Advice for a Newbie...

[romandog]

Hi Folks,
I've done very little machine work up to this point. My son bought a Smithy Midas 1220 LTD before he did a lot of research and we have since found that there are better machines.

Personally, I'd like some type of benchtop or mini lathe and mill, not a combination piece either, for a reasonable cost, but I don't know what to buy..

I've read some about Sherlines and Grizzlys, Harbor Freight, etc, etc, etc, but I'm not sure that I believe all they say about their products.

If you read all that Smithy says about their Midas you would almost think there is no better machine anywhere and it does anything and everything. I still feel bad for my son plunking down his hard earned cash on it.

Anyone willing to make recommendations? It would be greatly appreciated.

I want to do modification work on my model airplane engines (currently up to .61 cu in/10cc) and perhaps make one from scratch at some point..

Thanks,
Mark

 

[packrat]

See if you can find a older South Bend Lathe 9 or 10 inch with some tooling they show up on internet classified ads from time to time. Check ebay lots of SB lathes on there..HTH

 

[Cogsy]

My first lathe was a Sieg 7x14 Chinese machine and once properly set up and cleaned it was just fine, in fact I still have it (though I never actually use it so I don't know why). The only reason I 'upgraded' was to turn larger parts than the little lathe could handle. My larger machine is also Chinese and is far less accurate than the small lathe. Many people use the Sieg range of machines and there are many good reports, especially on their benchtop mills.

 

[vederstein]

Whatever size of parts you think you're going to make, get a machine with at least three times that capacity. (For a lathe, think cross sectional area, not diameter). The extra mass of the machine will help greatly in rigidity and will allow more flexibility in fixturing/clamping parts.

Also you're bound to want to go to bigger projects and you'll have the extra capacity.

My first lathe and mill was a Sieg 7x14 lathe and a Seig X2 mini mill. It was only about 2-3 years into the hobby that I upgraded to a much larger Chinese mill-drill and a 12x36 Sebastian lathe built in 1937.

Don't be afraid about old equipment. If it's been taken care of well enough, it's often still better than the stuff from China and Taiwan.

...Ved.