Opinions on First Machine for Newbie

[jbothell]

Hi all. Been reading this forum for couple months. Excellent info. I am looking to learn milling aluminum for hobby and (real) boat modifications. (brackets, custom gauge assembies, etc.). On the hobby side I am going to be building a 1:14 scale model of a fully hydraulic piece of construction equipment from scratch...booms, buckets, turn the wheels, etc. Would like option of milling some steel parts as well from time to time. I am patient so slow on steel is ok.

After couple months of research I am thinking best to learn how to mill and cut on a lathe first then CNC later. Plus I like the hand-worked nature of manual milling and this approach fits with the budget better tool. I can buy a mill and small lathe and CNC the mill 6 or 8 months down the road. I got an itchy trigger finger and bought a used but never run MAXNC. After reading these boards more I think I will be ebaying it and starting over. Haven't even used it yet so is still new and they are selling well. Looks like I might even turn a profit! So here's where I am and hoping to get some opinions from this group, (and you know you have 'em guys so bring 'em!)

I think I've ruled out the mini-mills like Sherline because I eventually will want more XY travel. Budget is about $2000 to $3000 for both mill and lathe (rememer...need to tool up to). For lathe I just need a reasonably priced reliable 7 x 10 or 12 good for learning. No real ideas on lathe but see options from HF, Grizzly and Lathemaster. Maybe all three are Sieg anyway? Haven't looked that close yet.

For mill I am thinking entry level IH, Smithy or and X3. I like the beefy weight and generous travels of these units. From what I gather the X3 can be purchased branded Grizzly, Harbor Freight, Lathemaster and a few others. IH about kills the budget after lathe and tools but if it is high quality....just don't want to regret it later. Question may come down to CNC-ability.

One other thought is that maybe these machines are too big for my small hobby buy they are just as, or more, precise as the little guys so I'm thinking that is a non-issue.

Hope to hear some opinions and thanks to all for your posts. Very educational for guys like me.

[cnczoner]

Depending on what exactly you intend to turn, perhaps you can do what I did and get a chuck to mount in your mill spindle, then mount the lathe tool bits on the table and use it as a (vertical) lathe. I just did this today for the first time, and good decent results, limited only by my one crappy tool bit.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[CuttersCov]

This should cover a lot of your questions:

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe...ws/Reviews.htm

[CuttersCov]

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe...ws/Reviews.htm

<--should help with a lot of questions you might have.