Guidance in purchasing a metal lathe w/ auto feed

[ZPenn]

I am looking for a lathe where you can set a specific cutting depth IE: .007" per revolution and just let it do it's thing. My desired product is .007" thick x 3/8" wide plastic ribbon, and will be turning a 6" diameter plastic rod for my stock material. I am hoping to run at least a 5' long rod at a time. I am also very new to machining, and do not know all of the abilities of the specific machines. From what I have gathered so far I am looking for something called and engine lathe, but they are really expensive and none are located near me, and shipping would be real expensive.

Here is a picture of the type of material I am wanting to make...


As you can see the ribbon is coming off of the machine in a really tight spiral. I am wondering if the cutting tooth (like I said I don't know the specific details nor proper names for the parts of a lathe) can be adjusted on the machine so that it makes contact with the stock material at a very high angle of attach? This in my mind would allow the ribbon to be shaved off the rod and form a more open spiral instead of such a tight one. I wasn't at the local machine shop when they turned this for me so I didn't see how it was setup.

My budget $1,200 and I am hoping to spend a lot less than that, and I do not mind purchasing a used machine to save some money.

Thanks,
Zac

[ZPenn]

I have also heard about using multiple cutting tools at once so I would make, lets say five identical ribbons at a time in just one pass.

I was also told to look for public auctions at old machine shops to get an outstanding deal. Does anyone know where to look for them?

Thanks,
Zac