Bill: Looks like you may have a Big Dog Metal Works lathe there -- if you do, you're a lucky dog [pun intended]. An earlier version called a Homier was much liked by owners (including mine second hand from Larry Jackman who was a professional machinist active in HO). Here is a write up on the lathe http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Reviews/Big_dog/bigdog2.htm as seen on mini-lathe website which is a valuable source of information. BTW I have six jaw chuck and have cut driver tires from leadloy steel and stainless, so yes you can cut free machining steel as long as you dont push the depth of cut feed too much. PS the Big Dog is made in a different factory from the Sieg lathes sold by Harbor Freight and Micro Mark.
But pause a moment before casting aside ye olde trusty Unimat -- I still use the Unimat almost as much as the Homier -- why? Cause you always need a small generous tolerance part here or there, or a drill press for something small and set up is easier than the biggins; and in a pinch you can literally build a fixture and mount the Unimat to the base or cross slide of the 7x14 and do things like drilling boilers etc. Just sayin, if you ain't broke and ain't out of space pause a while, Have fun, Chris Rooney -- J Chris Rooney CFA Email: [email protected] www.VannessCompany.com ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
