I reluctantly bought into the QCTP that's sold on several sites for small lathes and from the information given and the photos, you're first thought is that you're simply buying a reduced size version of an "Aloris type" system and that you're ultra smart for finding it at such a good price! I can now say without hesitation that my gut knew better but my wallet won out - a common theme that you should work hard to overcome for the rest of your days. I heard something years ago that I wondered about at the time but now know it's true value - "you will never regret your purchases of quality!"
In this case, the small QCTP set is physically smaller, but it's made out of anodized aluminum and the fit between the base unit and all other holders that I purchased at the time is pitiful at best. You and I and six other people could not put a specific tool and holder on and off and on again within a +/- .005 to .010 position and that's really a shame as that's what it's intended to do. The center bolt for the base unit must have another .040 to .060 positional variation from loosening and rotating and re-tightening again simply because the hole in the base unit was X and the bolt diameter was Y - and the difference of "Z" makes it that loose when it's a super simple bit of math to come up with what should be done! Maybe I got a "lemon set" but I don't think so because my son who also bought the same system has the same observations about almost everything.
The aluminum "feel" is not a confidence builder although if you use it very carefully that would probably get by, but having another Aloris system that I use on a larger lathe just makes me regret the feel every time I use it. There is another system sold out of a source in England that looks almost the same, says they're made from steel and may be a better option but with no surprise, costs a bit more. In this case, you purchase something like this about once if you like what you have so why skimp out on a part of your work that should be there to help you work more accurately and with easier transitions from one tool to another. I would be hesitant to pick up a system that does not have a fairly wide base of appeal and use as the real cost overall is the additional purchases for those "one of a kind" type holders that you can't work without. Even buying multiples of the same type can add up to significant savings if you find them on EBxx or other sites (Hobby Machinist - ?) and I see the greatest activity with the Aloris type systems even though a couple of the others do look to be robust and solid for repeated positioning work.
My lesson learned is simply to not be so hasty and to learn quickly that in this case, the regret goes on every time I have to use that little "POS" - as it's almost pointless for anything except to make it easier to see the specific tools when I line up the holders! I've rebuilt the features on my existing system to make it work as I wanted but not everyone has the time, interest or inclinations to carve up the new tool holders and all I'm really trying to do now is to make the whole thing work reasonably until I can replace it with what I should have purchased from the beginning. We all get to make our choices for the logic and reasons we rationalize as being good enough, but when tend to cheat a bit on that logic for the wrong reasons it's pretty likely that we're going to then be looking for other options. Choose your tools wisely and for the right reasons and I doubt that you'll regret many of the purchases. Good luck.
Chips4lips
) I also like dealing with LMS and perusing their website for lots of useful info.