If you could only have one machine...

[rustamd]

...which would it be?

From reading the forums i have learned that you can turn on mill, and mill on lathe. This made me think about this question:

Lets say constantly make/work on some parts, and half of them require some turning, the other half need some milling.

You can choose between good old 9-12" lathe or good old bridgeport. Which one would it be?..



P.S. Manual machines only, no cnc

[toastydeath]

I'd rather have no machines than just one. I hate having to half-ass jobs.

A guy I look up to in my profession gave me advice over a drink, and I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon: "You try to do too much. Focus on what you are good at; if you try to master everything you ever do, you get nothing done and help no one. You have incredible talent, and by focusing you will do more in your field than most ever can."

I am not a fan of turning on a mill or milling on a lathe for this reason. I'd rather spend time solving metrology problems and making research prototypes than trying to finagle my machines into doing things they are not good at doing.

By trying to get a turning machine to mill, or a milling machine to turn, you are taking away time and skill you could be directing to the task at hand. If you are a talented model engineer, for christsakes, spend time building your models to the limit of your ability. If you're spending your time trying to work around a rigged solution, your work may come out excellent, but it won't be as good as it could be.

[DSL PWR]

Get the mill, and use it to build a lathe.

[Rick Linnabary]

I prefer to use a mill. I can make better money building more complex parts and if you use the proper machining, tool and programming techniques you can do any lathe operations as needed without having to put the part on a lathe to do any other operations including possibly having to go back to the mill if needed after doing the lathe work.... more time and money gone. I was told buy an owner of a multi-million dollar machine shop that "if you farm out the lathe work, at least you know how much money it's going to cost you (and you don't loose!). I believe that he is right unless you have a very large high dollar assembly that you need to do the lathe work in house to control quality, delivery time and cost.
I do 3-6 axis CNC Mill Programming for my specialty using Mastercam X and I have not found anything that I can't build on the right mill to build the parts as required, I have also been known to build "5 axis parts" on a 3 axis machine before; you just have to have a good ability to use your imagination and a bit of creativity. You can not do that with a lathe!!!

[rustamd]

Originally Posted by Rick Linnabary I prefer to use a mill. I can make better money building more complex parts and if you use the proper machining, tool and programming techniques you can do any lathe operations as needed without having to put the part on a lathe to do any other operations including possibly having to go back to the mill if needed after doing the lathe work.... more time and money gone. I was told buy an owner of a multi-million dollar machine shop that "if you farm out the lathe work, at least you know how much money it's going to cost you (and you don't loose!). I believe that he is right unless you have a very large high dollar assembly that you need to do the lathe work in house to control quality, delivery time and cost. I do 3-6 axis CNC Mill Programming for my specialty using Mastercam X and I have not found anything that I can't build on the right mill to build the parts as required, I have also been known to build "5 axis parts" on a 3 axis machine before; you just have to have a good ability to use your imagination and a bit of creativity. You can not do that with a lathe!!!

why dont you post some pics of your work or end product rather, would like to see them

[neilw20]

Need both! plus a grinder, edm machine. wash grinder, sheetmetal shop...

[Mcgyver]

they say the lathe is the only tool that can replicate itself. look at the old time model engineers and what they create with little myfords or even treadle lathes and no mills. no contest, the lathe.

[Geof]

From a historical perspective I think the lathe preceded the mill so get a lathe . Which is what I would do if there was no other choice.

Although seriously, the correct answer is both; when I started my shop I bought a lathe and a mill and never even considered trying to start with one or the other.

[cogsman1]

Choose the one YOU or the OPERATOR are best with. Make some money with it and then buy the other.

[rustamd]

Well, its not for me, I was just wondering. I dont have room for either, but have access to both plus whole lot more machinery pretty much anytime. Its just one of those "good to know" things.

[SRT Mike]

We have parts that were obviously lathe work, but we didnt have a lathe - so we made prototypes on the mill. They came out like crap and required TONS of extra finishing to make work.

I don't think one is a substitute for the other, even in a pinch. If you need a lathe, you NEED a lathe and vice versa.

[rogerx3]

I would rather have a milling machine than a lathe, though a well equiped lathe with vertical slide could double as a mill, then size becomes an issue. I suppose it realy depends on what you want to make.