Should I buy a mill or lathe as my first piece of equipment?

Many thanks for all the responses, especially to you, Dave, for the incredible length and detail! I measured, and it looks like I have about twelve feet in length that I can accommodate, maybe another few inches if necessary. I'm not sure if my dollars match my footage, but at least it's good to get one more solid piece of data down.

As far as terminology, what resources should I look into so I know all about things like the ways, gib, all the center distances Dave mentioned, various chuck styles and all manner of such things. I need something like, "Getting to Know Your Lathe for Idiots."

Randy, I think you're right that I'll want both. Actually, I know I want both! Just can't afford them at this time. For now it's gotta be one or the other. And a band saw. That too!
 
I bought my mill (bridgeport) first, cost $1500 and I spent a couple more hundred on the vfd setup and collets..

I'm looking for a lathe myself.. dont particularly know what I want yet, actually not looking, just kind of hoping one jumps out at me..
 
In my opinion, lathe before mill, but a mill will likely come too, later. I've got a 15x36 lathe and find the diameter to be very handy, the full length I rarely use. If I had say a 6 or 8 inch lathe, I couldn't do a lot of what I do. As said below, one can do small parts on a big machine, but not big parts on a small one.
 
Definitely the lathe first. A lot depends on how big you are planning to work. If you're considering a 6" Atlas, a 7x12 might be all you need, leaving room in the budget for a mini-mill as well. Or a larger lathe and a mini-mill. Totally depends on what you need, as opposed to what you want. You can always move up if you find you're into it.
 
Man, I'm not certain I could never get a 15x36 lathe down in my basement! I suppose I need to do more research. I have seen some larger lathes for sale, but don't know enough about them to make any kind of decisions about what would work for me. I'm not sure I'd be doing much over 6", but then again, once you get something like this, it doesn't seem like long before you go, "You know, if it was just a *little* bit bigger I could..."
 
Tom,

A good used lathe will give you an excellent introduction to machining without a large investment. And in a pinch, a lathe can be used to do some limited milling with the appropriate attachments. The Atlas machines are very popular but a few more dollars will get you into a heavier (as in more rigid) machine with V-ways for higher accuracy. Look for names like South Bend, Logan, Clausing and Sheldon.

I would also suggest looking for a lathe with a 10" swing (5" from the center to the ways) at the very least. Machinery like this is also pretty easy to rebuild and a heck of a lot of fun. And after it's been stripped down and painted it'll be a lot easier to haul downstairs. Yes, even a 15 x 36 will go downstairs with enough beer.

What ever you end up buying, make sure to get as much tooling with it as you can. Otherwise you may well spend more on tooling than you paid for the lathe. You are lucky to be near Detroit. As I was commenting in another post, there has been a ton of machinery lately on Craig's List.

Tom
 
Thanks, Tom. I have been doing some more looking around based on what has been said here. You make a good point about paying a bit more and moving up in size/rigidity. If a bit more cash means considerably more of a machine (in certain respects), then I would be happy to pay the extra and would find a way to increase my budget.

Here is a Logan that I found. Seems like it is on the smaller side, but appears to be in decent shape and has tooling and whatnot to go with it plus power feed:

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/2791531079.html

I also came across this South Bend one. What would you say about this one? Looks like it doesn't come with much, but does have a 4-jaw chuck. Swing size appears bigger. Can you tell me anything else about it by eyeballing the photos?

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/2779217821.html

Many thanks!

Tom
 
Tom,

They both have a 10" swing, but the South Bend has a larger spindle hole (1 3/8" vs. 25/32"). The South Bend also has a cabinet which is very useful. The Logan looks to have more tooling but it's hard to tell without being there in person. Little things like tool holders, tools posts, wrenches, collets, faceplates, centers, steady and follower rests, taper attachments, etc. really add up if they aren't included. The SB is probably a better buy although it looks a little rough for $900.

Tom
 
Yeah, I'd probably go more for the SB but I'd try and talk him down a bit. It says it has a small "parts" lathe with it. That may be a factor as well in maybe recouping some of the cost or trading for tools (In the spare I see a good cross-slide, compound, 3-jaw chuck, quick change gear box, etc. quite a bit of value there as well). Oh, and the 4' bed, it may sound big but it gets small real quick. My SB has a 4' bed and I don't think I'd want to go with anything shorter.

While you're looking I'd also suggest finding a copy of "How to Run a Lathe". It's a small book printed by South Bend and is kind of the defacto resource for "Lathes 101". I see there is a copy for download on here, http://www.hobby-machinist.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=53 It will really help you get more familiar with what one can do as well as the different parts of the lathe.

Hope this helps,

-Ron
 
Thanks, Ron and Tom. On the subject of the SB, I have noticed that people mention the spindle hole as a deciding or important factor, but you'll have to clue me in on why this is. Wait - think I just got it: the spindle hole determines the largest size piece you can run through the machine. It's one of those ultimate limiting factors like the center-to-center length or the swing, right?

Ron, I tried to go to that link you listed, but it told me I didn't have permission to go to that page. However, knowing the name of the book, I can certainly pick it up elsewhere. Thanks so much for the info. [Edit] Okay, I just looked that book up, and it seems like there are twenty versions of it, but some of them look like the exact same book with different covers. Has it been updated over the years, or are multiple publishers are printing the same book from 1923? Is there a specific updated edition I should try to find? The newest printing I could find was 1966.

I appreciate all the feedback. It looks like something that I should try to do is find someone local who has knowledge of these machines and take them along with me to help look one over. Is there a way to find out the locations of any members here in the forum? Wouldn't mind meeting up with some folks who are into the hobby. That's how I found out about lots of car stuff when I first got into those 20-some years ago.
 
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