[GITERDUN]

Well I been watching the forum for quite a while now and also looked at a couple of machines. Heres what i think- the older yellow machines are definitely what people call an assembled kit. Looks like you could take one apart and put it back together with new bolts and clean it up and have something pretty usable. The new patriot machine is pretty much ready to go with nice finish and stainless steel bolts. Idecided on the patriot even though its twice the price of the yellow ones because i want to get going right away. plus they had the patriot in stock. There was a lot of talk about spare parts and stuff by another guy, so I sent them an e mail and asked if they had those castings in stock. They said they did and gave me the part numbers and prices. I'm going to pick my machine up in Vegas this weekend and see the castings in person then i will post more when i get it home.

[GITERDUN]

Got over to Shopmaster this weekend and picked up my machine. JT kept the crate open and gave me a rundown on how all the stuff works. Had some weather issues on the way home and I'm glad I brought along a tarp. Its still sitting in the back of the truck and my next step is to rent a hoist to lift it out and get it setup. The packaging on these things is pretty clever, with the bench legs mounted upside down on the machine and forming a steel frame for the wood crate. It is also a heavy package at 1400# plus some extra tools.
We spent most of the time talking about cars as gearheads usually do. Got some pictures of JT's stock car and saw pics of his crazy 6 wheel Porsche pickup. He's got a nice setup there- nothing fancy, but well laid out. One area is set aside for the machines and preparation and another for the racing stuff. We talked about the guy who complains all the time and he told me his version of the story and then he me showed his spare parts- once again all well organized and pretty complete. We pulled out a couple of the big castings and I shot some pictures. These things are heavy- it takes 2 guys to lift that mill head.
More later when I get my machine all set up.

[GITERDUN]

Here's a couple more shots of the parts-
that base casting weighs a ton- just thought someone might want to see the underside and all the cross stiffener ribs.

[sharpshooter90]

Giterdun,
Just for your info, JT gave offerred me a credit for all the parts I removed during my DC drive conversion. It costs a few dollars to mail them back, but I feel it may be a better deal than collecting dust under my bench for the next 20 years. I'm going to run the DC stuff for a while first just to be sure.