Are we calling primordial soup born nowHard to believe it was born the same year as Phil.....
Are we calling primordial soup born nowHard to believe it was born the same year as Phil.....
Many of the smaller lathes will have flat ways. The larger more expensive lathes will have V ways, more accuracy.The small lathes don't have the mass or strength in the ways that bigger lathes have, that causes small vibrations throught the ways of the lathe while cutting, making it more dfficult to get a smooth finish. I went thru this same senario with a small lathe similiar to yours. After working with a group of tool makers in machine shop they confirmed this, my solution was to step up to a 14x 30 Clausing. Problem solved.
Have you ever seen them wrap a band around a drum or a clamp for a rotor on a brake lathe. Turning down the cast will cause vibration due to it being more porous. If you put a grade two bolt in and turn it down compared to the grade 8 you’ll see that the grade 8 will have a smoother finish. The larger head mass on a big lathe will also cut down on the vibration. To a point speed is your friend. It’s my experience anyway.