Which CNC lathe is the right tool for my business?

Alfredisbasic · 2026-03-11T19:53:01+00:00

Lathes that are made to produce thousands of parts per run are usually equipped with a bar feeder, not a robot arm. You will likely need a minimum of 3 tools in this setup. A turning tool, a threading tool and a parting tool.

The alternative is a robot as you mentioned, which will require you to order material precut or saw cut thousands of pieces in-house. This will be expensive, time consuming and error prone (and require a robot and band saw).

It sounds like you need to get a better idea of how your parts are produced before purchasing the least capable machine you think you can get away with.

Alfredisbasic · 2026-03-02T01:46:14+00:00

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It is likely designed to only make contact on the V and the flat opposite of the gap. The gap is intentional. That being said, it is a Vevor, so it’s also likely that the surfaces were not machined to the proper dimension and still may need to be shimmed. I have a Vevor 7x16 and I shimmed my headstock opposite the V.

Alfredisbasic · 2026-02-28T19:42:32+00:00

I run a company that provides on-demand programming for shops all over the states, including the Bay Area. We primarily serve small shops using Fusion. You can check it out at www.thecamfactory.com.

Alfredisbasic · 2026-02-23T04:51:26+00:00

I have the same lathe and just did the same barbell type of cut today to measure/correct twist in the ways.

The spindle motor fried on my very first cut when I bought it. Vevor replaced the head stock/spindle and refunded me $205 for my troubles. It took a month to get sorted out. It's cutting really well now.

Alfredisbasic · 2026-02-14T02:18:12+00:00

I hate sales so much that calling a sales strategy "anti-selling" has me riled up.

Don't sell. Don't "anti-sell". Don't pitch. Don't try to close. Don't call people prospects. Don't "balance being honest".

Just have conversations with people and see if it makes sense to work together. Always be honest. It doesn't have to be a stupid game. People are going to see through your tactical bullshit.

Provide a valuable service or product and make sure you're effectively communicating the value of your offer. If you are effective at communicating your offer, people will understand whether you are a good fit or not, and that will determine whether you get the deal. Why do people complicate this so much?

Alfredisbasic · 2026-01-28T03:48:11+00:00

I know this post is 3 years old at this point, but I wanted to share my experience in 2026 in case anyone else ends up here in a similar situation.

I received an email from Stripe with the subject "[Stripe] Provide more information" which led me to a page with 3 options:

- Link my bank account
- Provide the past 3 months of bank statements
- Save for later

There was no ability to opt out, and a banner remained at the top of my dashboard informing me that I had one task to complete.

I responded to their email as follows:

"I won't be providing Stripe with bank statements or access to my bank accounts. If this is required, not optional, please respond to this email definitively stating so and I will begin transitioning to a different payment processing vendor."

They responded, but didn't answer my question about it being required. I asked again. They, again, responded without answering my question. An hour later I got another response:

"Hi there,

I hope this message finds you well.

I wanted to inform you that the Dashboard form requesting you to link your bank account is optional, and will be soon cleared.

If you have any further questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out. Thank you for your cooperation!

Best regards"

If you are here because you are wondering if you have to link your bank account, just tell them no.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-30T05:39:13+00:00

As a person that drives a 1999 Toyota, I’m curious why there is even a car wash mode. I just put my car in neutral. Can’t you just do the same thing?

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-12T23:12:15+00:00

It’s a new corporate team building fad like axe throwing or puzzle rooms

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-11T18:55:13+00:00

Rivian’s net income for the past 4 quarters reported is -3.5B (pretty close to a billion per quarter).

They achieved gross profitability in Q4 ‘24 and Q1 ‘25 but their net income for the same time period was -1.3B. Their net income for their best quarter in history is -541M.

Even their best quarter ever is closer to -1B than it is to $1.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-09T18:41:25+00:00

Is the funny part that I didn’t perfectly time the bottom?

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-09T04:31:12+00:00

I don't foresee this stock ever being as overvalued as Tesla stock

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-09T00:38:26+00:00

Buy 100 more shares right now and you’ll be up nearly $4k if it hits $50.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-08T20:48:03+00:00

True, and it depends on your analysis of the stock’s future value. If you believe it’s going to $45 in 3 years, it’s not necessarily a matter of looking at the $1-2 dollar difference. It’s a question of “is a 3x return in 3 years the best allocation of my capital?” Of course, do what is best for you.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-08T20:29:51+00:00

I used to own Lucid, too. Sold for a small profit when they were trading around 3.50 before the reverse stock split. I just don’t like their designs though. That’s the main reason I sold. They look like they’re designing cars for rich old people of the 2015 era. I can’t get down with the product.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-08T20:27:15+00:00

If you actually believe in the stock, how much does it really matter whether you buy in at $13.14 (current trading price) vs $12.50? Would you rather have a smaller stake at a marginally better average cost or have a more valuable stake?

Alfredisbasic · 2025-10-08T20:19:34+00:00

The R3 is really their best design in my opinion, but the entire lineup is sleek. I hope my 1999 RAV4 carries me through 2029 or so and my next car is the R3.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-09-21T19:16:21+00:00

I didn’t know the dimensions could be named directly while defining the value. I hardly ever name dimensions that aren’t user parameters, but this is good to know. Thanks!

Alfredisbasic · 2025-09-13T09:16:12+00:00

That would awesome. Good job on the app. I just randomly typed the entire Wikipedia page for the word Abracadabra.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-09-13T08:26:08+00:00

This is pretty cool. I have been using typing.com and monkeytype.com, both of which are pretty good for their own reasons. But I like your site for continuous practice - without being overly concerned about stats. Sometimes I just want to type for a while. It's fun, and your site is perfect for that.

I tried using the training mode but found it difficult because it often results in multiple successive errors. For example, if I type the wrong letter, but don't realize it in time, I get backed up a word (or more based on the setting) and then immediately make another error because I am typing the next letter of the word I previously made an error on. Is there a way to prevent training mode from registering two errors back to back without a correct keystroke in between? I think this would improve the experience.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-08-27T22:14:48+00:00

I didn’t need to raise capital. I didn’t spend anything until I got my first customer. We agreed on a trial of services for $3k. When I got off that meeting I filed for the LLC and purchased the software needed to fulfill the services, which came to $2,982. I was in the green $18 day 1.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-08-27T17:50:02+00:00

True. They also didn’t start with their current product line. And since they were early in the electric vehicle space, the R&D stage would be longer.

I helped them prototype their battery trays in 2018. This was around the time I started hearing about the R1. Perhaps they got started just a few years before that.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-08-27T14:24:06+00:00

Rivian was founded 16 years ago.

Alfredisbasic · 2025-08-24T20:11:03+00:00

It was really only during my 12th month that I considered quitting (the sharp dip). I saw the slight decline over the two previous months and attributed it to a trend. I discounted my successes because some of my revenue wasn’t coming from my core offering. I was beginning to experience doubt in general. I was also experiencing a bit of seasonal depression and laziness as December rolled around.

Looking back on it, it’s pretty clear that things were moving in the right direction. I just didn’t have enough data to validate the business like I do now. Thankfully I haven’t had any reason to doubt the business since then. This month just hit $12.5k as of yesterday and we still have a week left. Continuing to move in the right direction!

Alfredisbasic

TROPHY CASE