Hillhater said:
Remember, there are multiple small machine shops in every town who will turn up a few parts at prices much more economical than your own lathe + time
That's a very good point and instead of investing in $1000, perhaps early production of things can be outsourced at first then moved in-house later.
I guess i just hate waiting on people and like to do 100% of everything myself, but you are right, that is a lot more sane.
I do have an angle grinder currently but the on/off switch and bulkiness makes it very hard to be precise with it. It's also loud AF. I think it is the largest type you can get.
On another note, i did look at the black and decker RTX a bit more.
It is rated 2 amps at 120v so it's stronger than the biggest dremel. That's good.
I see that black and decker sells a pretty decent flex shaft for the RTX too.
Perhaps it would be reasonable to make one stationary mounted, use a flex shaft, remove the inner fan, and add an external forced air system so i can gain back a few watts of rotating power.
The 10x more expensive foredom is rated at 1/3hp which works out to 240w.
The RTX is 2 amp x 120v = 240w.
Nicobie, i think you just saved my newb ass a lot of money :lol:
Maybe this would work.. i could produce all the weird curvatures on the ABS/Acrylic yaris aero panels and also do the fine machining for the air filters ( countersunk bolt grooves, air slots, that sort of thing ) as well using the 'BD' :wink:
Could probably mount the current very loud angle grinder to a plank of wood and turn it into a bench saw with guides so that i can kick out air filter panels and aero panels with ease.
( what i need is a super huge cutting area but very little power, so buying a large table saw new seems unreasonable )
If air filter production gets serious, then air tools seems like a good route simply because they are so cheap and durable once you invest in the compressor.