All 8" X 12" Lathe owners

[davidb4747]

I`m a new member to this Site,and Live in Canada..I would like to hear from owners, about, their impressions on the 8"X12" lathes..I have a new one coming to me..I`m in Manitoba,Canada,and these Machines are not sold,in the North here.I`ve read some realy old reviews about these machines,But now that they`ve been on the Market and been in use for a number of years.I would like to know ,what peoples experiences, have been ,with their own, personal ,Machines.Such as Are you happy with it,or not..What were ,some of the changes, you may have made ,to your machine.Weak points, that you may have found, after having the unit, for some time..What accessories that you find yourself useing the most.Is the machine holdig its` own with the type of work you use it for?.I know that ,Lathemaster, has one form of the lathe,and Harbor Freight, has the other.Is there anywhere else, that, this machine is being sold ,maybe under a differnt Badged Name? I was fortunate with the Lathe I found(not in my possesion yet).It was owned by another Canadian,who never used the machine,and it`s still in it`s original packaging.By purchasing the machine from him,I saved Curency exchange Cdn/US dollars,also, if the machine would have crossed the border ,I would have to pay, an aditional 13% ,for the 2 taxes ,that we are charged.There would have been a Duty to pay too,because the Machine ,does not fall into the, North American Free Trade Agreement,due to it being manufactured Over Seas`..The Lathe ,is the model ,that Harbor Freight sells,so I don`t think there`s much in the way of Tooling ,or accessories included with it.. I sure would like to Hear ,from 8"X 12" owners, of any tips, etc. that they might be willing to share with a new owner,that will be setting up a machine in the next couple weeks..Thanks; Dave

[Al_The_Man]

Isnt' that about the size of the one Princess Auto is selling?
Actually if you use the right commodity code for importing, even Chinese fall under MFN (most favoured Nation) category and duty is Free. I know I just brought one in.
Al.

[davidb4747]

.I didn`t know that Princess Auto had a Lathe,at least not in the Winnipeg branch.I`m in there every week,never seen one in their catalogue either.Have you Got a link?Did you import your Lathe directly from China Or the USA.?.I had been under the impression that anythng not North American made, got hit with a DUTY.Doesn`t really matter cause I got one on this side of the Border.

[Al_The_Man]

On line catalogue page 202 http://members.shaw.ca/DL0003/SHOP-CAN.pdf, also they show lathe tooling.
Regarding duty, it depends on the commodity code, not the country, necessarily.
BTW in Winnipeg you can clear your own customs, equipment can be brought in, in bond by the couriers or freight companies, alot of the information and fillable forms are on the Can.Gov. web site.
I got the lathe from LatheMaster (9x30) for experimental CNC conversion package testing.
Al.

[davidb4747]

Well .I`ll be!!! that Princess Auto machine,looks like its another, Badged version ,of the Seig 7"X ??" Lathes..I actually called ToolWorld in Winnipeg, and asked ,what was the deal with, why the KING machines ,(another version) were so expensive at $999.00,when in the States a,Homier, Speedway lathe was $299.00,and nearly the same machine..I got, a bucket full of excuses from the guy, some being ,that those China made machines are junk ,the King is made in Canada,Right there I was thinking BULLShirt .He tells me ,The U.S.machines, weren`t C.S.A. approved.Plus the guy tells me you need to pay exchange,Taxes ,and Duty Brokerage fees..I`m thinking to myself ,Yeah ok,but,there`s still GST & PSt taxes to be added to the King Machine too,and, it Dosen`t have anything ,in the way of Extras either..Quick Math, basically told me, that`s at least $600.00 bucks difference, to take care of all those Border Crossing issues,and shipping costs..I just walked away on that deal(no deal ).There was no way, I would buy that King Machine ,at that kind of Cash.The Princess machine, is $200.00less ,than the King,but it`s overpriced too,I think.At least it`s Cheaper..I`m real happy with the Deal I got,on the 8"x 14" ..$500.00 CDN and No Tax


I wish ,I had found this site and joined sooner ..That King Salesman realy confused me with the border Crossing Regulations..

A.T.M ;Here`s a picture of a 7"X10" sitting on top of a 8" X 14".You can get agood idea of the size difference..I would like to see both of thes sitting on top of a 9" X 20" now..

[davidb4747]

I guess ,that picture didn`t upload for some reason..Here`s a link to see it.

http://www.fignoggle.com/machines/8x.../firstlook.htm

the picture is 3`rd from the bottom.

[Al_The_Man]

I got a kick out of the Chinese translation terminology.
From the operators manual.
Wear Gaberdine ( Old English for CoverAlls) when operating the machine.
It is strictly forbidden to wear gloves, high heels and skirts. Thats a relief
Al.