been watching this thread , good info in it and ideas too. the horrible fright mills and lathes are the lowest in the pile .but all the grizzly, jet ,speed way , tools now (Cummings) hdc , princess auto ,Bolton, horrible fright blaw blaw blaw are made by sieg just different colors and small changes to the run . all have there good and bad .they can be a useful tool and a decent product can be made on them .been watching this channel for years
YouTube - minibulldesign's Channel . he uses them ,he tells in one of his vids some of the problems and draw backs of the import stuff and how some of the weak points have been useful in certain machining operations.the main thing in getting one of these machines they aren't big heavy machines the harbor freight 7x14 lathe is only like 100 lbs . but looking at these now there like a 100 lbs heavier about the same size over all but almost 200 lbs . well in tools like this weight is good the more it weighs the better .
MINI LATHES, Lathemaster.com offers 9x30 mini lathe, 8x14 mini lathe, mini mills, chucks & accessories
still no great super strong American made tool but its not a atlas,craftsman , but :shrug: what i can tell any one looking at getting one for these is this , look around check out the different places that have them . there is differences in the tools and gear that come with them .get the best on you can afford and read up on the fixes and improvements people have made to them .if any one wants i have a pile of links to different places that have tools and parts/ machines like these let me know and i can post them .