Hey RICH,
The MAIN thing that I would do different, and did for my next one, is to at least start with an existing bed and headstock/spindle assy.
I bought an old OLD Hardinge production lathe. Flat belt, 4c collet, threaded spindle nose and a lever type collet closer. GOOD spindle bearings. It was an excellent platform to build from. VERY rigid and the bulk of the build is done at this point. $129.00.
I need to post a pic and see if anyone recognizes the model, maybe provide the vintage or year of mfg. I don't think it's as old as Ron Ginger's railroad lathe..but it might be a close second place for the "Oldest CNC Lathe" award.
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,5654.0.htmlI also got lucky and found some Gilman dovetail slides..BRAND new and real cheap. I used 1 of these for the Z and used THK rails and trucks for the X. Also used THK ball screws instead of the cheaper Thomson.
These are perfect for what I do, nothing over about 2 " long.
Someday, I hope to get a REAL lathe. Till then, I'm just tinkering.
Good luck,
RC