Stand alone Mill or combined Mill and Lathe

[TFosterJ]

Hi All,

Looking at getting a mill most likely a Opti BF-20LV, however I can get a combined unit which has a BF-20AV Mill Head along with a TU-2506V-20M lathe.
You don't get the milling table with the combined.

Has anyone had experience with these combined units?

The intend use is for assisting with knife making, machining guards and cutting slots into annealed stainless steel, along with adding some adornments to the steel surface (engraving).
I am trying to find specs that indicate how well it will perform on steel using very small diameter bits 1--5mm range. If anyone has a link or details that would be very helpful.

Thanks for you time.

Tim.

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[Stigoe]

I also thought a combined machine was a good idea, so I bought a HBM WM290 Combi, which is a rebranded Weiss Machine WM290 lathe with a WMD25. I soon found out a combi machine is not such a good idea after all, so I managed to purchase the table and made them into separate machines.

[kawazuki]

'Jack of all Trades, Master of none' springs to mind! They look good on paper and maybe for soft work, plastics, wood and wax they may prove useful
but for metals they just aren't rigid enough for more than roughing work - aluminium maybe, steel mediocre - wouldn't try others.

[deadlykitten]

hi tfoster, i just googled those :
... bf20lv : 1750
... bf20av : 800
... combi package tu-2506v-20m : 2700

i have worked on such a lathe ( simple, not with the milling head ), and it is a simple small machine ... i have also worked with machines with bigger chucks, but, even if it seems little to me, it may be enough for your needs; just try to find somewhere arround you a lathe with 100-125chuck + ?electronic variable rpm; we use such small lathes to debur/chamfer parts, or, ocasionally, to craft small parts

I am trying to find specs that indicate how well it will perform on steel using very small diameter bits 1--5mm range

small diameters require high rpms, and the lathe outputs 2500, and the mill 3000, and if you keep the motors running at those max rpms, you will feel like "forcing" a little those tiny machines ... maybe i repeat my self, but try to find a similar machine arround you, and do a trial cut, so to have a clue

adding some adornments to the steel surface (engraving)

engraving requires cnc and engraving bits require rpm ... no, you won't be able to engrave with those machines well, you may use some attachments, etc

however I can get a combined

combined units are versatile, but limited to specific parts : there are parts that deserve being machined on a combined unit, because is faster than machining them on 2 separate machines

of course, an obvious question is " do you have such specific parts to get a combined unit " ?

ok, if you get a combined unit, like the one that you shared, and you change your mind, i believe that is possible to remove the "milling head" from it, and buy later a "milling table", so to get 2 machines ... sounds cool

however, in cnc domain, there are persons that bought combined ( multitasking ) machines and they couldn't keep them running at full potential / kindly

[rodw]

I have to say I had no idea how crappy my Mill/Drill/Lathe combo unit was until I sold it and bought a separate mill and lathe. Don't do it to yourself. If you have the room start with an Optimum TU-3008g lathe. I wish it was on the market when I bought my AL320G. I've since upgraded again (lathe #3) to an AL960B that was nicely optioned and gives me the gearbox and DI-4 chuck I was looking for.

[fox3d]

I bought this machine my self.. it kinda works but not as you would imagine after looking at the picture in the store.
So i made a video about it showing quite a lot of details and workflow..



i hope it will be usefull.