[akschu]

Group,

I'm completely and absolutely lathe ignorant, but I'm wanting to guy a benchtop rig to cut small parts out of aluminum. Nothing very complex, mostly bushings, adapters, things like that.

I simply cannot afford the cost, shipping, and space of a larger lathe because I have a small shop, and finding a good deal on a used lathe is difficult because I live in Alaska where there aren't a bunch around. Because of these things I called Grizzly and was quoted $250 to ship the G0602 to my doorstep which is reasonable for a 440lb machine.

Now the questions:

1. I make it a rule to not buy cheap tools because they always break and then I'm stuck replacing them with what I should have bought the first time. Does this G0602 qualify as a cheap tool?

2. What kind of accuracy am I going to get out of this? I would like to cut my parts to .001". Is that possible with this lathe?

3. What kind of tools to I want to order with this lathe since I'm already going to eat a ton of shipping cost? I need to be able to cut bushings with a flange to start. I also need to cut out the inside of some round stock.

4. Is there a better deal on a different lathe I should be looking at?

5. Can this lathe be converted to CNC later? I certainly would like to do this in a year or two when I finish a few other projects.

Thanks for answering my questions.

schu

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi akschu. Welcome to the Zone!

Make sure you specify the liftgate truck. And also make sure that an 18 wheel truck can GET to your doorstep.

I live on a narrow lane, and even though Grizzly and UPS freight assured me that a smaller truck would come, the 18 wheeler that showed up could not make the turn. I ended up scrambling to get a neighbor's help with a high lift tractor.

I think the 10 x 22 is the most bang for a buck lathe you can buy. There are several threads here about converting it to CNC.

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Here are some links:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59435

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32939

CR.

[michaelstranny]

Hey askshu, I bought 9729 about 2 yrs ago. Burned up 3 motors when I first got it. They're tech. dept helped me over the phone and kept sending motors. They were polite and helpful even when I wasn't. I have a less than .001 tolerance x and y axis. I'm very happy with my machine. The single most helpful other tool I bought was an H7762 tool grinder. I bought most of my other tooling from them, probably more money than I spent on the machine.