my new toy, ready to play :)

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hey everyone. its been FOREVER since ive been on here. been really busy with work, school, and playing with new toys. here is the newest arrival to my shop.
 

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This is an older thread and would like to ask If any of you have found any combo lathe from Asian mfgs that they like. I get it that there basically junk, but seem good enough if taken apart and massaged for tighter specs? This is not for any kind of production purposes and prices are decent.
I have an Atlas small lathe now, but am looking for one of the 16"x30" combinations that could be seperated if so desired. I remember seeing one many years ago but lost the info.
Idealy, I want a small compact size but big diameter cutting radius in a lathe which is hard to find. I guess thats why they have the combo lathes. 2 small seperate but big capacity units would be ideal if possible
I,m not sure I would like the all in one approach, but might since they are plentiful
My other question is can a mill do lathe work just as accurate or is this asking too much? I have never owned a mill and used one briefly but not enough time was spent to get a feel for everything it might do.
Just your thoughts

Regards
David
 
It is interesting with the Chinese "junk" because with the right quality controller (Siemens maybe for example) those things can really start to sing for non-commercial work. For a hobbyist, the cost savings, slight bit of hacking, and the tolerances you get aren't too shabby at all. Depending what you are using it for and how much you intend to use it, it is a toss up. Something with a large enough bed from the 1960's made in the USA without too much wear is hard to find, same goes for parts.

Not everyone can afford a newer Swedish made knee-mill or a Swiss/German/Japanese higher end CNC machine for home use.

So maybe Chinese is the way to go. What are you throwing on the lathe? How much are you going to use it? You can always upgrade if this is starting up a small machine tool and die shop or add on with faster and better machines as business gets better. Answer all that and you can figure out where to go from there.
 
I see the brands adverized as Shop fox, Bolton, Enco, Smitty etc. But haven't talked to anyone who has owned any of these Or if their happy with them. Boltons main store has them all in crates and no showroom other than opening them up they said. Their asking for a leap of faith based on a pix. Enco,s IPS store that I frequent and have bought countless metals has many lathes mills presses but no combo style on display. They don't even have a catalog or CD available from the counter anymore like they used to.
I,m in no rush for now
Just doing small projects of and on and looking for anyone who has one of these and if their satisfied
Regards
David
 
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