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Buying mill and lathe one by one or together?
- Thread starter umnik
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2016
- Messages
- 11,430
There is good top notch equipment everywhere these days . Most from hobby shops that the owners have passed on . Shoot me a pm if you want , I know where a lot of stuff is and I'm not persueing it at the moment .
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2017
- Messages
- 67
That's for sure. Where should I look for?You're in Md and can't find equipment ? You're looking in the wrong places .This stuff falls in my lap everyday .
wanted: Metal Lathe
Good Day I am looking for a used (but not too crappy) metal lathe. Something between 7x16 and 10x28.2 with around 1,000 watts power (1.34 HP), Can be in inches or metric (would prefer metric, but will take inches). Good rigidity and weight (250 to 400 lb) basic tools in good shape would also be...
Then just forward the stuff from your lap to me? I'llappreciate it.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2017
- Messages
- 67
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2017
- Messages
- 67
I will.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9,422
There is no right answer as to which to get first. A lathe and mill are entirely different kinds of machines that do most things differently.
With that said, and thinking of this from the perspective of a new guy to the hobby, I would opt for the lathe first if finances require only one machine at a time. The lathe is, by far, the best teacher for metal working that I know of. It will teach you about speeds, feeds, how metal likes to be cut, lathe tools, drilling, boring and how to work with precision. I have two lathes and two mills and I use the lathes far more than the mills in my shop. You will eventually need to have a mill, too, but it won't teach you what a lathe will. Just an opinion.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2016
- Messages
- 2,643
Welcome to the madness. Don't be afraid to ask any question no matter how simple you may think it is. The are great people on this forum who will go out of their way to help you out.
I was in your position 3 years ago. A complete newbie looking for a lathe and a bench top mill. My advice is to look for both and buy which ever one you find first. That's what I did. I had been looking for over a year. Just happened to find the mill/drill first. Then a couple of weeks later I found a lathe. Both came from Craigslist and were estate sales. I have also found some good used equipment at auctions and in thrift stores of all places.
The mill and the lathe are just a small part of the cost. The tooling you will need often costs more than the lathe or the mill. Used equipment often comes with lots of tooling. My mill/drill had never been used and only came with a huge 15" rotary table that would not even fit on the table. A local machine shop snapped it up for more than I paid for the mill/drill. My lathe was just the opposite. It came with every accessory offered by craftsman except for a taper attachment, multiple 3 and 4 jaw chucks, dial indicators and more. I didn't need to buy anything to start using the lathe.
One great way to get some chips under your belt is to make tooling instead of buying. I made a norman style QCTP and an ER32 collet chuck for my lathe. I have since made a boring head. One of my next projects is going to be a parting tool holder that mounts on the back side of the cross slide.
Start with easy projects and move up to more complex stuff as you gain experience.
I was in your position 3 years ago. A complete newbie looking for a lathe and a bench top mill. My advice is to look for both and buy which ever one you find first. That's what I did. I had been looking for over a year. Just happened to find the mill/drill first. Then a couple of weeks later I found a lathe. Both came from Craigslist and were estate sales. I have also found some good used equipment at auctions and in thrift stores of all places.
The mill and the lathe are just a small part of the cost. The tooling you will need often costs more than the lathe or the mill. Used equipment often comes with lots of tooling. My mill/drill had never been used and only came with a huge 15" rotary table that would not even fit on the table. A local machine shop snapped it up for more than I paid for the mill/drill. My lathe was just the opposite. It came with every accessory offered by craftsman except for a taper attachment, multiple 3 and 4 jaw chucks, dial indicators and more. I didn't need to buy anything to start using the lathe.
One great way to get some chips under your belt is to make tooling instead of buying. I made a norman style QCTP and an ER32 collet chuck for my lathe. I have since made a boring head. One of my next projects is going to be a parting tool holder that mounts on the back side of the cross slide.
Start with easy projects and move up to more complex stuff as you gain experience.
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2014
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- 2,725
You need both. Don’t kid yourself.
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2014
- Messages
- 7,594
Matt (owner of Precision Matthews) is a good supplier, highly regarded, known for standing behind his products. Matt is also a member and commercial member on this site. That said, they are still Chinese or Taiwanese machines, built to a lower price point than something from, say, Europe. You WILL find things wrong with them, mostly stuff you can easily fix yourself, live with it like it is, or get help from the seller. When we take apart a Chinese machine, there are invariably plenty of signs of cutting corners to save time and money so they can sell them to you cheaper. You get what you pay for. Well, actually, you do not get MORE than you paid for. Not trying to put down Asian machines, lots of hobby machinists, including me, make good parts with them and are happy to have that decently usable equipment at that low price point. Remember that machinists do good work to their limitations, machines just do as they are told to their limitations.
