…..To use any machine "fully" you need skill and artistry, frankly, and some of those folk who prance around looking down of particular machines are usually lacking in the said features!

I have never personally liked the ML7 and would not use one myself (I have in the past) but it's hardly a "hobby" machine since many pro workshops around the world have one or more. It's really a matter of application and the ML7 does offer a lot for it's size and class….ie, a light duty craftsmans lathe that takes up minimal space compared to other machines, and did'nt used to break the bank. This last feature was/is it's downfall as it became priced out of it's own class at the end.

There are plenty of top artisans still using ML7's in fields where they don't really give a fig about lathes, they just want a good small lathe that will give years of service with no fuss or bother………there are some very clever and talented people using them including clock makers, scientists, laboratories, colleges/universities, armed forces, gunsmiths, motor restorers, inventors, industrial designers, jewllers, hospitals, forensic teams, research groups, ships, archeology teams,…and yes, even some top flight model engineers!

It's currently common for 'lathe bores'….(you all know who you are!) to offer considered opinions on why this or that lathe is not the measure of that other lathe. What they don't seem to do much is to actually turn stuff and make things….. To compare a ML7 to a Colchester or Harry is a bit of a pointless excercise that only 'lathe bores' get any sense out of frankly!

Edited By Bob Stevenson on 03/05/2016 18:39:31