Originally Posted by Chevy-SS  First, let me apologize for the multiple posts. I did not think ANY of the posts had gotten through, as they did not appear. The forum was acting unlike other forums, where you would see the new thread right away. Anyway, if a mod could please delete the other threads, that would be great.
I appreciate the feedback!! You guys convinced me to go with two machines. A buddy of mine recommends these two (which he has). What do you think?
Lathe: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=82710
Mill: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=82573
Again, many thanks for the tips |
That is a nice lathe to start out with no doubt there. The problem is at that size and price you may be better off looking at the 8 x14 and 9 x X lathes. Take a look at LatheMasters web site and Grizzles web sites for alternative machines. The 8 x 14's are highly respected as they are very well constructed for their size.
As others have mentioned it is easy to hit size limits on machines with lathes the limits being the swing and distance between centers. If you don't put a lot of thought into what you expect to do on the lathe it si very easy to end up with to little lathe. On the other side of the fence it is easy to buy so much lathe that you can't afford tooling to run it.
In any event if you are expecting to turn a lot of parts relative to milling I'd go with the bigger more versatile lathe. I would also expect that you might want to upgrade the machine also.
AS far as the mill goes, others have pointed out that it is just an X2. Perfectly good mill, with in its capabilities. On the other hand it has a slow spindle and getting more form it is an issue. If you expect to do a lot of work with soft metals and small mill diameters a different approach will be needed. For off the shelf Tiag and Sherline come to mind. A custom built mill is a possibility. Then you have the possibility of upgrading a Chinese mill.
So what is up? Well I still think that the best move is to go for a good quality lathe first. Flesh that system out and then go for a mill that meets your needs. Frankly the mill and lathe don't even need to be the same class machines. One could be larger than the other and there is good reason to go with a CNC mill. The trick is to fit them into your expected usage.
Dave