Which Lathe or Mill should I get? Help me machinists!!!

Here's my two cents. Take with a grain of salt; I'm an adult apprentice 3/4 through my apprenticeship.

I have heard some horror stories of Chinese lathes - casting sand in gearboxes, motors that die quickly, etc. If you can buy one locally with a warranty, and a lot of places sell the Chinese lathes, do so, even if you have to pay a bit more. Realise (if you haven't already) that there are a handful of Asian manufacturers that sell these things, and a lot of importers (HF is one) who buy them and put their name tag on it. You're taking a big gamble buying from Harbor Freight because if you have to send it back it's going to be costly. This is not to slag HF, but there's a reason they can sell a lathe for $300. By the way, even with the exchange rate figured in, we pay more than double that for that same lathe here in NZ.

My advice is to keep your eye out for a good used benchtop lathe. I have never touched a Sherline, but I've never heard a bad word said about them, and if they're good enough for the King Of Aftermarket Wheels, well... Their accessories range is enormous, and their founder Joe Martin has written a book - title has the words "Tabletop Machining" in it (it's out in the shed...). I highly recommend the book - he covers all the basics. There's lots of stuff about his own product, of course, but he never gets preachy. Even gives plans for some small projects.

I've seen a small early Unimat - these are quite limited by size and rigidity, but if all you want to do is make bushings and wheels, I'm sure it would be plenty. The newer mini Unimats look quite plasticky and toylike, probably not suitable, but I've never used one.

I've recently bought an Emco Compact 8 - probably 25 years old, been run hard and put away wet. I'm in the process of replacing some of the bits on it (new toolpost, etc) and haven't made any chips yet, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy when I look at it.

I'd love to have a nice Myford, but even used ones are out of my price range (3-4 weeks' pay). If you can find one that's been taken care of and you can afford it, by all means jump on it, but they don't come around often.

Realize that if you buy a used European/British/American lathe, you'll get most of what you paid for back if you decide to sell (more if you are clever). If you wish to upgrade from your Asian lathe, you'll be competing with new Asian lathes.

Some resources -
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.crafts....king/topics?lnk - lots of spam, but good stuff too.
http://www.metalwebnews.com/
http://www.metalworking.com/
http://www.homeshopmachinist.net/ - great magazines!

Good luck!

The bad about a Taig?

Lathe

The way the motor hooks to the board on the lathe - an easy fix.
Little explanation about what things do.

The cheaper Jacob's chucks.

Mill

One bad electrical connection. I fixed it myself.
The stupid vise. They ought to give it away with each sale until they are gone.

The thing has been faultless otherwise.

The Best thing?

Nick Carter's website for Taigs. He is a dealer. If you buy a TAIG then buy from him all your parts and the machine unless the factory gives a super package. His advice has always been correct. He even tells you when another brand's parts work.

Some lathe/mill accessories are universal. My new milling vise will come from ENCO.

I got the cutting tools from Harbor Freight and they worked better on some things than the TAIG originals.

The Taig, although, being a robust machine for it's size, and, about the same price as the 7x10, is, about only 20% as much value as the 7x10.

The Taig, has no Swiveling Topslide. This alone, would make me not even consider the Taig. Also, it has no power feed to the saddle, nor, any gearbox type feature which are standard on the 7x10. Nor, a lever to disconnect the saddle from the leadscrew (something I sorely miss on my sherline) which is also standard on the 7x10

TheTaig is more like a Skateboard than a Vespa in comparison. It's basicaly a toy, a very robust toy, but, considering it's price, still very much a toy in value comparison to the 7x10.

The 7x10, is basically a big lathe shrunk down, the Taig, is a big lathe shrunk down, and, all the most important features removed, but, selling for the same price. So, really not much of a decision here on which one I would buy.

hi guy,s, this is getting to be an absorbing topic! you can ask a hundred guy,s about lathes and you,ll get a hundred answers, everybody has their favouite since they have been around since ancient times egyptian i believe that is a lot of answers. my own clark,s model was subject of an introductory offer @ 625.00 inc delivary and very heavyso i wont be moving it any time soon. i think that if you (like me) are starting from scratch you need to consider buget and cost of ancilliary fittings. i agree , buying the best and the most accurate will seriously dent your wallet but you will be able to tackle most jobs with confidence.don,t even think about axles, they are ground, and that is a whole new ball game, and can wreck your lathe bed and investment if not kepy clinicly clean. i use a tool turret on the tail stock when making wheels, saves wasting loads of time changing cutting tools when working. also for the same reasons stay clear of brass,it tends to chip when being cut and the chips if not cleaned will ruin the slides. bwa will probably challenge that statement. get the book by l. h. sparey "the amateur,s lathe and it will open up a whole world of possilbilities making your own fitments springs cutting threads etc.all in all i,d say that the lathe is one of the best investments i,ve made. "chronos" engineering of st.albans is a most helpful company and will give advice if asked and is a place to purchase types of metal in smaller quantities. i use aircraft grade ally for wheels as i find i can get a good finish.don,t expect to jump on your new aquisition and expect to produce wheels to the accuracy of bwa in an afternoon, seriously guys it takes years!do,nt think i had an apprentiseship in engineering i am self taught over the last twenty years and have made mistakes as i went, but all i can ask you to do is practice,practice,practice regards peterjon.

QUOTE I wouldn't expect to produce that kind of accuracy myself

QUOTE all my wheels are done on a half million dollar CNC turning center

Very practical comments.

Some items are still more cost effective and better quality to buy off the shelf…no need to re-invent the wheel each time, just modify it to custom suit the application in some instances.

The sky (read wallet) is the limit to what you want to achieve and expect with these machines, achieve and expect all comes down to $$.

My only concern is of what others have said about the reputation of that lathe supplier. A reputable supplier will stand by the equipment they sell regardless of where they are made.

Your best first experience with a lathe is to watch somebody else use one and explain the whole principle and terminology. Then read some of the books already mentioned and it will make more sense.

The 7X10 is a good start!

My Peatol(Taig) has a swivelling topslide, to which I bolt a little contraption which I made from a fax machine and an old mini-drill. I use it to mill out wheel spokes, etc. It has done everything from 1/43 rd scale to 1/12th. I also use Cike Carter's indexing attachment which was so cheap it was crazy. Buy your Taig (Peatol) belts from him too, it's cheaper than the English supplier.
There's no better lathe at any price and I've tried most over a 40 year career as a professional modelmaker. I would say, however that if you can find a cheap Unimat SL90 for drilling and light milling duties, grab one.
Leave the Unimat 3 alone, they have a tendency to cracked beds and drive belt breakage.

The Unimat PC was the biggest pile of sh** ever invented.

The Simat (Brian Wexler, Norfolk) was a very useful modernisation of the 2 1/4" Flexispeed and mine did some serious work, but I needed more portability. I swapped my Unimat PC crap-heap for the Peatol with a load of extras and the fool gave me money my way too!!
I've never looked back. I made some nice brass and steel locking knobs for the clamp screws, but frankly they got in my way so I happily went back to an Allen bit in a cheapo rachet screwdriver. Less elegant , but more practical. I'll be putting some wheel pics up soon to show what you can do with this wonderful little tool.

Good luck.
Cheers,
C/S

QUOTE (ClubSpecial @ 12 Apr 2009, 14:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The Unimat PC was the biggest pile of sh** ever invented.

Good luck.
Cheers,
C/S

Interesting point of view - mine will hold a couple of 10ths - good enough for my home-grown skills. Fitted with a QC toolpost and carbide insert tools, it will tackle anything that I have had to do, turning-wise, for slot cars. Mine also came with a milling attachment which was really not rigid enough for any real work so it sits as a reserve in case the motor ever goes south. Someday I may even crank up the CNC bits that came with it.

I know that Taig does a very highly regarded mill (I plan to add one as a CNC tools when the bank account permits) and I am sure that their lathe is also a robust and practical tool but I find the power feed and large collet capacity of the Unimat to be very useful

The "POS" judgment is also at variance with the view of a rather well respected compendium of lathe lore:

Lathes UK

-An amateur's view.

EM