Neil, THAT is all I was asking for! I really did not paraphrase but derived from your Mondeo analogy what I thought you implied…Nothing to criticise now at all!

Thank You.

Bill:

That really is smoke – A AUD$1.2M machine has no place in this debate but..if EMCO thought my lathe needed such attention, then no doubt such a team would have been sent in the first place. My eventual choice of this lathe was based on use and track record – there are a number of such lathes in educational institutions in South Africa and I went to see some while researching. My delivery experience mirrored theirs, so my lathe was not in any 'sweet spot' – simply a good machine made to a standard..

I would suggest it is obvious that the bigger the machine the more setup required – weight, length of beds, CofG etc all have far greater effect on levels, twist and such like. The floor preparation also begins to play a larger role – If people are insinuating that my lathe does not fall withing the bounds of a hobby lathe, then your mill is certainly way out!

thaiguzzi:

Actually, I made tea for Bond…

Have you really looked at Hardinge prices lately? A TFB-H with VERIFIED conformance to spec advertises typically from US$5500 to US$9500, with a few outliers. An HLV-H reconditioned but unverified from USD$8000, up to US$33000 for a verified machine. The latter topping my 14D price by a more than a third…And yet is seems you might get an acceptable one for half the price of my lathe?

A new CYCLEMATIC – the Eastern Hardinge copy – goes for $47K in the US.

I know the TFB and HLV are not the typical hobby machines, and yet many hobbyist's have one..

I think the key is that what makes the hobby your hobby is different for everyone. Circumstances may allow spending more on a machine for perhaps ( note, perhaps..) better performance, or enjoyment of the machines use, some enjoy the hobby for its use of machines, for some the machine remains a means to an end only and the less time spent on the machine the better, so money is better spent where it serves best then, etc, etc.

Don't judge and begrudge people their personal hobby choices, direction or particular financial circumstances – That way shows only disdain or jealousy!

Neil – is there a way to remove all this clap-trap from Ian's thread – maybe another thread if you do not wish to just delete the stuff not relevant to Ian's original query intent? It has contaminated Ian's thread excessively I think..

Joe