I think John's point is what a number of us coming from a different direction initially than the cue world perceived:
(No disrespect to the people who make and sell them; certainly not to the people who make a living with them) but cue lathes are darn expensive compared to buying metal lathes at auctions or estate sales.
OTOH, you have to know what you are looking at, what to buy and what to avoid, how it should be tooled, how to make minor repairs, how to ad a VFD, etc. All very simple. But daunting if you don't have the familiarity.
Cue lathes serve a market because they do what they say they will, there is a backlog of support and familiarity, handholding when needed. & rather than figure out what tooling & fixturing to use on a metal lathe and then figuring out where it can be found cheap, or figure out how to make it, you can just write a check for the cue lathe accessories and they are optimized (in a way) for the tasks. You can also pick them up and carry them under your arm.
Then, too, some of us just think a milling machine and a metal lathe is a non-negotiable part of fitting out a household.
Like the washer and dryer.
I'd rather take clothes to the laundromat and give up a washer/dryer, than give up the lathes and milling machines.
Another poor, naked starter.
Prolly why i "need" the means of production - it was the only way i got most things in life.
rumble.com
