Woodreaux,
The most valuable thing you have is a machinist friend, you can help each other. He will need help moving things around and setting up. You can learn a lot by helping him and he will be happy to advise you and give you tips. You will need to make all kinds of "do-dads" to support the equipment you do have, such as " dog plate", cross slide stop, etc. When you make something, show it to him, he might advise how to do it quicker or better. Also, he might need one himself and if you make one for him, you will never "want" for help or "drops" to make your stuff with. You can make small equipment act a little "bigger" by bolting it hard to the bench with a reinforced top, fastened to the wall, and all your bullets/lead/ wheel weights stored on a shelf underneath. You will find it harder to get small foreign equipment to turn slow enough, than fast enough. You can use cheap carbide cutters in the lathe, but you will need to have a "green wheel", and sharpen them first. In the long run, "high speed steel" will teach you more about grinding cutting tools than anything else. Someone above mentioned a round post "mill/drill". You would find a mill/drill useful; but today you can find "square post" ones pretty easily. Good luck, have fun.
Mike
