So new I'm not even a newbie

if you start with a lathe, as I did, a candlestick might be a good choice. I made many "round" parts and it was a liberating experience to make useful things that were exactly the size necessary and a light press fit to a bearing. As you will find out, the tools and the tooling are just as important as the machine.
To underscore the machine and tools as just the vehicle, yesterday was a remake of a near precision pad. The thickness was not critical, but parallel and flat was. Accomplished with a regular aluminum stock, a file, 180 and 600 grit carbide sand paper. Measures 0.0004 parallel across the 2 x 2 inch size with a near mirror finish. I don't have a mill that can do that. It only gets it sort of close.
As mentioned above, don't do something until you have through enough to know what NOT to do. Stay safe. Have fun.
 
Keep your eyes and ears open, go on YouTube there are some incredibly smart folks on there to show you how to start

On machines don’t be afraid of import machines, however you need to stay away from lower end stuff. You will pay more to buy from Precision Matthews or Grizzly, but the machines are better and you have customer support. I had a PM bench top mill and it was awesome, plus if you needed support they was there. My lathe is a Grizzly G0750G and I needed support from Grizzly and they also was helpful in sorting out electrical issues I had with my machine.

If you ask they may be a forum member near you that can mentor you, most of us love sharing and it helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of.


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I would stay away from mini and micro lathes. I believe the best lathes for hobby use are the older South Bend 9A, B or C and Logan or even a 10-12" Atlas.

You can easily move and transport them yourself, used parts are available and there is a large community of users.

You can spent a lot of time just improving the lathe, making tooling, toolholders, carriage stops etc. The list of things you can repair around the house is endless. Don't forget you can also turn wood, pvc, abs, delrin etc

I didn't even know which direction the spindle should turn when I started, within a few weeks I was able to repair broken teeth on the bull gear.

Here's one near you: https://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/d/wichita-southbend-9-inch-lathe/6914433895.html

No gear box but not really a big deal for hobby use.

For a hobby mill, the HF mini mill with 20% coupon would be a decent deal but you could probably get the much larger RF30/31 for the same price.
 
I got here very late in the conversation but here is my $0.02 worth, the enrollment in a Vo Tech course is superior advise the next best thing would be to find a skilled machinist mentor to assist you. Finding the skilled machinist may be very difficult. If you try this on your own be sure you have the machine's operators manual then "shadow box" the set ups and know what it will do. Start with something soft like wood dowels or plastic pipe. Know this now-- THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO BE FOLLOWED AT ALL TIMES ! There are several text books available (Amazon.com) I have Machineshop Operations and Setups by Lascoe, Nelson and Porter that may give you a lot of basic instructions. Light cuts and slow speeds are a must until you gain experience. SPEED WILL COME WITH EXPERIENCE. DON'T RUSH IT. Being able to turn a rod to the correct size to use a "Die" for threads is a real accomplishment, and it is amazing how many times projects like this crop up. Enjoy this hobby and this web-site.
Have a good day
Ray
 
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Hello everyone.
My apologies for not responding sooner to all of these replies. I am in a business where there are busy weeks and then impossible weeks. Lately they have been impossible.
THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time and effort to supply advice. It makes the idea of machining even more intriguing to know that there are folks out there willing to help when help is needed.
I have continued to watch what is available on YouTube when I can. I still have about a half million more videos pertaining to the subject to watch.
I am not ready today to buy a lathe but am considering a Precision Matthews 1022v or Jet 321155k-D920W. I like that the Matthews comes with quick change tools installed. I am not sure about the Jet. Since I'm not experienced at all I am thinking that if the lathe comes with built in quick change capability that is one less thing I need to worry about to begin with.
In reference to some of your replies my hobbies are playing the piano (taking weekly lessons still at the age of 57) and learning Russian. So it's pretty much a no go on the lathe assisting me in my hobbies. As for my work I could maybe, possibly, maybe see making use of a buffer but no chance for a lathe. Nevertheless my interest continues to build.
I have bought a textbook on machining and plan to read that as my next step into the machining world.
Again THANK YOU to all who have supplied me with advice so far.
I hope to be back with questions regarding my new/new to me lathe in the near or not too distant future
 
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