Is this a good 3-in-1 machine for RC hobby?

[Chevy-SS]

Heya Guys,

I've been into RC (radio control) for a long time and I want to make some custom parts as needed. Nothing too big; I want to work with plastic, aluminum and light metal.

I was looking at Harbor Freight and they have this 3-in-1 Central Machinery unit for $599.99, item 46199: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46199
It almost seems like a no-brainer for my situation, but I'd love an opinion or two.

Plus, a new Harbor Freight store is opening in Rhode Island, just about 20 miles from me, so I could buy parts and bits there, as well as the machine itself.

Many thanks for any feedback,

Dave in RI

[philbur]

Spindle speeds are to low for your use with light metals. Turning diameter is far larger than you need. Mill operation will be a pain and not very rigid with all that quill extension. Looks like all hand feeds and no threading.

Many would say that the the words "3 in 1" and "good" are mutually exclusive.

An X1 and one of the small dedicated lathes would be a better choice.

Sorry but you did ask.

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by Chevy-SS Heya Guys, I've been into RC (radio control) for a long time and I want to make some custom parts as needed. Nothing too big; I want to work with plastic, aluminum and light metal. I was looking at Harbor Freight and they have this 3-in-1 Central Machinery unit for $599.99, item 46199: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46199 It almost seems like a no-brainer for my situation, but I'd love an opinion or two. Plus, a new Harbor Freight store is opening in Rhode Island, just about 20 miles from me, so I could buy parts and bits there, as well as the machine itself. Many thanks for any feedback, Dave in RI

[in2steam]

Originally Posted by Chevy-SS Heya Guys, I've been into RC (radio control) for a long time and I want to make some custom parts as needed. Nothing too big; I want to work with plastic, aluminum and light metal. I was looking at Harbor Freight and they have this 3-in-1 Central Machinery unit for $599.99, item 46199: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46199 It almost seems like a no-brainer for my situation, but I'd love an opinion or two. Plus, a new Harbor Freight store is opening in Rhode Island, just about 20 miles from me, so I could buy parts and bits there, as well as the machine itself. Many thanks for any feedback, Dave in RI

Dave,

I think to answer your first question you should ask other hobbists what they use. After that..
~The following are opinions only, take them for what they are woth, also noting I do not own nor have used a 3 in 1 machine.~

-I think that unless you are a gunsmith 3 in 1 machines are more bother then they are woth.
-That particular machine I have seen at my local HF store and it appears to be "clunky" and neither easy to use nor all that well made. The only advantage I can see is you can swing more then you can cut for what ever thats worth.
-If I were to buy a hobby lathe/mill combo I would buy the grizzly g0516, but i would not because the mill tends to be in the way alot, although the lathe is excellent and the mill(x2) is also seperate.
-I would buy the x2 series mill, which harbor freight carries, and a 7x10 or 8x14 lathe which they also carry.
-I would also investigate taig, I own a lathe and it came well equiped from an ebay auction for $275.
~Not opinions here~
-HF does not carry every thing in the catalog, there choices seem odd at best as to what they carry, in my expierence its always the same stuff at other stores.
-HF does not carry much in the way of tooling, so you cannot just pop in and buy something, nor do they carry any replacement parts in the stores. I would call before you go and look, they often run out of things and will sell the floor models untill replacements arrive. They will not order things out of the catalog into the stores I have tried at multiple locations and always recieved a no. Be warned that although I have never had problem getting something replaced(at least anythign worth bother) they can take a while to get parts as most of them come from china.
-with lathes esp. tooling is everything, I would buy a lathe that you can outfit easily, the 7x10's are perfect for this, so are taigs. Google carter tools once and look at his web site. Otherwise enco is a good mailorder place to buy cheap tooling.
-The HF store prices are not always what the catalog prices are, they will match them, but not always honor coupons in store-this seems to very.
-My first trip I took a credit card with me to HF, unless you are independantly wealthy go to the store unarmed, its sorta like going to a strip club with a pocket of singles. My wife said I am not allowed to go there with more then $100 at any time now.-she just never said I could not come back more then once.

chris

[in2steam]

how many times was this posted anyways?

[wizard]

Here is my point of view. You can accomplish a lot with a lathe and drill press to start out. That is if the majority of your parts can be easily turned on a lathe or milled with a milling attachment. The drill press can be used for the occasional holes.

In essence this is a recommendation against most combo machines. A good lathe can get you started on your way without all the issues associated with the combo machines. At this point I imagine that most of the stuff you will be doing are turned parts with occasional miling. If you project otherwise then it may pay to consider a mill also.

Note that a mill and a drill press are two different machines. While it is possible to get either to act as the other it is really pushing the equipment and could be considered hazardous. One of the reasons for recommending a drill press is that they have great utility around the home shop and can be had a relatively low costs. Better deals can be had at auctions and estate sales on drill presses. A drill press is still very usable even if you eventually get a mill. The thought is that the drill press would handle drilling tasks and the lathe with a miling attachment would handle the miling chores until cash can be had for the Mill.

The only valid reason to go with a combo machine would be the lack of space. Even then I would thing you would be better off with two smaller machines. Of course don't go so small that you can't machine your parts.

As others have already mentioned tooling for the lathe and the mill are big expenses. This can really put a crimp in your budget.

Dave

[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

[henryblowery]

Those are much better then the combo machine. One tip, the mill is the same as any other x2. You sould shop around for the best price. If you have a 15 or 20% off coupon for harbor freight you would be much better getting it there.

Gray

[in2steam]

Originally Posted by Chevy-SS 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

Yep those are same I sighted also, the only real differences are the suppliers and the price. As wizard stated you can acomplish alot on a lathe, and one thing you will find is sooner or later you will have a project bigger then you can swing or turn. Its hard to buy too much machine, its also hard to move to much machine so take my advice, buy what you can and muster it down those stairs, doing it twice sucks(when you get a bigger machine). I don't know about everyone else but my HF stopped carrying the 7x10 lathe now.
chris

[wizard]

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