Help Choosing Small Lathe Mill Drill Machine

[Bolster]

I am looking to buy a small Lathe Mill Drill machine for general use, and to learn milling. I can spend about a grand. I am considering the Sherline product, and have also found a combo Lathe Mill Drill sold by Northern Industrial for $700. I also know Harbor Freight has several options. However I am certain there must be other machines I should consider, or perhaps you can recommend any of the above? Thanks, Bolster

[butch]

i have a HF mini mill (not the micro) the nice thing is there not to bad for the price and there R8 tooling (important if later upgrade to larger mill) think i got it on sale for about $400

heres the sucky part you can easy spend 3-400 on tooling for it adn a ton more for the good/cool stuff

i lucked into a southbend lathe for 300 but its a 13 inch way more lather then i likely need and i still have to buy tooling for it im pricing out cheaper tooling arms adn cutters adn have 300 worth to order be fore i can even start it turning

all this said i was told to get the mill and lather as two tools cause of how long it takes to set up one or the other when both are together


hope this helps some

[Ed Schempp]

Lathes, mills, etc are somewhat post production as CNC machines have replaced these machinist operated machines. There are many bargains out there. Finding a friendly sized machine that you can transport and set-up can be difficult to find but worth the effort. There are quite a few of the HF machines sold to folks that really need a larger machine for the projects they have on hand. These machines can be found used, at a very reasonable price. I suggest that you try the machine before you buy...Take Care...
Ed

[Bolster]

What's your recommendation for an occasional hobbyist-type weekend user such as myself? Do I really want to make the jump from neophyte directly to CNC?

[CKE]

Rigidity is the most important thing when buying a lathe or milling machine. The small machines just don't stack up...sorry but being a machinist they are really light duty. If you are only going to be making pivot pins or standoffs you will be fine. If you try to do any serious work with them they will not stand up.
If you can find a highschool that is getting rid of some old lathes/mills those are a good start. Get someone that knows about them(check a local machine shop) to see if they are in good condition....remember lots of kids have ridden the machines hard and put them away wet!
I guess if you only want to do small projects you will get by but anything more and you will be walking the machine out the door of you shop.

Take Care and pm me if you need any more help.

Craig

[Bolster]

Thanks Craig. PM sent, I am looking for a home-shop machine and can't afford much space. This machine is to learn on; if I have a talent I'll upgrade in the future.