Re: What is the weak link in machine precision?

I don't want to bust your bubble, but buying a $4000 copy of a
$12000 Bridgeport doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the
perfection you might expect in a new machine. If you've got $4K to
spend, there are plenty of good Series I Bridgeports around for that
type of money. Bridgeports are known for being built square and
true, but the same can't be assumed for all the copies. Some are,
and some aren't, but if you get one that isn't, then there's no
fixing it short of spending an amount equal to the purchase price in
having it reworked. A friend of mine recently purchased a new 16
inch swing Asian engine lathe for a shaft job that recurrs but isnt
enough work to justify purchasing a CNC lathe to handle it. After a
week of trying to make decent parts, he returned the lathe to the
seller. I sold him a 1945 model 18x54 Monarch I'd purchased from a
railroad maintenance shop a few years back, and he's made
consistently good parts with it from the first try. I was happy
because I didn't need the lathe any more, and he was happy because
he got a lathe for $3K that will do what the $9K import wouldn't do.

Cliff

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "zipdrive2k"
<zipdrive2k@y...> wrote:

> Jon,
>
> I think I will be purchasing a new machine. Can't see any reason

to

> purchase a worn machine for a grand and fix any broken parts when

a

> new knee mill can be had for 4k and no problems. If I do have

error

> in the z-axis, how can that be taken out?
>
> Any recommendations of machines that are better than others?
>
> Thanks.