jim rozen wrote:

In article , Tom says...

He posted:
"If I really wanted a *true* variable speed lathe, I would purchase
a cone pulley machine and fit it with a three phase motor and a VFD."

Not really a bad idea if you think about it. I guess nowadays
I would rather have a step pulley bridgeport head than a varispeed
one.

Same with variable speed lathe drives. They seem to be a lot of
trouble, when they break down they're hard to fix, they use a
fair number of unobtainium parts, and they're mechanically
pretty lossy. Compare that to the speed range available from
a VFD and it's a no-brainer choice.

Jim

You might want to consider one of these:
http://www.colchester.co.uk/Product_...p?productid=37

They are a magic tool to use.

Tom