Is A Metal Lathe & Milling Machine In My Future? Advise Needed.

[Striker911]

I am an out of work stay at home dad and I was turned on to this just by chance. I have an old boat that I rebuilt for my family and I to enjoy and I only have like $200 in it not to mention the hours of work. Leaning fiberglass, replacing the transom and such. It has yet to hit the water this year so I posted it for sale locally. Someone asked if I would trade a metal lathe & milling machine for it. I am only asking $800 for my boat and he says what he is offering me is worth more then my asking price.

So you know what I have in mind now. Is it worth a shot? I would like to just take the money and run but this might be the blessing I have been looking for. I have never been a metal worker. I am handy though and stick to my own philosophy that if any one person on the planet can do something, then so can I.

Can anyone with some EXP give me a heads up on what I may be in store for? What else I might need to buy etc etc. Thanks in advance. "Modest beginnings start with the single blow of a horn". Let me down easy.

 

[Striker911]

Here are some pics of the machine. Its a all in one type. Might call it a mill?

 

[nicotime]

Depends...how many hours are on it...can you check the spindles runouts to see if they are still tight...are the ways, guides and bushings/bearings still true and not damaged or worn too much...are the screws and gears in good shape still...does the chuck still operate smoothly with no signs of being hit by the carriage or tooling.....any tooling come with it? Its still a Chinese knockoff along the lines of Harbor Freight tools but depending on its shape...your needs and expectations it could be worth it.

 

[Striker911]

Thanks for the response. I will have to look into all that when go to look at it. What about making Genesis style Attys with it. Can you see a person doing that without shelling out a lot of money otherwise? I am not sure what it would come with at this point. Its just an idea that was I was not even intended on having till it was offered to me in trade. But with no job and a family to support I thought it was worth looking into.

 

[Striker911]

What a B-word. I see the tool here then I click on the link and 19 of them come up. None of which are the same tool. Metal Fabrication | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[nicotime]

Yeah that one has been discontinued. You can see some of the specs at Amazon. Amazon.com: Northern Industrial Lathe Milling and Drilling Machine Combo - 1/2 HP: Home Improvement

As far as production with something like that...consistency would be your main problem...its not like a CNC where all you need to do is adjust for tooling wear and run the program...with that your basically doing a prototype each time. It can be done but it would take time to get each part right. More for hobbyist than production mode. Would be nice to have though...if I had the money I would probably have one sitting in the garage...better than a clamped down drill and file!! LOL

 

[DonG]

If u are not looking to build quantities of identical parts a machine like that is Invaluable to a home shop. However the machine is a starting point. You can almost plan on spending an additional %50 of the cost of the machine in tools to make it do what you want to do if tooling is not included. That said; i have had numerous opportunities to make 50-100 repairing or building stuff for other people since i got mine.

Machining parts becomes a labor of love and there is not many satisfaction greater than taking a useless scrap of metal and making it into something with both form and function.

 

[Striker911]

It really would be nice to have. If I had my shop up I probably would go for it in a second. We have like 4 more years left to pay on the house and pushed the shop back till then. I have a big shed with power and all. But it just seems to early at this point to get into something like this. Plus since we just moved here I would not get much, if any local funding from it.

If I understand rite its the equivalent of changing tires with a hammer rather then a machine. I can see if I was good with the machine that I could be set. I have zero EXP though, so I better just take the money or keep the boat. Really its trading fun for work in the long run. Both cost money, but one has instant pay off for the entire family, where as the other one will cost time and money just to learn. I really just don't even know what they use to make atty's with. Thought this was it, and still could be if I was good at it.

 

[slimest]

As far as I understand this lathe cannot make threads... And I am not shure if it can even automatically move cutter.

 

[nicotime]

Yeah Striker its one of those things that could be handy to have for making repairs or small replacement parts...but usually ends up being a boat anchor.

@slimest....good point...manual feed all the way around...tap and die only.

 

[Striker911]

Okay, well you guys all helped tremendously. Thanks for all the help. Really I love tools just as much as the next guy but having this is one is just not in the cards at this time. Besides I can put gas in the boat and have much more fun then with a tool I never use.

 

[gtbb]

Seems like a wise choice to me

 

[jimbalny]

I've read in some places that a combo mill/lathe is not worth the trouble. From another forum, this post pretty much sums up what I've heard:

I can tell you from experience, and others probably will also, that those combo outfits are far more trouble than they are worth-a total POS in most cases! You will be far better off to buy a real dedicated lathe in the 12x36 range or larger if you can and then get a separate mill. Those things have too many compromises to be really useful and usually the mill is only rigid enough for light duty work.

Hey, maybe sell the boat and purchase a mill or lathe? LittleMachineShop has a mill that harbor freight used to sell, on closeout for $300.

 

[tazz]

I just came upon this thread and I too am thinking of making my own mods. I would stay away from the mill/drill combination. Your best bet would be to find something used on CL. I picked up this 1934 South Bend from a friend of mine and spent a winter restoring it. It is by no means a production type lathe but it will cut threads and the such. The only problem I see is I'll have a tough time machining SS as this little lathe really doesn't like it. OH and by the way the price was right for it, FREE. The guy I got it from was going to send it to the scrap yard, I almost freaked out when he said that. The nice thing about a lathe is you can get a milling attachment for them, being as the parts for these mods are quite small I think that all you would need is a nice lathe setup.

 

[Striker911]

I just came upon this thread and I too am thinking of making my own mods. I would stay away from the mill/drill combination. Your best bet would be to find something used on CL. I picked up this 1934 South Bend from a friend of mine and spent a winter restoring it. It is by no means a production type lathe but it will cut threads and the such. The only problem I see is I'll have a tough time machining SS as this little lathe really doesn't like it. OH and by the way the price was right for it, FREE. The guy I got it from was going to send it to the scrap yard, I almost freaked out when he said that. The nice thing about a lathe is you can get a milling attachment for them, being as the parts for these mods are quite small I think that all you would need is a nice lathe setup.

Wow. You did a awesome job with the restoration. On my end it was just an offer and I turned it down. Decided to keep the boat for another year or two. Still have yet to take it out this season tough. Maybe in the fall.

 

[tazz]

I know what you mean, I still have yet to make something worth while with the lathe.

 

[tazz]

These small parts should be perfect for a lathe this size but as I said SS is a bear.

 

[Striker911]

These small parts should be perfect for a lathe this size but as I said SS is a bear.

Well, you already have a nice tool for the job. Give it a shot. You might just end up with your own atty's, or you might end up at the beach sipping margaritas. Whats the down side?

 

[asdaq]

tazz, you should try brass and aluminum. I would never find that for free in Poland. If it has an intrinsic value, it will be worth that. You could make some nice stuff with that.

 

[tazz]

Thanks all for the kind words. Brass and aluminum is not a problem, already made some trinkets with those materials but seeing as this old lathe really likes HSS bits and not carbide ss is somewhat of a problem. From what I've read you really don't want to make tanks or atomizers out of anything less than SS, battery mods should not be a problem though.