This group is for those who have stretched their original 7x10 or 7x12 mini-lathe to 7x24, those who already have and those who are part-way thru it. This is not as difficult as many think, www.broncosaurus.net has the story of how the first one came to be. Pictures and experiences are welcomed. Those who have finished the minilathe modification will be available to help those who are stuck or need help. This is a great little lathe right out of the box but for some jobs it's just not long enough. This modification is intended to allow mini lathe owners to handle slighty longer stock. It's not intended to replace the 9x20 lathes but it *is* a much cheaper way to turn longer pieces than the standard 7x lathe will handle. The group is also working on a parallel project to convert both stretched and standard 7x lathes to CNC. We're working to identify an inexpensive and easy to install CNC retrofit that anyone with basic machining skills should be able to complete. If you're interested in converting you 7" lathe to CNC then join up and help us to do it. There seems to be plenty of information available for those converting a mill to CNC but very little is available for those looking to convert a lathe and and even less info is available about converting the 7" Asian mini-lathe. This Group is not intended to rival the CAD CAM DRO group, rather this is a targeted effort to convert the 7" Asian lathes to CNC for the home shop. Off-Topic threads are tolerated and attachments are permitted.