date for this lathe, it is not going to ship in the next 6 months. It might ship in a year. They don't seem like a company to deliberately not tell people until the week before release; therefore it means they aren't ready.

[MetalShavings]

Gerry is one of the nicest and most helpful people on the forums period!

I agree: Gerry has helped me out on more than a couple of occassions.

I think you may have miss-read a reply here or there. It was gjvander/Geo that made the inquiry; not Gerry. In either case,
I was glad to get both their replies.

Not having seen their lathe as of yet, I'd still like to know what the general specs are.

MetalShavings

[datac]

I'm a bit curious if it has something to do with the Control they had selected to use from the beginning ?
You'd think it obvious that it would be in their best interest to use a control that Tormach mill users would already find themselves familiar with. Frankly, if there is no Mach4 yet quite available to follow in the wake of their use of Mach3 on the mills, what would they run it with? Would it make sense to release a brand new lathe with potentially problematic software ?

Just something that peaked my interest related to the topic. While I considered the purchase of one of their mills once, the control was the weak point for me, and I've read plenty to indicate it has as many various issues for lathe operators.

[Steve Seebold]

This is very true.

I'm a manufacturer in the entertainment/gaming industry. I have to say this is a problem we struggle with constantly. Our goal is to not mention any upcoming products until they are within spitting distance of selling. But at the same time, loyal customers need to know that we are working on the latest and greatest, and we'll occasionally talk about things before they are fully baked.
But the problem with companies in this size range, is often fully baking that product takes longer than you expect. So what people really want is a release date. And that's the last thing that can be truthfully given out, because the company just doesn't know. And making up a date is worse than not giving one.

I feel that if Tormach isn't providing a release date for this lathe, it is not going to ship in the next 6 months. It might ship in a year. They don't seem like a company to deliberately not tell people until the week before release; therefore it means they aren't ready.

Well said.

[asuratman]

Maybe tormach have difficulties to decide on price. For milling it is not difficult since the different between one to another is clear. So they can position their price. But for lathe, the different is not so clear, I mean on lathe capability to another one is almost the same, and they are expensive. So they can not sell them too low. You see, chinese cnc lathe price, is not cheap.

[MetalShavings]

Good points made by just about everyone who's replied.

"Promised?" Perhaps just a case of semantics. In my feeble mind when someone tells me they're going to do something,
that's as good as giving me their word.

Since tormach is in fact "Doing Something" with respect to developing their new CNC Lathe, this only confirms
the implied "Promise."

I'd kind of like to know the dimensions of the spindle-bore, the distance between centers, will it be sold with the stand
or is the stand an option like it is on their mills, etc., etc.,..

MetalShavings

[MichaelHenry]

I'd kind of like to know the dimensions of the spindle-bore, the distance between centers, will it be sold with the stand
or is the stand an option like it is on their mills, etc., etc.,..

MetalShavings

Some of that info was posted in the comments to the CNC lathe entries on the Tormach blog.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather Tormach delay selling until the lathe has been pretty solidly debugged. One or two competitors have had significant problems with design or component selections with the result of very unhappy customers.

[Spinnetti]

If you want Microkenetics/CNCmasters, they converted the same lathe I did.... I'll sell you mine including the parts for manual use.. Only mine is servos, not steppers.... Really should just call up Tormach for news on theirs; I bet its not cheaper than these. You don't bring a new product to market in a few months, or in this case, working with China etc, in a few years... I imagine if all the business case works out from what I've seen, it could be in the this calendar year though.

[tonyaimer]

I second Michael's point about a debugged lathe.

I also have a pile of money waiting to order a lathe ( so you will sell at least one Mr. Tormach <g> )

I should say that its not a VERY big pile! <g>.

From a hobby perspective I am happy to wait and base my purchase choice on the Tormach reputation but
I could understand that semi commercial folk might feel a bit of pressure in that regard.

If Tormach have built 5 beta test machines then that is a big signal that it is coming.

I would like to believe that the Tormach lathe will be very much better then Windoze 8 which seems to ignore
what customers want - see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417020,00.asp

The majority of us are all waiting very patiently and with great anticipation.

Tony Aimer