Getting started, need a mill and a lathe.

[Maverick44]

Sounds like time for the power plant to upgrade their machines

I wish, lol. The kind of lathes they're using probably wouldn't fit in my shop though. Those things are MASSIVE.

Other than a few ancient and rusty looking lathes, I didn't see much on craigslist. There's a $3,000 Bridgeport down towards Houston that was posted on Ebay, but I don't have the money on hand, and it would pretty much max out my budget anyways.

 

[matthewsx]

Keep looking and learning, the right thing will come along.

One thing I usually suggest is to tell your friends what you're looking for, you never know who's uncle just happens to have an old lathe sitting in a corner of the garage....

Cheers,

John

 

[Pcmaker]

If you're new, do not buy used machinery

 

[matthewsx]

If you're new, do not buy used machinery

If you're new don't buy junk (new or used).

My first mill/lathe was one of those Chinese 3 in 1 machines, not good at doing anything really and I never quite figured out what the third function was....

Soon afterwards I bought a used Seneca Falls Star lathe for $300 and still have it today, was happy to sell the 3 in 1 for only a few hundred less than I paid. It only takes a little searching on this and other sites to see that people have trouble with both new and used machine tools.

A lot has to do with how mechanically inclined you are, if you're the kind of person who rebuilds your own car engines then taking on a project machine might be just the thing. If however you have trouble installing a new garbage disposal under your sink I would definitely recommend buying new from a company that stands behind their products.

Precision Matthews is a sponsor on this forum and lots of folks are happy with their machines. Mickri has the right idea with putting together a list of what your needs are and shopping based on that. However, if you can pick something up for a few hundred bucks like I did you're probably not going to be hurt from the experience even if you end up selling it later.

If you're doing this as a hobby then you can expect to learn things later that you wished you had known up front. The best machine is always going to be the one in your shop that gets used regularly, big or small, new or used, if you can do the work you are trying to get done it really doesn't matter. Heck, we even have members forging metal in coffee cans and cutting steel with chisels

Coming on here and asking is a great first step. See if there's someone in your area who will invite you into their shop and show you around. Take some adult ed classes if they're offered near you or visit a makerspace if that's an option. Like I said this morning, read and ask questions. There's lots of help out there if you're open to it.

Cheers,

John

 

[mikey]

My advice is to make a list of everything that you can think of that you would like to make with your lathe and mill.

Mickri has the right idea with putting together a list of what your needs are and shopping based on that.

Welcome to HM, Maverick. You would do well to heed the above advice and really think about what you need these machines to do. This will give you a rough idea of the SIZE of the machines YOU need. Then learn all you can about these machines so that you understand how they work and which features are important to have on each type. When you do buy them, be sure the features you want are included with them because upgrading them will be almost impossible.

Don't rush to buy machines; they will be there when you're ready. Make your lists, take your time, ask questions on the forum and when you're ready, choose the machine you decide upon. Try not to be too influenced by the opinions of others; its your money and you will have to live with these machines.

 

[Mike6158]

I just spent the better part of the day working (off and on, not the whole day) on 3 little parts on a Little Machine Shop 5100 series lathe. It's about the same size as the Grizzly you asked about. I like the lathe. It probably needs to be set up better but as a complete newb I don't know exactly what to do with it. Even though I said I like the lathe, with just a little use, I can see that, if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't make my first purchase this lathe. It's not rigid for one thing. To be fair I was making some pretty small parts out of bronze. I made two 1/2" diameter v groove pulleys and a spindle that's .500" L x .090"D on one end, has a .050 hex at the other end, and a short set of 6-32 threads. Literally these were the first functional parts I've ever made on a lathe. My first chips were turning a cylinder into a square... except the term square would have to be redefined if mine counted. Simply put, it was ugly and there was nothing square about it At some point I'll upgrade to something with power cross feed and a better threading setup. I'll keep the LMS 5100 for tiny parts like what I made today.

Bag at the top - wooden pulleys I'm replacing. Pulleys and spindle in the middle. First spindle that I turned down to small to the right.

 

[mikey]

And yet you made usable parts, Mike, so I say you did good! It takes time but the lathe will teach you more about metal working than any other tool in your shop ... if you listen to it.

Some unsolicited advice: Optimize your lathe; there are a LOT of mods guys have done to improve the 7X lathes. Then come join us on the model tools thread and learn to grind some good tools. These two things will enable you more as you grow in this hobby and I think you will be surprised what your little lathe can do.

 

[tghsmith]

starting out on smaller machines can have some advantages in the learning curve,, it makes one pay more attention to tool selection, grind angles, proper rpm and lubes,, with the everything correct it's amazing what can be done on a small lathe or mill,, I would do some research on "gear drive" small mills and gear failure..

 

[bakrch]

This really is a tough spot. When I started building the garage shop my budget was about the same thing, but I quickly realized it was not going to happen.

One thing I did not count on was the machines would pay for themselves in no time. I developed products, people paid money for them ... now hindsight tells me I should have gotten a Taiwan made 1236. I would really like a nice Hardinge toolroom lathe or a HAAS TL-1, but I digress ...

The PM1030 was my first choice but after a few weeks of lying to myself, I asked Matt to send me a decked out PM1236 (Chinese). It was a bit scary paying that much more, but as it turns out the capability of this lathe is very good. Expect to make a few trips to the hardware store to replace some cheap hardware, but functionally speaking it was all I had to deal with.

I really only run into rigidity issues if I try to do something stupid. Such as, mount a 1.1" diameter indexable insert drill to my QCTP (pinned to the nut) and then feed it into 316 stainless (just to get the coolant-through working for me). Damn near ripped the compound off with that much prying force, haha. Mounted in the tailstock, the same drill cuts like butter ... so back to that method.

At work, I have access to manual lathes from 13" swing all the way up to 42"x120" horizontal lathes, as well as a 54" VTL, so I know what it is like to move some metal.

Sure, a smaller bench lathe can work if you are in no hurry, but once you hit that 12x36 size it is going to be a huge time saver. My only gripe is the change gears for inch threads. Luckily I was able to just redesign my parts to utilize thread pitches on the factory gear setup.

As far as the mill is concerned, the PM25 G0704 style is pretty awesome. They are popular for a reason. I will eventually move up to the RF-45 size unit, but I am in no hurry to get there.

 

[Pcmaker]

I regret going with a pm1127 instead of a pm1228 or pm1236

It's a great lathe and I've been able to do EVERYTHING with the pm1127, but changing gears to cut different threads is such a huge pain in the butt