New South Bend 8k- Collet & Dro Recommendations

Thanks, I'll take a look at the Bison chucks. I'm not that concerned with the cost, just want to get something that was will work well and doesn't require additional machining. This is the first time I've had to spec out a machine so most of this is new to me.
 
My reasoning for my suggestion is that too often people get a decent machine, spec-wise, then go cheap on the (to me) critical things like chucks, centers, and tooling. Makes no sense to me. I have no personal experience with the Shars chuck, however I do buy quite a few things from them and have been pleased with their cost to performance, but wouldn't be surprised if it needed 'tweaking' to get it properly set up. A little OT, but I recently purchased my PM1340GT and decided to suffer the up-front pain and go with a Pratt Burnered (English made) 3 jaw set-tru chuck. Very expensive for a hobbyist like myself but I wanted to buy one chuck that will hopefully be the last three jaw that I buy for this lathe. No setup required, just install and run. (I did verify with a DTI after install though) :)

I don't think they make a 5" for the little SB and I personally wouldn't swing anything larger on that small a lathe so I suggested my next best choice, the Bison. I've used their chucks and have had good experiences with them. They actually spec the TIR on their collet chuck if I recall correctly and you don't have to machine a back plate as it's part of the chuck.
 
Definitely agree on not skimping out on the tooling, etc. I don't have a huge budget, but better to buy something good once. I'm also looking for a nice tool holder. Any recommendations?
 
Definitely agree on not skimping out on the tooling, etc. I don't have a huge budget, but better to buy something good once. I'm also looking for a nice tool holder. Any recommendations?

I have an Aloris AXA on my 8k. Costs more than the imports but I don't regret it a bit. Here's a pic showing the lathe with it installed.

DSCN4206.jpg
 
Nice setup. Are those drip oilers on the spindle? That toolpost is pretty much what I was looking for. Did you have to modify the compound in order to mount it? Thanks again for all your help. There's not a lot of information out there on the new South Bend lathes. Planning on placing an order on Monday. Next on the list is a new bench or small knee mill to replace our Harbor Freight mini mill.
 
Nice setup. Are those drip oilers on the spindle? That toolpost is pretty much what I was looking for. Did you have to modify the compound in order to mount it? Thanks again for all your help. There's not a lot of information out there on the new South Bend lathes. Planning on placing an order on Monday. Next on the list is a new bench or small knee mill to replace our Harbor Freight mini mill.

I added the drip oilers for the spindle bearings to replace the zerk(?) fittings. I run this little guy at fairly high rpm on many small parts (lack of spindle speed and too small spindle bore killed picking the new 10k) and these make it very easy to give the bearings a quick shot in the middle of a job without having to stop and grab a oil can. :)

The Aloris required no mods to the compound. I made a different mounting bolt so I didn't have to.

A decent mill that would compliment the capabilities of this lathe would be either the new PM25 mill or the Griz G0695 IMO. (I almost pulled the trigger on the 695 until I realized it might be too small for some things I want to do) You could go bigger on the mill choice but I always thought that having balance between your machines matters. It probably doesn't to most. :)
 
I am also looking at the 10K as well, but can't get over the small spindle bore. It does look like a more substantial machine, but also a lot more expensive. The Grizzly G0695 is probably what I'm going to go with. I just need to make some room for it. Should be a big improvement over the bench top one we have now.
 
I am also looking at the 10K as well, but can't get over the small spindle bore. It does look like a more substantial machine, but also a lot more expensive. The Grizzly G0695 is probably what I'm going to go with. I just need to make some room for it. Should be a big improvement over the bench top one we have now.

Compared to a mini-mill? A huge understatement... ;)

I really, really wanted the 10k but balked because of the really slow max spindle rpm and through hole. I suppose I could have thrown a VFD or BLDC at it, but not at that price. Now if they had dropped the price by 2-2.5k I might have done it. But now I have the bigger lathe so it's no longer needed.
 
Thanks for your help. Going to place any order in the next couple of days.
 
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