need opinions on small benchtop lathes and mills

[massajamesb]

Ok, We all know the saying about opinions and how everyone has them,
and that is exactly what I am looking for.
I am in the market for either a small-ish benchtop mill and small-ish benchtop lathe, or even one of those 3-in-1 bench top lathe/mill/drill machines.
I have looked at Harbor Freight, Grizzly, Syil, and a few others.
The largest piece I need to turn is about a foot in length and perhaps two inches in diameter, and would like to be able to have the same amount of travel from a mill, perhaps a little more.
Threading is not a neccesity at all, I do that all by hand.
I am not against belt driven or gear driven machines, I want info on both if possible.
Speed is no real big concern, whether the machine can't go fast enough, or go slow enough, though the opinion of such is welcome.
I am not putting this into any sort of production, it is for small hobby work, nothing more. I want to take it to my workplace, and make parts in my free time.
All my machining experience comes from larger, "shop size" machines, so this is a little different for me.

Again, I want your opinion, no matter how insignificant you think it is. I know quite a bit about turning and milling, but there are enough of you members out there that have used Brand "X" or "Y" and know the ups and downs of each. This is not a contest, nor is it an invitation to flame any company. If you can't say something nice.....
Thanks for your help everyone that posts.

[hoss2006]

Hey massajamesb,
If I was getting a new benchtop lathe,I'd go for the 9x20 from harbor freight or grizzly.I have a 7x10 and its just too small.If you put a part in the chuck and a drill bit in the tailstock, you only have a few inches of clearance.
As for the mill, I'm partial to the X2. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30385
They go for around $500. If you can afford it, step up to the X3. Twice the price but it has a bit more table travel.More is better.
That's what it comes down to,price and size of stock you want to work on.
All the 'imports' have fair to midland quality and tolerance holding and can be improved with a little tweaking. My CNC X2 holds .001 tolerance no problem.
I wouldn't get a 3 in 1 unless space is real critical. Too much tearing down and setting up between jobs and the milling side of it is not that great, spend a couple more bucks to get separate machines with more capacity.
Just my opinion, Hoss

[Fixittt]

Im going to throw my 2 cents in here.
Do not, and I repeat do not go with any of the MAXNC line of products. Their support is horrid to say the least. I have the MAXNC 15 OL and have had issues with it from day one. Can never get anyone on the phone unless you are wanting to spend money. My Driver control box died 2 times. I finally did away with the whole OEM control setup and retrofit a Xylotex setup. The MAX line of machines is an all aluminum anadized contruction. Where as say the Taig is harder alloys.
To date I have had issues with the low HP spindle motor (Replaced twice). The driver control box 2 times. The Crappy motor mounts, custom fabbed a dove tail slide rigid type of mount. Under powered steppers (replaced) and the control software that comes with the machine... its basic to say the least. upgraded to MACH 3.

*EDIT* and I might add that my girlfriends brothers work just purchased a MAXNC router table. Much to my dismay, it is under 1 month old and already has had the wireing harness replaced, control box replaced, and now they are still waiting on other replacment parts just to make the "BRAND NEW" machine function without going crazy.

[massajamesb]

Thanks, guys. Keep 'em coming!
One thing I should mention is that this will not be for a cnc retrofit. I want it to work manually only, both lathe and mill.
The cnc will be for a much bigger machine

[InspirationTool]

If you want to work with parts a foot long you will need to go larger than a mini lathe or mini mill.

The 9x20 lathe and X3 mill sound like good options.

-Jeff

[massajamesb]

Originally Posted by InspirationTool If you want to work with parts a foot long you will need to go larger than a mini lathe or mini mill. The 9x20 lathe and X3 mill sound like good options. -Jeff

well, the largest piece I will work with is 12", that would be at the outside most.
Thanks for your input

[dropride]

I have an x2 mill and a 9x20 lathe. If i were to do it over i would have gone for the x3 to get the bigger table.