What is the best lathe choice for barrel work?

[sable tireur]

Plus phase converters for the bigger machines are spendy if you don't have 3 phase power. I just bought a 60hp one for my Haas VF4 and it was rather painful.

Fortunately I have 3-phase power available for all my machines in one part of the country. Here though, EMC wanted $35,000 just to bring the lines from the pole down to our shop for 3-phase. So we opted for a phase converter instead.

I'll bet that 60 HP was a little tiny bit expensive!

Most of the time machines like a Haas TL-1 or TL-2 will be just about as cheap new, if you get it on sale, as the used ones are.

Sales and package discounts are the only saving grace for machines like the TL-1 and the TL-2. It was cheaper for me to buy 2 new machines with tooling packages, have them built then delivered for less than the used market was offering.

And don't be fooled either, tooling packages are often just enough to get you started with the basics. Then comes the expensive stuff! Do your homework and get some advice from someone who understands and knows the ins and outs.