Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Lathe DRO (was What to buy me, oh my)

I just bought a Jet 9x20 benchtop this weekend. I have one of the
Grizzly
mini mills that I CNC'd.

1) I wish in a big way I had bought a bigger mill. I've invested all
of the time
to CNC a mill now, and wish I had gone bigger (Don't have the space
right now). When
I move, I'm going to look at one of the Bridgeport series 1 or 2.

2) The quality of the Jet tool is MUCH better than my grizzly or the
stuff I've
seen at the harbor freight store. All the parts are there, no dents or
scratches,
better fit and finish, etc. No adjustments were needed to immediatly
produce
_incredible_ parts with the Jet lathe... The grizzly mini-mill took a
bit of
fiddling with the stock screws before I was content with things; Then I
replaced
them.

Anyway, I am thrilled with the Jet I just bought. I was second guessing
myself
because I paid a bit more for the Jet over (what otherwise appears
identical) the
Grizzly and Harbor freight 9x20 lathes. If you look close, they appear
_identical_. Based on my inspection, the designs are virtually
identical, but
the quality is not. The Jet works great!

On other things....

I'm looking at doing a lathe DRO using the US Digital encoder strips.
How do
all of you mount these? I'm assuming you build some protective housing
for the
strip and HEDS unit?

murph

Bob Lester wrote:

>
> Ok, I've been reading this group for a while and rec.crafts.metalworking
> for a few years off and on.
>
> I now have money to buy a lathe and mill. There have been lots of
> questions regarding what to buy, but I'm gonna try to ask mine a little
> differently.
>
> I'm new to metal working, but am pretty proficient with mechanical drawings
> and such, from my Navy technical experience.
>
> I want to do anything from building a sterling engine up to some
> gunsmithing, as in maybe working barrels for a single shot rifle and maybe
> making my own falling block action. Maybe also things like repairing
> shafts, pump impellers and other small parts repair/fabrication.
>
> Should I buy a Shoptask a Smithy Granite, I've also been looking at the Jet
> 9x20 benchtop.
>
> I may still buy the Grizzly 7x12 in addition to something bigger, or maybe
> just to start out with it.
>
> Mills, I am totally lost with other than the 3n1 jobs.
>
> It would be nice to have DRO and CNC capability, since my eyes are getting bad.
>
> I have $2500 to $3000 to spend.
>
> I'm going to start calling around the local area, now that I am ready to
> buy, and see what is available. There are only 2 or 3 dealers listed in
> our phone book, so I'm not expecting much around locally.
>
> I'm cross posting this to multiple groups, so my apologies in advance for
> those that read all the groups.
>
> Any help appreciated,
> Thanks,
>
> -(o|||||||o)-
> Les
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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