Damn conflicting schedules!

So every single TAFE short course I want to do starts while I'm in Venice. Anywhere from Feb 1 to Feb 9. The really annoying thing is, it would be possible, in theory, to do the Basic Fitting and Machining Hobby Course and the Intro to welding course concurrently, though the Box Hill welding course is pricey. Then again, it covers MIG, as well as arc and Oxy. Arc is the easy one, after all, and I've got a coffee table to prove it.

Oh well. There's always next term, I guess. And according to the news, it's my Patriotic Duty to learn to weld, so that Australian businesses don't have to import welders from overseas.

Wonder if Centrelink will pay me to learn to weld on that basis? (Hah!)

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Is there a machinist in the house?

So I'm looking at this mill & lathe package from Sherline - the 6000 "Ultimate Machine Shop" package.

Now, Sherline have a great reputation among hobbyists, and their tools are really only "hobby" because of the size - they're pretty solid industrial machines. But I've been looking at Hare & Forbes (formerly Herless) , which is where we bought the lathe and mill for Gertrude St. And I reckon I can get an HM-30 and an AL-50A , and a grand's worth of accessories ( to be fair to Sherline, rotary & tilting angle tables don't come cheap) and still have change from the price of the Sherline. And I don't kow what half the stuff in the Sherline package is anyway :)

So I'm wondering. Will the Sherline, because it's smaller, do anything the bigger ones won't? Cos that lathe from H&F is twice the size. Now, that means twice the workshop space, but is that the only downside? Or will really fine work be harder with the big lathe?

If the heavier stuff were *more* expensive, then it'd be a harder decision. But "Do I need all that size?" is a redundant question when the bigger one is cheaper :)

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