If I were to hit the lottery.....

[wierdscience]

...this would be on my list-

http://www.toolmex.com/MT/MTTUR630.asp

Made in Poland and no freakin gap bed.Another nice feature is the dual D1-11 option,a chuck on both ends of the big bore spindle is a nice feature.

Anybody know what they run?I'm guessing $60,000 or more.Wish they were still making their 14x60.

[thistle]

hardly a hsm lathe as its new, not cheap, not chinese and you cant lift one end!

[Dawai]

Thistle:

Rumor has it, Darin has been hired at some jobs to replace a fork lift. He'd down tha with the "tote the cotton bale" mentality..

I'd not bet he could not pick up the end.. the light end anyways.

[lazlo]

Darin, what's the downside to a gap-bed? I've never run a gap-bed lathe, but I've often lusted after a Mori, which are of course, gap bed tool-room lathes.

hardly a hsm lathe as its new, not cheap, not chinese and you cant lift one end!

LOL! Someone here (John maybe?) had a great quote about TOS: blocky and inelegant, but you can drop them out of a helicopter, dust it off, and turn to a tenth

[wierdscience]

Thistle:

Rumor has it, Darin has been hired at some jobs to replace a fork lift. He'd down tha with the "tote the cotton bale" mentality..

I'd not bet he could not pick up the end.. the light end anyways.

What's a forklift??

[thistle]

some like gaps , some dont ,
i like the gap, on my 15 inch lathe cuz i can put a big something in it, and also,
i have the gap out at the moment as i am working on the base of a bed turret for the lathe , and it makes a handy gauge ! try turning the lathe upside down a few times to check progress, on the turret base

[Alistair Hosie]

Darin not so hasty your first duty as a lottery winner is to look after your 2 best friends namely sir Hosie and Stevenson so long as you look after Lord Hosie really that will be enough whats left over will do you and John bestest pals remember.Alistair er I mean Lord Hosie

[motorworks]

wierdscience
These are very popular in Western Canada (Alberta machine shops)
I have a friend with a shop out there and he has two.
One is over 20 years old now and can still "keep to a 1/2 tho or better"
eddie
ps on my list too!

[wierdscience]

Darin, what's the downside to a gap-bed? I've never run a gap-bed lathe, but I've often lusted after a Mori, which are of course, gap bed tool-room lathes.



LOL! Someone here (John maybe?) had a great quote about TOS: blocky and inelegant, but you can drop them out of a helicopter, dust it off, and turn to a tenth

I have ran exactly three gap bed machines.One 14x40 Taiwan unit,one China 16x80 and the current Itailian built 24x120 we have at work.

They all have the same problems.Once the gap is removed in the case of the Italian machine the bed ways stop about 10" inches from the face of the chuck.On this particular machine the saddle bearings when ran out to the end of the ways means the compound is about 20" from the chuck face.Since the purpose of the gap is over sized faceplate work having a gap that wide is a bit useless.In order for a tool bit to reach the face of the chuck or even say a pipe flange mounted in the chuck it would have to be on the end of a long,springy boring bar,or some special piece of tooling made for the job.

If the cross slide ways were offset towards the chuck side of the carrage then it would most likely be a more usable design.


The gaps once removed will sometimes go back where they are supposed to and line back up with the rest of the ways,but sometimes there will be fiddling,removing and wiping,cleaning threads,swapping dowel pins etc to get them back in.

The final gripe is in my mind a nice,straight consistent way casting has got the be more rigid than one which dog-legs around a big freaking notch cut in it.

There are also lathes with movable gaps,but I haven't used one of those enough to know all the ins and outs.They are nicer though since the gap can be made whatever width is best for the job at hand.

[wierdscience]

Darin not so hasty your first duty as a lottery winner is to look after your 2 best friends namely sir Hosie and Stevenson so long as you look after Lord Hosie really that will be enough whats left over will do you and John bestest pals remember.Alistair er I mean Lord Hosie

Alistair,no sweat bud.Just do me a little favor,if you could be so kind as to send me $10,000 to buy the tickets I would gladly share my winnings.I'm sure I could find a nice holiday post card for you and John to share so you would each have something to remember me by.Throw in an extra $5,000 and I'll make sure it's from someplace nice

[quasi]

Wafum Haco Fat? Doesn't sound Czeck to me. I have been told TOS are now made in China.

[oldtiffie]

Sliding gap lathe

Removal and replacement of the gap is a PITA - just as using the lathe without the gap can be - as said.

Sliding gap lathes are made to address this very problem.

http://www.vannattabros.com/shop22.html

http://www.machineco.com/Lathe_Leblond.htm

http://www.machineco.com/lathes.htm

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=%22sliding+gap+lathe%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

There isn't much about on the web it seems. There have been a couple of pics of these machines posted here in the past. Have any members got some of these pics that they could post please?

[JRouche]

Lottery!!!!!! I have won it.. Every day is Saturday!!!

Im retired, at 43, good health, great wife, shop full of metal.. Oh yeah!!!! Feels like the lottery hit. It didnt of course.. But Im thankful for anything I have.... Everyday on the planet is a winning lottery the way I see it.

Ill take my lil 7x14 inch lathe and make it feel like the big bucks landed.... As long as I have the time to play with it. Then my bank hit gold... Time, for me is the lottery, not the big expensive tools... But hey Darin, Id love to play with that big mutha.. Dont know for what yet LOL JR

[japcas]

We have one like the TUR 630 at work. I believe it is the 118 inch between center bed. We bought it new last year. It's been a good lathe so far and seems to cut well. We ordered it with a newall c80 dro. I don't have a clue what it cost. Our shop is full of similar sized American Pacemakers. Our biggest complaint about it after running the Americans is the fact that there is no rack and pinion drive on the tailstock to move it up and down the lathe bed like there is on the americans. It does have a spicket that hooks up to the carriage that lets you pull it into position but if you have a steady rest on the machine between the carriage and the tailstock that option goes out the window. And the tailstock is heavy so sliding it isn't the easiest thing to do. Just a minor thing but something we were used to on the americans and our big monarchs also.

[wierdscience]

We have one like the TUR 630 at work. I believe it is the 118 inch between center bed. We bought it new last year. It's been a good lathe so far and seems to cut well. We ordered it with a newall c80 dro. I don't have a clue what it cost. Our shop is full of similar sized American Pacemakers. Our biggest complaint about it after running the Americans is the fact that there is no rack and pinion drive on the tailstock to move it up and down the lathe bed like there is on the americans. It does have a spicket that hooks up to the carriage that lets you pull it into position but if you have a steady rest on the machine between the carriage and the tailstock that option goes out the window. And the tailstock is heavy so sliding it isn't the easiest thing to do. Just a minor thing but something we were used to on the americans and our big monarchs also.

Yup,same thing on the Italian lathe at work,no crank no nothing.I usually float it up on oil,but it still takes a lot to get it moving.