Re: Steel G0704 base/y saddle
Adding weight (mass) just to add weight is not beneficial. Heavy does not equal stiff.
Increasing stiffness (and having more weight because of increased quantities of appropriately placed material) is beneficial.
I agree with Joe that stiffness is king. I disagree that damping doesn't matter (theme in Joe's posts over many threads). There is plenty of evidence that damping improves surfaces finish. Yes the best first step is a machine as stiff as possible. Ideally so stiff it does not deflect at all, but in reality this is impossible. You will have some vibrations at some point. Steel rings like a bell and keeps ringing. Appropriately designed damping (can be composition materials, particle dampers, constrained layer damping) is helpful.
7xCNC.com - CNC info for the minilathe (7x10, 7x12, 7x14, 7x16)