Looking for a first mill and lathe

makingstuff99

Registered
Registered
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
1
Hi Everyone,

I'm new here. I've literally zero experience in machining. I'm an engineer by profession and education so I guess that's my starting point.

I'm looking for some guidance on getting a mill and lathe for a home shop setup. I'm looking to be budget and space friendly. I might be able to spend about 2500 plus some tooling over time for both machines. In terms of space, I have a little bit of space in the back of my garage for a small knee mill and a smaller lathe. I have standard 110 electric service out in the garage, but I'm willing to upgrade that in the basement or the garage if necessary. I have other projects that make that more reasonable. I'm hoping someone can point me to some good rules of thumb for what I want to do. There is too much information out there.

I'm willing to extend the budget if it makes sense and I would likely not loose a lot of money on resale value of machines and tools. I want to make a number of things such as: custom bicycle tools, puzzles/puzzle locks, various locksmithing tools and modifications, small robots, various mounts for cameras and basic linear motion systems. I have one thing that requires thread cutting--it's a custom tap size that is otherwise very expensive. Most of these components can be made from plastic or aluminum and occasionally machinable steel. I know there will be more projects with my boys as they grow. I want them to learn some machining because I think it will keep their little minds busy.

I've been looking at some used mills. I see some older Bridgeports that would fit in the garage. A shop in my region wanted nearly 4K for what looked to be a 1970's Bridgeport. Is it really worth 4K? I saw a millrite MVI for 1500 and another bridgeport for around 1250. I've been wondering if I could get away with much cheaper option. I definitely want it to function, but I don't need to make huge cuts and do large parts. How do I determine the right "strength" of mill for my needs? I'm willing to spend more on better quality as long as it would retain some value in resale. I would like the option of upgrading in the future.

I know the 3-in-1 machines and the mill/drill options aren't ideal for everything, but are used machines really that much better?

I appreciate any guidance!
 
You can do small jobs on large machines, but not the opposite; don't go cheap if you can help/afford it.
 
If the majority of what you want to do are smallish parts, a mill/drill is a good option. I have an RF-40 and it has taken some good abuse for some of the things I do (recently milled out a 14” circle with step out of 3/4” plate for a scrap lifting magnet core cover). They won’t take huge cuts, but hey, I get paid by the hour. My first lathe is an atlas QC-54, was my grandfathers and I’ve done quite a bit on it. Since upgraded to a Monarch 10-ee. I still have the atlas and use it from time to time since it has a longer bed. You really need 220v to run anything with a decent amount of power, but that is a small investment compared to the machines themselves. Personally I would not be happy with a 3-in-1, I feel like I’d run into a lot of things I wouldn’t be able to do on a machine like that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Any possibility you know a machinist? It would help you if you had someone with you that knows mills/lathes enough to help guide you, if you look at used equipment.
A 70's BP is steep at 4K, unless it is well tooled.
 
Vertical milling machines come in two basic flavors, knee type (the table moves up and down) and bench type (the head moves up and down)
Knee mills are recommended but are larger and more expensive. The Millrite knee mill is a good space saver since it's about 3/4 the size of a Bridgeport.
Lathes: many beginners start with an Atlas, a South Bend or Logan (older American lathes), or one of the new imports from China or Taiwan. There are a few small american made lathes such as Sherline but they are quite small and probably you would outgrow it quickly.
Spend some time getting familiar with what's out there and how to inspect used machines. Worn sliding surfaces on machine tools are the only thing that really can't be fixed easily or cheaply. Everything else is less important, although new spindle bearings for some machines are very expensive
Mark
ps this is a big topic to cover in one or two paragraphs, so I kept this reply brief- have a look at www.lathes.co.uk and http://www.mermac.com/index.html
 
Last edited:
If i were going to teach kids to use them i would go with seperate bench top mill and lathe for that reason alone.
Used machines worked for me as i enjoy fixing and rebuilding them. Tooling and mods for the bench top stuff is generally a lot cheaper. Based on your posted experience i would advise you to buy new, fully functional with warrranty.
 
I started out with a Enco Mill/Drill 23 years ago. I used it for MANY MANY projects. It is not a production machine but it will make hobby parts all day long. I sold it and bought a knee mill because I wanted a knee mill. If you get a mill drill get one without a round column. The round column requires you to plan your work better because if you need to move the head up you need to re-zero.
I also bought a 10" South Bend lathe from a friend of my dads. It was a very nice lathe and I again made MANY MANY parts on it. I sold it when my dad passed away and I took his 11" South Bend Lathe.
I would suggest for starting out to get a mill drill and a 9" or 10" lathe. They are out there. Craig's list is your friend or worst enemy. We are only 2 hours apart. I live north of Akron Ohio. If you want to stop I can show you what I have and discuss different options.
I have been working with the Science Olympiad program for the last 7 years. I coach the build events. I have had lots of kids in my shop using the mill / drill and the lathe making parts for the projects. The kids are excited to learn this because they do not get it in school anymore.
Good luck with your quest.

Roger L
 
I started out with a Enco Mill/Drill 23 years ago. I used it for MANY MANY projects. It is not a production machine but it will make hobby parts all day long. I sold it and bought a knee mill because I wanted a knee mill. If you get a mill drill get one without a round column. The round column requires you to plan your work better because if you need to move the head up you need to re-zero.
I also bought a 10" South Bend lathe from a friend of my dads. It was a very nice lathe and I again made MANY MANY parts on it. I sold it when my dad passed away and I took his 11" South Bend Lathe.
I would suggest for starting out to get a mill drill and a 9" or 10" lathe. They are out there. Craig's list is your friend or worst enemy. We are only 2 hours apart. I live north of Akron Ohio. If you want to stop I can show you what I have and discuss different options.
I have been working with the Science Olympiad program for the last 7 years. I coach the build events. I have had lots of kids in my shop using the mill / drill and the lathe making parts for the projects. The kids are excited to learn this because they do not get it in school anymore.
Good luck with your quest.

Roger L
If you have one specific thread that you need, check that a prospect lathe can do that, or can be modified to do so. Metric vs imperial, and the tpi.
 
Welcome to the rabbit hole . . . Fortunately you live in an industrial area so you'll have plenty of options for decent used equipment. Like everyone else will tell you, get the biggest/best your budget and space can afford. Try the search engine www.searchtempest.com to look on Craig's List and eBay for your area and budget. Here are a few lathes/mills currently on CL in your area:

Clausing 12" lathe, asking $1400

Sheldon lathe and Clausing vertical mill for $3900

Probably the best approach is to be selective as you've gone this long without a lathe and a mill, do you really need them today? My first lathe was an Atlas 12" that ended up being OK, but I paid way too much for it initially as I had my panties in a bunch and wanted something right away. In hindsight I'd have been better off picking up something different that I really wanted, but back in those days there was no internet, eBay, Craig's List, etc. Just newspaper ads. I did learn a lot on that Atlas and ended up selling it for about half of what I had into it.

Old US iron will probably require some modifications with different change gears to do metric threading. So used import might be the route to go if you plan on doing a lot of metric single-point threading. Metric taps/dies work fine if you're doing standard threads.

Plus side of buying used (as you noted) is you'll probably get your money back if you decide to resell. Stuff depreciated to a point and if it's still working, should hold its value. Just in case you decide to upgrade and/or start parking your cars outside of the garage to make more shop space . . .

Good luck with the hunt!

Bruce
 
Welcome to the forum, it’s a great place to hang out.
A budget of “$2,500 for both machines, plus tooling over time”, is inadequate IMHO.
Tooling alone is a big portion of any budget.
The used Asian mini series will be the closest route to achieve your machine tool quest.
 
Back
Top