I understand what your saying handlewanker,
But owning the combo he is asking about. I am in a position to speak of the quality of the machine. It is plenty solid for the tasks that are asked of it. In fact the combo version is much more rigid than the x2 by itself. The base of the x2 weighs 60 lbs. The base (Lathe) of the X2 on the g0516 is 297 lbs. So there is an increase in stability and swing by going that way. So it truely is a win win situation on the combo.
I see what your saying about used machines. But I have been down that road in other equipment and always have been disappointed. I prefer to start learning on something that has a warranty, customer service and a following of people that can answer questions with specifics. I have achieved all of that wth my g0516 and am very pleased I did. I have bought a $2k thermal dynamics plasma cutter that was used, sold on ebay as single phase, turned out to be 3 phase and once I got a place to use it, turned out didn't work. So I ended up buying a new hypertherm plasma cutter for $1k that was new and spent $3k doing it total.
With used equipment, it's yours if it is bad or worn out. You can get good deals if you are experianced. But there are to many bridgeports, etc out there that only have "Highway miles" if you know what I mean.
You are not loosing anything from this lathe by having the mill attached. The mounting bracket is a hefty L Base on the rear of the lathe with it's own support. It can be removed and no harm will be done to the unit at all.  |