Seeking Opinion, Lathe or Mill

[shendao]

Hi to all,

Given the budget to buy either (Non- CNC) a Lathe or a Milling Machine, which should I choose and why.

Thanks for sharing your opinions.

Cheers.

[Geof]

With a bit of ingenuity it is possible to use a milling machine as a lathe; limited in scope and not suitable for large workpieces. The only adaptation needed is attaching a small lathe chuck to the spindle because cutting tools can be held in a vise on the table.

It is much more difficult to make a lathe function as a milling machine because it does not have a third axis. I have seen small vertical slides that bolt on in place of the toolpost are available but the big problem is rigidity.

If you are going to buy only one machine make it a mill.

[Chuck Reamer]

It completely depends on what kind of work you are looking to do. I would go for a mill personally.

[mxtras]

I concur. If I was a one machine shop, I would be a mill.

Scott

[shendao]

Thank you all for the info which I find useful. It sure make sense, I'm pretty new to milling but had some lathe experience some 45 years ago.

Actually, was contemplating to get a mini milling machine or lathe.

[Andre' B]

A mill and then add a rotary table with a lathe chuck mounted on it.
Belt a variable speed motor to the RT.
Lay it down on it's back and you can mill some larger diameter lathe type work, slower then you could on a lathe that was big enough to spin it but that is mostly just because you have less horsepower.

Stand the RT up in the A axis position and add a tail stock and/or a lathe type steady rest and you can do longer bar type work.
Use the end of the end mill on top of the part if you need square cornered sholders, use the side of the end mill on the side of the part while the part spins and you feed along the X axis for a little better finish.

The finishes you get on the part will not look like those on a turned part but functionally the part will be just as good.
A very slow power feed on the X axis with adjustable limit switches will help a lot as then you can setup a cut and let it go while you do something else.

[S_J_H]

That is a tough question.
But this milling machine was built entirely with only a South Bend 9" lathe and a drill press. Built by Evan over at the HSM site.
Steve

[Big_d]

For home use it would be a lathe hands down. You have time at home and can do many milling jobs with a bit of ingenuity. I even have a home made slotting attachment on my old clunker in the shed. I have cut gears and sprockets on my lathe, though not the fastest or easiest way to do it. The one thing I would recommend is get the biggest unit you can afford/fit. More swing the better.