I recently posted that I was considering downsizing from my 1943 Logan 820 (here) to a much smaller lathe, chiefly because the Logan was implicated in my shoulder injuries and that at 72 I didn’t feel confident of durable recovery with that lathe in frequent use. However, I also had a gut feeling that I had gotten the Logan into great mechanical condition but wanted its next owner to deal with whatever was coming next. So, with much helpful advice here, I sold it, all of its accessories, and all of the original stuff I got with it but wasn’t using. Got a good price, too. I sold knowing that although I was letting a fine machine that I knew well leave and that the exchange would bring pluses, minuses, and risks, it was a change that would be better in the end for me.
This post is about its successor, the Little Machine Shop 7500, why I got this machine, its arrival and uncrating/installation, its first uses and pleasant and unpleasant surprises.
1) The 7500 — is 8.5x20, 40”x22"x16" and 220lbs, has power feed in both z and y. The more I examined all of the 7x machines the more they did not feel right. I was selling a 10x24, and while I did not need most of the 24, being able to push the tailstock completely out of the way was important. And, the 90 lb weight of all the 7x machines just felt too unsubstantial. As for buying LMS, everything told me that any lathe bought from them would be in better condition than a similar one bought elsewhere. The photos on LMS' website show an earlier version of the 7500; mine does not have the chuck protector, which is good, but it also doesn't have a chip screen in front, which I'll have to figure out...all ideas welcome!
2) Purchase. Dealing with LMS is fantastic. I wrote multiple emails and got personal, direct, AI-free, and thoughtful answers. In fact, in my call with (I think) the operations director to confirm that all of the purchases I was making (OXA QCTP, holders, 4J chuck, collect chuck and faceplate, chip tray) were correct for the 7500, she told me that I needed to move pretty fast to get one of the last two they had, so I pushed the button while on the call; the next morning “unavailable” appeared in the 7500’s listing. I don't know if that's temporary or the end of this model. There is also the 7550, a 7500 with a DRO that many buyers feel is problematic and that I didn't need and glitzier handles I can make myself if I want them, maybe a few other peripheral doodads.
3) Shipping and delivery. Shipping cost $250, flat rate from Pasadena, CA to New York City. LMS uses Estes, a major national land shipper. The flat rate also included everything I purchased with the machine, so I basically got everything I knew I wanted at one time. Estes showed up on time and dropped at the step of my apartment building. Clearly, I wasn’t dealing with the crate with my bum shoulder/arm, so had hired Task Rabbit, a very organized business in NYC and elsewhere for spot work; a young man, originally from north of the Arctic Circle in Russia, showed up at exactly the same time as the crate and, with my dolly, brought the crate to my shop, uncrated it, but then justifiably announced that it was too heavy for him to handle alone, since my shoulder made me effectively useless with someone I didn't know well. Later that day, a friend, an engineer/machinist from New Hampshire, fortuitously arrived, and we took care of getting the lathe out of the crate and up on my table. We had three arms between us and that proved sufficient. A bunch of ibuprofen and whiskey cured me later.
More about the installation soon. All comments welcome!
Tim
This post is about its successor, the Little Machine Shop 7500, why I got this machine, its arrival and uncrating/installation, its first uses and pleasant and unpleasant surprises.
1) The 7500 — is 8.5x20, 40”x22"x16" and 220lbs, has power feed in both z and y. The more I examined all of the 7x machines the more they did not feel right. I was selling a 10x24, and while I did not need most of the 24, being able to push the tailstock completely out of the way was important. And, the 90 lb weight of all the 7x machines just felt too unsubstantial. As for buying LMS, everything told me that any lathe bought from them would be in better condition than a similar one bought elsewhere. The photos on LMS' website show an earlier version of the 7500; mine does not have the chuck protector, which is good, but it also doesn't have a chip screen in front, which I'll have to figure out...all ideas welcome!
2) Purchase. Dealing with LMS is fantastic. I wrote multiple emails and got personal, direct, AI-free, and thoughtful answers. In fact, in my call with (I think) the operations director to confirm that all of the purchases I was making (OXA QCTP, holders, 4J chuck, collect chuck and faceplate, chip tray) were correct for the 7500, she told me that I needed to move pretty fast to get one of the last two they had, so I pushed the button while on the call; the next morning “unavailable” appeared in the 7500’s listing. I don't know if that's temporary or the end of this model. There is also the 7550, a 7500 with a DRO that many buyers feel is problematic and that I didn't need and glitzier handles I can make myself if I want them, maybe a few other peripheral doodads.
3) Shipping and delivery. Shipping cost $250, flat rate from Pasadena, CA to New York City. LMS uses Estes, a major national land shipper. The flat rate also included everything I purchased with the machine, so I basically got everything I knew I wanted at one time. Estes showed up on time and dropped at the step of my apartment building. Clearly, I wasn’t dealing with the crate with my bum shoulder/arm, so had hired Task Rabbit, a very organized business in NYC and elsewhere for spot work; a young man, originally from north of the Arctic Circle in Russia, showed up at exactly the same time as the crate and, with my dolly, brought the crate to my shop, uncrated it, but then justifiably announced that it was too heavy for him to handle alone, since my shoulder made me effectively useless with someone I didn't know well. Later that day, a friend, an engineer/machinist from New Hampshire, fortuitously arrived, and we took care of getting the lathe out of the crate and up on my table. We had three arms between us and that proved sufficient. A bunch of ibuprofen and whiskey cured me later.
More about the installation soon. All comments welcome!
Tim
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