looking to buy cobra 42 need info

[mls]

I found a 1996 cobra 42 it is in nice shape do they seem to be reliable
machines and hold good sizes are all the parts avalible for repairing this when it breaks.

the only issue I see is that the door opens on the wrong side (you will get a bath is is cracked open at all does this seem to be a issue or is it tolerable and the control does not have the handwheel you have to got into the control is this some thing you just get use to.

thanks Mike

[Runner4404spd]

i have 3 cobra 42s. the last one i bought had 3000 hrs on it and i paid 12,900 for it. the machine is a little light weight but with the right tools and the understanding its limitations it can make really nice parts. i recently had to realign the turret and the spindle on two different machines. both are easy. hardinge support has been really reliable but recently the stopped all their in house tech guys and refer you to an outside house for trouble shooting. the outside company isn't anywhere near as good as the original tech team was. for the most part, parts have been available for the machines, but i haven't needed anything major. if you decide to pass on it, let me know i may be interested in picking up a 4th if the price is right.

[mls]

when you say a little light and you have to know there limitations.

I am aware it is not a 13000lb machine with 30hp.

I would think it could take .05 per side or so in stainless with a cnmg insert in stainless at 300sfm and .01 ipr on a 1.625 dia part.

Could you please give some examples of what type of cut this will take.
what type of parts and or material do you cut.

I am pretty conservative on my machines but I want to know that it wont be faster to rough a part on my engine lathe. This would be my first cnc lathe
most of the stuff I would be doing would fit in the collet. do you think as a starter lathe it is a nice machine.

Thankyou Mike

[Runner4404spd]

we machine parts out of stainless all the time. usually we are taking .060 cuts at 1.375 hex and 1.625 round bar all the time. we don't use the cnmg inserts but i know alot of people do. we also turn at 500-600 sfm in this material with specialized stainless inserts. also we do chucking work all the time on our cobra and have no problem. the only time we stalled the spindle we were pushing a 1.75 dia insert drill into 304ss at 450 sfm and .005 IPR.

i would definitely recommend bolting the machine to the ground, i wouldn't worry about level so much, if your not running a bar feeder.

as a good starter machine, i think its great if you can afford it without getting a machine payment. we do alot of 304, 316, 321 work so i know they will turn stainless with no problems. turning stainless you will need to get the right inserts to make sure your getting the surface finish you want. chip breakers also become really important.

also one thing to watch out fo is the tool holders come in both left turn and right turn. basically one mounts the tools right side up and you need to run the machine in M4 and the other mounts the tools upside down and you need to run M3. the parts manual isn't really clear on which is which. also the coolant pump is limited at 1/4hp. i've retrofitted 1hp coolant pumps on all my machines.

[mls]

thanks for the reply and yes the machine is cheap enough ($13500) that I can buy it outright.
I will also be doing titanium work but that is all small pcs under 1 inch in dia

thanks again now I am not so unsure of this machine
Mike