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Rusty,
Just my $.02, but hold your horses here. If
you want to get into the machine tool end of things, the FIRST thing you want is
a good lathe that is at least 12x36". A lathe is the basis of all machine work,
and learning how to properly operate one is the best basis for learning machine
tools.
With a nice milling attachment, the lathe
basically converts into a 3in1 machine as it can be used for turning, milling
and drilling operations. The milling and drilling are horizontal and it won't
have quite as much movement when milling. Now here's why you don't really want
this 3in1 machine.
Ed, I don't mean to knock your new
toy, but I had a little 3in1, a Smithy 12x20 (basically the same machine as this
one, but this one is a LOT nicer). I was not at all impressed and kept it less
than a year. It was an OK little machine...if it's all you
had.
The lathe was by far the best feature, but
it was awkward. Note the feed crank is on the opposite end of the bed from
the chuck, where you do most of your work, and it has no means of rapid
traversing like the typical carriage handle. It takes forever to get to the
other end of a long piece of work. Not only that, this machine has (and
mine had) no quick-change gearbox. A real PITA when trying to make finishing
cuts and when threading. You have to manually remove and install different gears
to change the feed rate.
Changing belt speeds was no fun, either. It
required a couple of wrenches and about ten minutes work to change the spindle
speed. TOTALLY unacceptable for lathe work. You HAVE to be able to change speeds
instantly unless you are set up for finish turning on a production run of a
constant diameter.
This one is only a 22" bed. Trust me, it's
too short. I would go at least 36" if I only had one machine. I have a 9x20 Jet
lathe, and it's WAY too small to really do much with. This machine doesn't have
any more swing over the carriage and it is only two inches longer, but that
huge tailstock is going to eat all of that up. It'll probably end up 18" between
centers. (After I typed that last sentence the pic with the tape showing
19" finished up;-)). Get the longest bed lathe you can find that will fit in
your shop. Very rarely will you use the entire capacity, but you will see the
wisdom in these words in days to come.
The greatest flaw in this type of machine
is the mill head. Note that the mill head can be swung back out of the way when
not needed. Great idea!....but that means it is on an un-keyed round
column...BAD idea! Anytime the mill gets under load, or hangs up, the head will
rotate on that column. It will eat up work, break bits, and screw up your
set-ups. This was my primary dislike of the machine, other than the fact the
table was too small and didn't have power feed when milling. Since this machine
has two motors, you may at least get one power feed axis (x) for
milling. (I rigged one up using the lathe leadscrew and an old Hamilton
Beach electric mixer motor ..it was variable speed, too!)
Note that the distance from the mill
spindle nose to the table is only about 9". You put a 2" long endmill in there,
and a vise that is 4" tall to hold stuff in, and you can't get anything of any
size under there. Same goes for the drill press. You put a Jacob's chuck on the
quill (3-4"), and a 1/2" drill bit that is 4" long and you have about 2" to play
with. Forget the vise, it won't even fit.
This is not really a very heavy machine. It
says 925 with cabinet. The little thing I had was about 750, but it had only one
motor, the table was smaller, and the mill head didn't have as much reach.
The basic bed on my machine and this one look identical. The bigger and
heavier the machine, the greater its accuracy. This is going to sound
strange at first, but my huge 24"x72" 25hp American Pacemaker lathe at the
museum is MORE ACCURATE than a watchmakers lathe. It is SO big and SO rigid
that you can take 1/4" deep cuts in 3" cold roll steel and it won't even leave a
mark when you back up. Mass is everything in machine tools, just the opposite of
airplanes. This machine probably weighs about 850lbs without the cabinet. The
lightest mill I have is 1300, the heaviest is about 4000. The Pacemaker
lathe is 12,000lbs. The little ancient 10x48" South Bend toolroom lathe at
the museum weighs more than this whole machine and cabinet.
What you need to do first is get a nice big
old quick-change lathe, with a milling attachment, taper attachment, four-jaw
and three-jaw chucks, live and dead centers, steady rest, follow rest, and
tailstock (make sure it has one). That should cost about what this machine sells
for, an leaves you with the shipping money to buy extras (which you will find by
the millions as soon as you get into this stuff). You can then buy a cheap
import drill press (which will be just as good as the one on this machine and
have LOTS more room) and matching vise for a couple of hundred bucks and start
saving up a couple of grand for a good mill. That 2K should get you a very
nice 20yr old Bridgeport, which will be a FAR better machine than ANYTHING with
slanty eyes, and will be easier to get parts and tooling for. There are CNC and
DRO conversion kits out the yang for the Bridgeports. DRO or CNC conversions
will cost about the same no matter what machine it is, this one or a
Bridgeport.
DRO is worth its weight in gold, and about
that same price. You'll spend $1000 on a good three axis setup. Increasing the
size of the components has VERY little effect on the cost, so don't worry if you
ned up with a Bridgeport that has a 50" table, it won't cost any more to DRO
than this thing. Unless you already know G code, or just get a big kick out of
playing with text-based computer commands, you will probably find CNC to be
pretty useless for the home shop. It will take MUCH longer to write the program
to make a part than it will take to just turn the wheels and whip it out. On a
maual machine with a decent DRO, you can easily get under .0005" tolerances.
Most low-end CNC like this stuff will do good to get in the .001-.002 range. If
you need four thousand identical parts, CNC is WONDERFUL. If you need two,
it's a waste of time.
I will be glad to help you find a nice
lathe if you want me to. I recently found a lathe for friend in PA, who is
finishing an Exec helo. I found him a hardly-used 20yr old variable-speed 5hp
South Bend 14x50" toolroom lathe with quick-change box, 3 and 4 jaw chucks,
follow rest, steady rest (roller type), collet holder, full set of 5C collets,
taper attachment, coolant system, quick change toolpost, Jacob's tailstock
chuck, and cabinet for about $3K. He had to drive about 250miles to get
it. Mike C.
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