Several years ago I bought a SAG14 14x60. At the time it was just the right amount of overkill for the work I was doing with rifle barrels. As time has progressed and the type of work has changed/disappeared, I find myself now way over-equipped. It's like having a military 2 1/2 ton truck and only needing a 3/4 ton pickup. Here is my question. Is there a current lathe in the 10"-13" range that will have the user friendliness and smoothness of the SAG14? I already have an RPC, so a unit that runs on 3 phase, poses no issues. I'll probably wind up doing work on mostly RC models for my own enjoyment and won't need something built for production work. I'm posting this on the model specific forum in the hopes that someone out there that owns a Graziano can appreciate the way they run and have experience with other machines to make a practical recommendation. I hate to admit that I don't have the desire to find and run the risk of working on an old classic like a 10EE. I realize that there is no equal to sheer mass when it comes to smoothness and precision, but most of the work I foresee will be much less demanding. I'm not saying I will definitely get rid of it, but if I keep it, I'll have to look into reworking the lathe to run small parts on a regular basis and everything is going to be way out of scale. Bear in mind that I have this 9', 3000lb beast crammed into a crowded two car garage, so a reduction in size would be a welcome change. I have no room to spare to allow for a second smaller lathe, so it will be a one or the other choice. I welcome your feedback.
Thanks
Mark
Thanks
Mark