Machines are cheap.

Going back to the OP, it can be a lot more than 3:1. I bought a second, larger lathe very cheaply, but despite already having a well-equipped Super 7, I needed to spend on a VFD (as it was 3 phase) and a lot of tooling as the QCTP was bigger and the tailstock is 3MT. Rather than swapping lathe tools between the toolholders, I needed to duplicate lathe tools as well. Then there were all the chucks I needed. Having a DRO on the S7 meant that I had to buy a second DRO... As I acquired a 5C collet chuck for a ridiculous price (a nice round amount...) I also "needed" some 5C collets... so maybe more like 8:1 in my case.

I have to say that the original intention was to flog the S7 and acquire a larger lathe and effectively make a profit on the deal. But I found I didn't want to get rid of the S7, especially when I discovered both lathes would just go in my shed...and I have a very understanding wife.

And it's the Midlands exhibition next week... so maybe 9:1 then...

Sounds like to me the journey became more important than the destination in the end. I've got this little sherline lathe that i started out with, and once i got the bigger boy i wanted to do it up nicely and sell it, but i can't seem to part with it, i'm too charmed by it. I may never do any more work on it but it's such a nice thing.

If i ever have any descendants then maybe i'll give them the sherline if i think they're going to treat it right. I'm sure they would but you never know, might not end up as thoughtful as me! .

Michael W

I like to make as many tools/accessories as I can for my lathe/mill, the price of a lot of stuff I think is way over the top, a woodworking example is a Router which can be bought relatively cheaply then you have to pay through the nose for the cutters, I just don't see how some prices are justified but it is how it is I suppose

Regards Mick

Referring back to the u-toob by Keith Rucker (machinerydotorg), from where this thread title was plucked, I presume, Dale Derry immediately indicated he had bought his Clausing lathe for $750 and the extras cost him $300.

But where do you draw the line? Are Dale's measuring, cutting, sharpening machines, etc regarded as extra 'tools' or more machines? It would seem that all his 4 lathes and 2 mills were second hand bargains! Hence his comment, on the vid, that 'machines are cheap'.

Many of the YouTube machinists live in a different world, particularly the two mentioned by NDIY - very large workshops, a lot of machines and neither of them in any way bashful about the money they spend on tools. Another thing that many are not reticent about is the funding they receive through Patreon, along with the tooling they receive as donations. I'm not suggesting anything untoward, but if the thread was inspired by Dale Derry I don't think he lives in the same world as most of us on this side of the pond.

I'm not convinced that machines are all that cheap, but then much of my other workshop tooling have been bought at car boot sales, and very occasionally I come across a bargain on eBay (though most eBay prices are inflated).

To give a few examples, most of my HSS lathe tools are from a car boot sale (a box of about a dozen for £3) and the vfd that runs my shaper was £27 on eBay. It's really only by looking out for bargains like this that I can afford to pay the normal retail prices on other things that I need. My tooling-to-machine ratio is therefore well below the 2:1 figure - probably nearer to 1:2.

.

Nope.

It came from the my own source of cotton wool and sawdust that resides in my bonce.

Nick