ok guys another mill/lathe advise

[neanderthal]

OK so i've saved up some more money and have asked about a lathe before. I am now more interested in a mill, but found a combo for fairly cheap with some tools, which i know can add up really quickly. Please assume i know nothing here and tell me what you guys think of this for a hobby tool for the garage. i want to work with mild steel and hopefully get the skill to make things as big or even bigger than trees (of course not in steel). is this a great deal as i assume it is? Any questions i should as before i drive the one hundred and twenty so miles to check it out? Not a whole lot of info in the ad. Can anyone tell what brand it is?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/4485037279.html

 

[Norman1950]

Check out grizzly.com and you might be able to match it up by pictures also cdco tools is a place to get some tooling.

 

[neanderthal]

im in contact with the guy selling it through email. its a central #44142


got this off a different thread


Here's a link to the online manual http://images.harborfreight.com/manu...4999/44142.PDF
This machine has been discontinued by Harbor Freight but still available from Enco and Bolton.

and Grizzly:http://www.grizzly.com/products/Combo-Lathe-Mill/G9729

 

[rusty rocket]

I have a friend that does a little bit of everything, he told me when I was looking at a similar machine that they are a pain in the ass to set up from the mill to the lathe. i think for the hobbiest that the time it takes to set up from mill to lathe wouldnt be that big of a deal. I just brought home a harding/bridgeport mill today, cant wait to get out in the garage.

 

[neanderthal]

yeah i wouldnt mind the set up between the two either. i wouldnt be using the lathe too often anyways as the mill being there. Id basically use it to turn down axles. im sure ill find other uses for it as time goes by. do you mind me asking what you paid for yours? a ball park figure is good enough for me. one thing i want to make sure of is if this can handle mild steel well.

 

[Signal]

I have been in exactly your position, wanting a mill or lathe and knowing very little about machining. I still don't know much but got some good advice.

That was buy a mill it is potentially a more versatile machine than a lathe.

If you get a rotary table and chuck you can machine round things if you are patient. A boring head is good to have as well. A vise is nice but not essential although it can take longer to clamp the work than take the cut if you don't have one.

A geared head makes changing speeds convenient and I regret not getting a digital read out (DRO).

I have made triple clamps, fork braces, brake and sprocket adapter plates and machined XS rear mag wheel hubs on a machine with a 800 x 240mm working table with 230mm cross travel. I think you will soon outgrow the machine you are looking at.

 

[neanderthal]

ok thanks for that advise. ill keep it in mind. i have about a 1500 dollar budget, and that includes getting it home which depends on its size and weight.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

For the price and what you want to do it's probably fine for those large aluminum projects, questionable for precision steel triple tree production. But, some gotchas:

1 - Viewed from the end, visualize the lathe spindle centerline poised above the bed, and the bed width. Gives you an idea of rigidity under load. The grizzly lists a 16.5" swing over a 5.5" bed. That's a 8.25" spindle centerline hovering over a 5.5" base, a narrow triangle. For comparison, my little 6" Atlas has the spindle centerline at 3" over a similar 5" bed width, a fat triangle, more stable.

2 - I don't like short tailstocks. Neat marketing trick to get longer distance-between-centers.

3 - The exhaustive and well done Grizzly spec sheets and manual don't say anything about the dial markings, and the manual clearly avoids any pics that display those dials. When one of these machines has good 0.001" dial graduations, it's flaunted clearly in the specs. One of the first things I've done when shopping for these machines is look at the dial gauges. When I see the 'one division = 0.002"' marking, I know it's a coarse machine, or even worse, a metric system with an english fudge factor (where. 05mm is close enuff to 0.002"). Lotta folks got took this way.

4 - The grizzly spec data shows some odd feedscrew diameters and pitches, probably 20mm diameter screws with 4.25mm and 3mm pitch, very odd. The craigslist machine may be different.

5 - These things weigh several hundred pounds. Use appropriate riggers equipment, and people.

Hope this helps...

 

[rusty rocket]

yeah i wouldnt mind the set up between the two either. i wouldnt be using the lathe too often anyways as the mill being there. Id basically use it to turn down axles. im sure ill find other uses for it as time goes by. do you mind me asking what you paid for yours? a ball park figure is good enough for me. one thing i want to make sure of is if this can handle mild steel well.

I paid big money for mine(at least it was big money to me) $3000.00. My machine is an old U.s. navy harding knee mill with a bridgeport head on it.

 

[neanderthal]

thanks for the help and advise everyone. i think i may have locked one down...after more research and talking to some other folks i now know what to look for. thanks again.