Opinions Please...If you had to chose

[mcraig79]

I was wanting to get a little feedback here from the board if you had to chose one of 2 models which would you chose and why.
G0602 10" x 22" Bench Top Metal Lathe or
G0516 Combo Lathe w/ Milling Attachment

I am mainly asking coz i am in the market for a new machine. About 90% of the work i do is with aluminum or brass just to give an idea of what i am doing with it. and about the largest OD i turn is about 7"

[in2steam]

see my post in the microlux 7x14 thread below, I would go with the go516 IMHO. As you get two pieces of equipment if you buy the base and seperate the mill.
chris

[askman]

are you going to cnc them? if you want to manual thread and need 1" stock hole, I would go with 10x22. I was considering this one when I ran across an used emco compact 8 that I just picked up.

I believe 516 does not have hardened way, which 602 does, but it is also a great value with the milling head.


remember that swing over the cross slide is about 6" for 516 both.

you may also consider 11x26, which has 7" swing over the slide

[handlewanker]

Hi, just my 2c worth, I'd go for a lathe with the biggest spindle bore, small bores can't handle any bars of usefull diam, and get the longest distance between centres.
Those short bed lathes are a PITA, second to none.
Ian.

[mcraig79]

i do plan to do a CNC conversion on them but not instantly i have a few projects that are in bad need to be finished before i can do that conversion

[apache405]

get the G0602. Although the other machine is a good idea and value, I think that combo machines are an invitation for irritation when your working. The mill part will get in your way when you are trying to use the lathe, and the lathe part will get in your way when you are milling.

[cjdavis618]

I'll give my 2 cents also. I bought the G0516 mill/lathe combo. I do not regret it at all. I went to Grizzly in Springfield to pick out a mill. But when I got there and started talking to the people there, I realized that I could use the lathe as much if not more than the mill. After looking at the options, (And how much room I had in the truck ) I decided on the g0516. I liked the design, included items and the idea that the sum of the parts were commonly discussed on this site.

I could have bought a large single use machine, but I would have kicked myself after I got home. I am confident that I made the right decision. Next will be the Grizzly horizontal/vertical mill and the gunsmith lathe. But that will be after I sell my old house and get my new shop put up.

I do dislike the belt controls for changing speed on the lathe but it isn't that hard to change. Plus, I am not without a mill or a lathe, And I spent about the same as you are looking at for just the lathe.

If you find it cumbersome or irritating to set up and use the mill, you can always order the x2 base from LMS for $149 and have 2 seperate machines.

I have just finished installing the x and y axis scales for the grizzly 3 axis mill DRO and I love the setup. I have the Z axis brackets to finish and hope that I will have time for that this weekend. But man does the DRO save time. I know it isn't cnc yet. But when I get more time, I will be ordering the Xylotex kit and starting that process as well. I am going to leave mine as a combo when I do.

[handlewanker]

Hi, once you've used a DRO it's like walking barefoot over stony ground to be without it.
CNC is a whole new different way of doing it, and opens up possibilities that are impossible to achieve any other way.
Ian.

[cjdavis618]

Oh I'm sure it would. But I am enjoying the manual labor that I put into the combo as well.

I will be doing CNC pretty soon. But realistically, I deal with Pcs all day long and sometimes need a break from the normal cinundrums they cause.

Even though the DRO I have is not a simple device, I'm taking the k.i.s.s. approach to learning right now. With as many accesories as I can afford of course .

[handlewanker]

Hi Mcraig, not knowing the machines, but knowing the type, I would personally not go for a combo machine.
While it would suit most people's needs that relate to this type of configuration, I feel that it is a compromise.
You can never expect a lathe to perform as a mill with the required attachment, rigidity is the problem.
As an old machinist from way back I'd always go for a lathe that was up to the job, preferring to spend the money on second hand industrial stuff, same money more machine scenario, and look at the mill as an entirely different requirement.
Before I made a choice on that set-up, I'd have to have a real time trial on the type of materials and tooling that I'd expect it to work with.
Once again I'd buy second hand to get the price down, but not for being too tight to spend the loot.
This way you get a machine that is already at market value and can be resold at that price if and when the machine doesn't come up to expectations.
This way you can run the machine for as long as it takes and if it's a no-go situation, then sell it on for what you paid for it, no loss, but lots the wiser.
They look good in the showroom but there's more to it than the pristine gloss of a machine on show.
Ian.

[in2steam]

Hi Ian not to hijack but i just got a dovetail scraping job on a atlas-cluasing for the cross slide this should prove fun.

At anyrate, I was and still am in the secondary market looking for a lathe, its hard to get in the states now. Many are inflated in price and its hard to tell if its good without looking at (ala ebay) for an exeperinced eye. Someone without exeperience would be well off not to try and buy a second hand lathe untill they have a firm understanding for the basics. I cannot speak for down under but at least in the midwest its been up and down to try and get a decent smaller lathe. The combo machine he asked about is made by sieg(the c6), the mill attachement(the x2) ships seperately and you don't even have to attach it. I would order a base and you have 2 machines right out of the box. I was lucky to to get a deal on a machine(g4000 or 9x20) that I know was in good conditon at 10 years of age, but its hard to say on anything else. It is of course is chinese, its not the best its not a the atlas-clausing I am working on, but it suits and its not all worn to high heavy like the 29 year old machine I am working on, which right now faces a cup on the order of .030 in 3 inches. Best of all I can move it around!

regards
Chris

[cjdavis618]

I understand what your saying handlewanker,

But owning the combo he is asking about. I am in a position to speak of the quality of the machine. It is plenty solid for the tasks that are asked of it. In fact the combo version is much more rigid than the x2 by itself. The base of the x2 weighs 60 lbs. The base (Lathe) of the X2 on the g0516 is 297 lbs. So there is an increase in stability and swing by going that way. So it truely is a win win situation on the combo.

I see what your saying about used machines. But I have been down that road in other equipment and always have been disappointed. I prefer to start learning on something that has a warranty, customer service and a following of people that can answer questions with specifics. I have achieved all of that wth my g0516 and am very pleased I did. I have bought a $2k thermal dynamics plasma cutter that was used, sold on ebay as single phase, turned out to be 3 phase and once I got a place to use it, turned out didn't work. So I ended up buying a new hypertherm plasma cutter for $1k that was new and spent $3k doing it total.

With used equipment, it's yours if it is bad or worn out. You can get good deals if you are experianced. But there are to many bridgeports, etc out there that only have "Highway miles" if you know what I mean.

You are not loosing anything from this lathe by having the mill attached. The mounting bracket is a hefty L Base on the rear of the lathe with it's own support. It can be removed and no harm will be done to the unit at all.