Any machinists on here?

[SlowKrawl]

I'm a welder that has always been interested in running a lathe/mill but never really had the opportunity. I've got one corner left in the garage that I am thinking of putting a 3 in 1 combo machine in. From what I have heard they are a jack of all trades master of none, but I assume it will be accurate enough for anything I will be doing. I have a machinery handbook on the way and found a good series of YouTube vid's(famous last words lol). I looked to see if RDC offers a hobbyist course but didn't see anything. Does anyone have any tips on how to kind of teach myself how to run it? I want to have a general idea of how it works before I buy something. Any input is appreciated.

-Matt

 

[duck]

I'm a welder that has always been interested in running a lathe/mill but never really had the opportunity. I've got one corner left in the garage that I am thinking of putting a 3 in 1 combo machine in. From what I have heard they are a jack of all trades master of none, but I assume it will be accurate enough for anything I will be doing. I have a machinery handbook on the way and found a good series of YouTube vid's(famous last words lol). I looked to see if RDC offers a hobbyist course but didn't see anything. Does anyone have any tips on how to kind of teach myself how to run it? I want to have a general idea of how it works before I buy something. Any input is appreciated.

-Matt

try the guys over at Busy bee tools on 111 ave and 185st or whatever it is.... they sell alot of lathes and some of them should be able to direct you in getting in touch with someone.....

 

[SlowKrawl]

That is the machine that caught my eye.

 

[duck]

That is the machine that caught my eye.

Looks like a nice machine.

 

[Highfly]

I've always wanted to do the same. I'm a service tech, i work on CNC punches, brakes,shears, lasers and have recently been working on CNC milling machines and lathes. Because of the contacts i have in the industry i saw a need. A lot of companies were sending the punch tooling out for sharpening and have to wait for it to get done. I took a very ballsy step and set myself up with a mobile tool sharpening trailer, i go to them and do all of their tooling on the spot. I have a surface grinder on board and i also bought a combo mill lathe from Busybee. I use the combo machine to make jigs to support the grinding. This little machine has paid for itself a few times now. I've actually got work for the mill lath as well. One thing forsure do not cheap out on the tooling. It will end up costing you in the long run.
I should mention I'm not a machinist by trade but I've worked around/with machines all my life and I'm holding my own with it. I'm out grinding today but will post some pictures later if you are interested.

 

[SlowKrawl]

Some pics would be awesome. I am not afraid to spend good money on tools that are worth it, nothing worse than struggling with something because you are too cheap to buy the damn tool lol. Thanks for the replies guys, anything helps. It's a lot of $$$ into a machine I don't know how to use haha.

 

[Highfly]

I'll throw this out to you. If you want to drop by sometime you can mess around with mine to see what its all about. I found its very time consuming with set up, but thats machining i guess.

 

[SlowKrawl]

Thank you for the offer, that is why I keep coming back to this site. That being said, I don't head down that way very often and WHEN I break tools I prefer them to be my own lol. Thanks again for the offer though.

If anyone else is interested, here is the video's I have been watching. They seem to be geared towards newbies and I think it will be a good start.

 

[zal]

The more rigid the machine is, the more accurate its going to be. Tools can be expensive. You can get cemented carbides or for more money, inserts. If you go with the cemented carbides, then you will need a pedestal grinder with a silicon carbide stone on one side and a aluminum oxide stone on the other. The silicon carbide is to sharpen the cemented carbide when it chips, and they will. The aluminum oxide wheel is to remove the metal under the carbide. Don't over heat the tools as it will melt the silver solder than binds them together.

Make sure your tool is center of the work piece. Good way of checking is to bring your tail stock over with the live center and making the tool the same height as the center point...What else would you like to know?

 

[SlowKrawl]

Any internet sites a guy can browse tools? I just want to get an idea of what your expensive is compared to mine lol.

I talked to a friend of mine that is sort-of a machinist lol, and he is telling me to buy a lathe and a mill, not a combo. I looked into it and I can get a king lathe and mill for not a whole lot more money than a 3 in 1.

 

[kovs]

I have a 9x49 milling machine in my garage for building gadgets. worked in a fab shop, tooling fabricator for a few yrs
for tooling i have bought some from these places and it seems ok for a backyard operation, definately a difference between cheap stuff and good stuff. id prob go for the big name stuff if i used it everyday.
Enco - Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Machinery, Tools and Shop Supplies
Grizzly.com® -- Home
www.shars.com

 

[zal]

Any internet sites a guy can browse tools? I just want to get an idea of what your expensive is compared to mine lol.

Thomas Skinner...Welcome to Thomas Skinner!

 

[wbonertz]

Hey Matt, I am a machinist and have a lathe and mill in my shop @ home. If you are getting set up, the best thing I can tell you is anything small like drill sizes, small diameters that your cutting on lathe, you want higher RPM and slow feed rate (.004-.006") for nice finishes on aluminum, mild steel etc. If your roughing something out than try using 0.012" feed rate and vary the RPM a little until you get a C-shaped metal chip coming off your cutting tool. The best thing to do is trial/error on a scrap piece until you get a feel for it. Use WD-40 as well or any cutting/drilling fluid. It helps keep your you piece/cutting tool a little cooler and also helps the finish on your piece you are machining. Hope that helps a little.

 

[SlowKrawl]

I did use a lathe briefly in highschool, but I was more concerned with welding at the time and really didn't put my mind to it. Kinda regretting that these days haha.

I am curious what your guys' thoughts are on these two machines, the one has a digital readout which from what I understand is handy because you don't have to worry about backlash. I am just not sure why there is such a huge price difference(regular price, not sale price).


King Canada 1 1/4" Mill/Drill Machine [KC-PDM30] - $1,629.95 : KMS Tools & Equipment from Vancouver BC, Selling quality tools at affordable prices all over Canada. Largest powertool, handtool and woodworking machinery retailer in Canada.

 

[mewassin]

Consider what you want to do with it. If you are only doing suspension bushings etc. the combos are ok but if you want to put a new yolk in your truck driveshaft
then get a longer one. If flywheels are on your list then get one with big enough swing.

 

[Highfly]

So here is my Busy Bee Combo unit and a picture of the first project I did on it. (It's about 3" in diameter to give you an idea of the size). The punch spigot is too small to use the magnet to hold on the surface grinder so I made this base. Some tools I have to grind a roof top pattern so I machined flat spots 0,90,180,and 270 degrees. This way I can quickly spin the tool accurately. The tools have keys in them so that drops into the jig I made. I grind tools with two different spigot sizes, this jig is also revisable I just flip it over to do the smaller tools. I impressed the hell out of myself with this. LOL It works great.

Info on the Craftex combo machine.....


And a couple things I found I needed right away other than tools.....

A lot of times when using the mill you need to elevate your piece...

And a vice of some sort.


Some sort of clamping kit
Buy Clamping Kit 3/8 Inch 52PCS - B200 from Busy Bee Tools

The only thing I wish mine had was a transmission for the spindle speed on the lathe side (mill is belts up top, no too bad to switch). On this one you have to swap gears in the ass end to change the spindle speed... But I'm pretty sure the price would jump up pretty good.

Hope this helps....

 

[SlowKrawl]

Consider what you want to do with it. If you are only doing suspension bushings etc. the combos are ok but if you want to put a new yolk in your truck driveshaft
then get a longer one. If flywheels are on your list then get one with big enough swing.

I want nothing to do with drive shafts, seen too many holes in walls from those sumbiches haha. I will be building mostly smaller parts and pieces, but I would like to buy the biggest machines I can afford and that are not way over-kill.