Hello all,

The Enco 12x36 belt-driven lathe is speaking to me. The money and noise
factors favor it over the geared head. How big a deal is the threaded
spindle vs. D1-4?

My hunch is that most things I would do would either be effectively
self-centering by being chucked, turned and faced in one setup, or they
would be milled and bored and then mounted in a 4-jaw chuck and then
indicated to run true. The problem is that I have next to no lathe
experience, so predicting what I will need is a little risky; if I am
kidding myself, please speak up. I do know that both the IRS and an
arborist have alternate suggestions for the price difference - actually,
the IRS has ambitions that far exceed it, but you get the idea.

A couple of reservations about a threaded spindle: will chuck changes be
a nightmare? Less judgmentally, how does one hold the spindle to allow
it? Is the reverse switch an accident waiting to happen? If not, just
how hard is it to remove the chuck?? Anything else I should be asking?

Points about round stock and collets are well taken. Still, I _think_ I
could simply turn to a desired diameter and be pretty much done???

Otherwise, the cross and compound dials are 0.100/rev, and the machine
is inherently imperial, which is what I suspect I will want for the next
few decades or so

Another good question to ask of any owners of the 12x36 belt-driven
lathe: would you buy it again?

Thanks,

Bill