"Clare Snyder" wrote in message
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Several home machinist friends talk about having bought a partly
assembled lathe kit, or a partly assembled milling machine kit. When
they got them home they dissassembled them, did remedial machining and
fitting, then did final re-assembly. Had pretty decent machines when
they were done

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That's a cynical joke, the machine is sold mostly or fully assembled and
"ready to use" but might as well be a kit of parts that need more careful
deburring, final fitting and perhaps better-grade hardware. I had to re-tap
all the threaded holes in the 3-in-1 combo sheet metal machine I bought
used. The original owner had given up on it and I spent a while fussing with
its crude adjustments, but now it works well enough for a hobbyist.

In my opinion they are useful machine shop apprentice training as long as
you aren't on company time. Identifying and fixing flaws is a valuable
skill. Used industrial machinery can have similar problems from wear, and
trade school stuff from abuse.


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