As a novice in metalworking, I've been asking some "what should I buy" questions in various forums. Rather than "what" I should buy answers, I get a lot of "where" I should buy answers. LMS is a frequently recommended vendor. I wonder why (not why LMS, rather why recs on where to buy rather than what to buy)?
If all the meatalworking vendors selling to hobbyists are selling the same stuff then I guess the support they provide is at least as important (probably more) than what they are selling.
I think that if you go in with your eyes open and realize that you're not buying Oneway quality, then the next best thing you can hope for is some decent customer service and a little peace of mind that if something should go wrong that they will do their best to make it right. Believing that they know their product and that they can actually help you make an informed decision on what to buy is a definite bonus.
In this "economy" level of tooling and equipment I think there are often a couple (few?) degrees of quality. Items that look identical may not be. If I can't be sure then I'm going to try to deal with someone, or some company that I believe is at least trying to do right. Judging from the response that you got, which was where to buy instead of what, it sounds like there are some people that agree with that theory. And if the same name keeps coming up then I'm gonna start assuming there's a reason for it.
Who is the Oneway of the metalworking world? Is name brand high quaility metalworking gear so expensive that it never gets considered in the hobbyist metalworking community? Everybody just takes their chances with run of the mill stuff from China and India?
I don't believe there is a Oneway in the metalworking world. If you're talking about the machines themselves, that would be like a Ford vs. Chevy argument, actually considering the money more like a Ferrari vs. Lamborghini argument. Lots of them don't come with things like chucks or toolposts. They know if you spent the money to buy one of their Ferrari machines, you're going to go out and get a Lamborghini chuck and QCTP for it.
There are a lot of high end companies making excellent (and expensive) tooling and accessories. But they tend to be more specific about what they make. You want a high end QCTP? Aloris or Dorian (yes, there are another one or two but I'm trying to make a point here). You want a quality chuck? How about a Buck (same disclaimer as the QCTP)?
You asked if the high end tooling is so expensive as to be prohibitve to the hobbyist. For this hobbyist and the others I know, yes. But I guess that depends on your budget. A 5 piece Phase II QCTP for my 12x36 lathe can be had for something like $165 on sale I think. A 5 piece from Aloris is $700. The stock chuck on my lathe can probably be had for around $300. A Buck chuck would be around $1175 + shipping. I'd love to have one but I'm not building space shuttle parts so for now mine works just peachy.
I like my Microlux lathe and I've done some good work with it so far. But I ran a Bridgeport Mill in a machine shop 40 years ago. I also had a chance to work on the big lathes. It's now clear to me that you can surprise yourself from time to time and produce high quality work on a chinese mini-lathe in spite of the limitations of the equipment. But it's a very different experience than working with industrial quality equipment where producing extremely high quality work is the norm and expected.
This goes back to the old saying," It's not the tool, it's the craftsman using it". Yes it is a different experience. Some will try it and say, "Oh this is a piece of crap" and give up. Others like yourself will say, "Hmm, well that didn't come out like I expected, but if I re-do it like this..." and get good results. I had a 7x14, I liked it a lot. Then the projects got too big. So I bought a Taiwanese 12x36. I think it's it's the coolest thing since sliced bread and I think I've done some neat stuff on it. But then, as I said I'm not building space shuttle parts with .000000001 tolerances.
Wow. Sorry for the long ramblings. But you asked some age old questions and I thought I'd give you my 2 cents worth.
Mike