Bolting parts together is better because it means you can disassemble it for transport or maintenance. Perhaps surprisingly, this doesn't harm the performance.

Bolting parts together is better because it means you can disassemble it for transport or maintenance. Perhaps surprisingly, this doesn't harm the performance. Lathes, and machine tools in general, are built for extreme stiffness, not extreme strength. Dan Gelbart has a very interesting demonstration showing how a weak structure can still have good stiffness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtxA20Q-Uss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtxA20Q-Uss The rest of this video series is also well worth watching.