PM-1228vf-lb lathe, "Chuck sled" & other quality of life improvements

[@TravisSteamburns]

Haven’t seen to many videos of steam engines in a while, I hope you’re using this lathe to make steam parts!!! 😅 Hope you’re doing well.

[@keithdavis00]

Hey, not just like and subcribe (which I did) but I'm just a couple of days from pulling the trigger on this one from PM. What's taken me so long? Should I get the next one up with the quick-change gearbox? And more slop? And doesn't come with a faceplate, and PM doesn't have one for it.) My dream is to get their second-one up Taiwanese "super precision" model, but I don't have $15K for it and the tooling to throw around. Please let me know what you've learned--thank you!

[@bruceang82]

@keithdavis00 I really can't comment on any other PM lathe, but I'm positive the Taiwanese model will be finished out better, but at a premium. This lathe is fine for me (especially with the "easy pull" reversing lever. This is much bigger than I expected & near the limit for a countertop model. No Chinese/Taiwanese lathe will be as fit & finished as an American lathe imho. Good luck with you decision.

[@bruceang82]

@@keithdavis00 I got my lathe slightly used & with a ton of extra tooling, my advice would be to find a good used lathe of your desire with (hopefully) plenty of extra tooling. A DRO is really nice.

[@keithdavis00]

@@bruceang82 Thank you for the information!