We recently bought one of the 9x20 Chinese lathes for a specific,
recurring job that involves turning down the OD of HRS rings. It's a
simple, one tool task that requires a couple of passes to get the proper
average OD. We used to send these parts to an outside shop where they
turned them for us at $10 each. They upped their price to $18, and at
that point we decided to bring the work inside. The BD920 clone we are
using cost under $1K and it does just as good a job as the other shop's
$90K turning center on these simple parts. Even with the added cost for
labor, our machine will pay for itself in less than a year.

Would a 30 year old SB or Hardinge for $1500 be a better lathe? Sure,
but when you factor in the cost to find, check out, deliver, and install
one of these old machines, the final price is more like $5K. And the
price of spares (if you can find them) for those dinosaurs is usually
outrageous as well. In raw dollars and cents terms, the $1K lathes are
not a bad investment for simple tasks.


Don Foreman wrote:
On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:55:17 -0700, szaki wrote:



This is not a job shop, we machine crystals for lasers! We just need a
lathe to turn some pins and other parts for fixtures.
No one hold a clock over any one heads.


Then you will want some precision. Buying an Asian import would be
pennywise but pound foolish even if nobody's watching the clock.
You don't need a big lathe but you do need a good one.

Maybe Gunner can find you a Hardinge.