Let's See Your Lathe

[TomG]

(01-17-2017, 07:48 PM)toglhot Wrote:  

Here's my lathe.   It's an Optimum Maschinen re-badged as Impala.   280mm swing and 700mm between centres and with a 25mm spindle bore.   It cuts both metric and imperial threads via change gears and a 3 speed gearbox.   It came with one of those horrible sheet metal stands which I discarded and replaced with one I made.   As Asian lathes go, this is one of the best, I've had two Taiwanese and three Chinese lathes.   Castings and machining are excellent and there's no bog/filler.   I've made a few mods for it:   stand, way protector, coolant system, ball turner, scissor knurler, carriage, cross and top slide locks, etc.   Best lathe of the five I've had.

A nice, stout little lathe. What do you have for turning balls?

My mill was made in Taiwan and the castings are very good. The only complaint I have is that they painted it an ungodly shade of green.

Tom