Headstock Casting, 7x Mini Lathes

Finally got around to installing this on my 7x12 and it bolted right up with no filing needed. The mounting surfaces are much flatter than the old casting I replaced. Lathe runs noticeably smoother now.

The casting has a nice solid weight to it that makes the lathe feel really stable during operation. Machining on the mounting surfaces was clean and required no extra truing, which saved me a lot of setup time.

Replacing my cracked headstock was a pain, but this casting dropped right in and gave the 7x12 a rock-solid foundation again. The machined surfaces lined up perfectly with the spindle bore, so I didn't have to mess with shims.