[sansbury]

I've moved into a larger shop and now have room for something larger than my 7x10. I got a Tormach 1100 about a month ago and am now looking for a lathe to complement it, but I don't feel like waiting for the Tormach lathe and suspect it's going to be priced similar to the mill, which is a bit rich for me right now.

Anyway, I'm looking mainly at the Grizzly 10x and 12x lathes right now. The 12x is appealing somewhat for the extra size and particularly the availability of a 5C collet closer, but I like the 2k spindle on the 10X since most of my parts are under 1". Also, I have sets of 425oz and 305oz steppers and drives on my shelf, and I think one or the other of those might be enough for the 10x, whereas I suspect the 12 might need 34-frame motors?

My big question is whether there is a significant quality or precision difference between these two. Upgrading from my X2 to the Tormach has been a joy because I can just make parts without having to think too much about the machine. I'd like the lathe to be like that once I'm done with it. From what I've seen, the 10x is probably enough for what I want to do, but I'd consider the 12x if the end result will be a much better machine.

[hanermo]

The 12x is much better.

[sansbury]

Could you say specifically how or why? It's obvious that it has more iron but I'm curious if its actually better made. The 12x conversion will cost me a lot more so I want to make sure it's well justified

[FannBlade]

Personally I think you may be better off finding a used one just for the iron instead of pulling all the new parts off and piling in a corner. When I finished my import lathe I had nothing left but iron even the spindle gears were removed since I went with VFD and 3 phase motor. Is you are going to keep all spindle drive and motor intact then might not be to bad.
I'm running a nema 34 640 and nema 23 425 both supply plenty of power. I didn't feel comfortable with the 1/4" shaft on the Z is the reason I went with the 34. I think what you have would work fine,but I'm no expert.
Be sure to post a link if you start a build log.

[sansbury]

That's an interesting idea, but I was planning to use the lathe in manual configuration to make the parts for the conversion Good to know on the motors though. If 425s might work then it's probably worth the trouble to try them out. Just make different mounts if they don't work and I need to upgrade I guess.

[sansbury]

Well, UPS says my G0602 should arrive tomorrow. I'm taking some vacation time, so we'll see how fast this might progress.

I decided against the 12X because either one of these would be an interim machine for me, and the 10X looks like plenty of machine. If the Tormach lathe comes out for anything like the price of the mill, then I will likely order one of those next year. I want the capability for an automatic collet closer/bar puller and a tool changer or gang plate, and that kind of demands a "real" CNC lathe. I'll keep my eye out for a "deal" on any older turning centers, but I'm really liking what I'm seeing from Tormach so far.

If I was going to go manual I'd definitely have gone for the 12X, and was still tempted by the extra foot of bed and option to turn 17" items with the gap. However, cost was going to be close to three times as much even before converting it. In looking at why the 7X conversion hasn't really lived up to my hopes, the outstanding reason is that I tried using the stock screws, which just have too much backlash. Adding ball screws was going to be a much bigger job than I really wanted given the size of the X axis. With the 10X, it looks like there's enough room to sneak one in there with maybe a little nibbling on the mill.

The Roton screws I put on my X2 mini-mill were good for within a thou or so pretty consistently, and if I can get that from the lathe, I'll be very content. I'm actually thinking about re-using those screws and nuts, to save money and time since they're already machined and set up with bearings. I'd just need to make new mounts. I don't have one long enough for the full Z axis so we'll see--might need to buy some more screw stock. But I've never needed to turn anything over 12" long yet, so if I can squeeze a motor in there with a 16" or so screw, I'll probably try that first. I have all the electronics, motors, etc. so this could be a 100% junk pile conversion....