[TheForge] Re: Taiwanese Machine Tools - and some Yak

Tue Sep 23 15:26:04 2003

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 13:10:48 -0400, David E. Smucker 
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Last time I was there in 2000 or so he still had several Gray boring 
> mills
> waiting to be rebuilt.

	Is there a market for leasing such equipment?

	A real shame is that many of the machines that didn't end 	up in the scrap 
yard have been exported to other countries.
	That's bordering on the criminal, IMNSHO.  But by that
	token, it was also criminal how this nation dropped its
	heavy industries in favor of the mastubatory fantasy that
	high tech was going to propel us into the 21st century,
	leaving the rest of the suckers behind in the ditch water.
	Surprise of surprises to find that any idiot with half an
	IQ can be trained to bang code well enough to prompt many
	US "high tech" companies to outsource their programming
	work to places such as India, taking a big bite out of the
	US job market.  Same for silicon production, not to mention
	data storage manufacturing, and the list goes on.  We pretty
	well screwed ourselves, but I digress... a lot. :)
>
> I also say some blacksmith are there too with the rebuild of their
> powerhammers -- better than when new.  If you can afford the time -- 
> almost
> any quality machine tool can be rebuilt to very high standards.

	That is one of the inherent beauties of grotesquely over
	engineered cast iron machines.  They are virtually eternal
	barring significant structural failures... and even then one
	can never rule them out.  Replaceable wear surfaces are
	beautiful things.

	I so greatly prefer the old machinery over contemporary
	fare that is engineered to such very thin margins.  Once 	a million dollar 
Mori Seki machining center wears beyond
	a point, they are no longer attractive for rebuild.  The
	same cannot be as easily said for an old manual Hardinge
	lathe.  Also, the low tech machinery is so basic that one
	doesn't require a HUGE high tech infrastructure to support
	its continued existence.  You can make parts if they no
	longer exist.  Imagine in 100 years trying to rebuild an
	Okuma lathe.  If the CPU is shot, chances are you not be
	able to repair it because the infrastructure needed to
	build a new CPU is beyond the means of an individual.  Yah,
	I realize that by then perhaps fast and cheap custom silicon
	might become a ubiquitous reality, but as of today, that is
	not an option.  Sometimes simpler is betterer.

> In fact
> some folks rebuilt their Asian tools right out of the box -- best way 
> they
> can get a good low cost tool for the money if they can, as I said can 
> afford
> the time.

	This is common.  Buy a cheap-0 Jet lathe and then scrape the bedway
	flat and adjust headstock bearings... yadda yadda...

	Shouldn't have to do that. :)  I'll take a Hardinge HLV any day.

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