Subject: ENCO Hobby Lathe and Harbor Freight's ARE THEY THE SAME ONE?

From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: 25 Apr 1996 19:28:14 GMT

Enco sells a hobby lathe for ~$950 that I've been looking at.
I just got a Harbor freight catalog with an identical lathe
selling for about half that. Is the Harbor Freight lathe really
poor quality, or is Enco's price too high?

                                            Larry Mayo

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From: David Eiman <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 16:37:27 -0700

I really don't know if it is the same machine as Enco's, but I got an ad 
in the mail today showing that 7x10 lathe marked down to $399 until 
5-13-96 at Harbor Freight.  It may need a little tweaking but 
satisfaction is guaranteed so how can you go wrong?  I already have too 
many lathes to have room for this, but I sure thought about it.  If you 
use it for 2 or three years, the resale value has to be close to the 
purchase price.

David Eiman
Fresno, CA

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From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 26 Apr 1996 05:14:26 GMT

-Mayo,H.H. ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Enco sells a hobby lathe for ~$950 that I've been looking at.
: I just got a Harbor freight catalog with an identical lathe
: selling for about half that. Is the Harbor Freight lathe really
: poor quality, or is Enco's price too high?

They may be built on the same frame.  But look closely, for the optional
features.  Some of these have change gears and a threading screw, some
don't.  Look at all the extras, chucks, faceplates, centers, cutting
tools, etc.  They will add up if you have to buy them.

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From: [email-masked] (Reg H. Beardsley)
Date: 26 Apr 1996 16:36:21 GMT

Harbor Freight usually sells the lathe for a price similar to ENCO's.

You REALLY need to read the fine print, but it looked like a good deal
when I read the catalog.

-- 

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               I am solely responsible for the contents...

Reginald H. Beardsley                                      [email-masked]

                       Consultant/Programmer 
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From: [email-masked] (Edward Haas)
Date: 26 Apr 1996 08:41:33 -0700

: Is the Harbor Freight lathe really
: poor quality, or is Enco's price too high?
	Yes.
	Bite the bullet, get a Myford: it will last a lifetime and you 
will have no regrets. Either that or look for a use South Bend or 
Clausing/Atlas...
-- 
	"Steamboat Ed" Haas	:	Last Law of Product Design:
	COMING SOON		:	If you can't fix it, feature it.
	http://www.west.net~steamer  	
		---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---