I run a well worn and ancient South Bend 13 x 60, complete with babbitt bearings. When it's time to sneak up on a critical last pass dimension, I torque my bearing caps down very gingerly while its turning, stop, check with the old "Last Word" DTI.....and end up with no more than the width of the needle deflection. I can then run that tight setting, well lubricated, for up to 30 minutes without damage.
No I don't make parts for Boeing, I'm just making the point, you can run worn old heavy American iron and with a little patience, you can get quality results.
China imports are fine, Japs are great quality, everybody runs them that does any volume of work, but I wonder how many will still be going 80 years from now.
