To be or not to be, which lathe is for me???

[wwendorf]

Ok, I admit it. I don't know any Shakespear except for the first 6 words in my subject line. What I do know, is that I want a CNC Lathe with a tool changer.

That being said, I have 4 currently that i'm looking at:

1) Emco 6p - fully functional - 3 phase - 8 tool changer
2) Emco PC Turn 50 - non-working - 110v - 6 tool changer
3) Emco PC Turn 50 - fully functional - 110v - 6 tool changer
4) Southbend 612 - fully functional - 110v - 8 tool changer

I honestly don't know what to do. I would like the PC Turn 50's because they are newer with newer computers, but the 6 tool changer worries me a bit.

The southbend fits my needs the best, but the old computer hardware scares me. The computer itself is from the 1980's and runs on 5 1/4" floppies, no hard drive.

I like the Emco 6p, but I would have to do a ton of re-wiring to use it because I don't have enough amps in my shop to run a phase converter, plus I'd need to BUY a phase converter, plus install a higher amp breaker box in my house (I already have 200 amp lines to the meter, only 100 amp service box in the house).

All the lathes are within $2000-$3000 range, excpt the one that needs repairs.

Any suggestions guys?

Would the south bend be easy to convert to mach 3 and still retain all the threading capabilities?
Could I retain the use of the tool changer?

What about repair parts for the 612?

Any comments or questions would be appreciated. I need to make a decision by tomorrow.

Wade

[Karl_T]

For me,it would be a no brianer. Go to door number 1. Almost certainly, that machine could be ran off a VFD. Lot more lathe than the other units.

Karl

[wwendorf]

I think that door #1 is not going to happen. I would have to re-wire my house as well as run additional power to my shop, plus purchase a rotary phase converter (the solid state phase converters will NOT run this lathe, it requires a 10 HP motor).

Wade