Out of the box, the lathe is not in it's prime. Depending on your experience level, understanding of machinery, and tools on hand, you can definately dial-in the accuracy of it. It is a $400 lathe, so it's not like a $40,000 Jig Bore. That being said, it's a really decent hobby machine, and at $320 (which is what I paid for mine), it's a great deal.
Take a look at my thread titled "7x10 Project Started", which shows but 1 method of how to do a simple CNC conversion. The project is temporarily stalled until I get my Gecko 540 controller, but mechanically it's pretty much complete.
Jalessi is right about ball screws, it's certainly the best way to go, but it's also not absolutely necessary either. I personally wouldn't go to too much expense putting ball screws on it, because you can easily spend as much as the lathe itself cost. Ballscrews will remove the backlash, but won't improve the linear accuracy or stability. That being said, ballscrews are still at the top of the list of serious and worthwhile mods, assuming the expense is not an issue.
I am extremely happy with my 7x10. I haven't done a great deal of work with it, but It's perfectly proportioned for what I want. Not too heavy, not too light. I honestly don't have any plans of what I will use the lathe for once my conversion is complete, as the lathe and conversion itself is my hobby.  |