If anyone is interested, I just bought a new toy.



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46199

Holy cow!! What are you going to do with that? I see everything there but the kitchen sink.......Really though, that looks pretty cool. Congratulations on your new tool. Stay in touch...

looks nice Rob. I now know who to butter up to do my truck wheels LOL

In the words of Darth Vader, "Impressive ----- Most Impressive!"

Looks good Rob--(jeeze I think bending wire for my own grabs is pushing the envelope :-) :-) )

Congrats on your new acquisition.

Steve

Actually I might have changed my mind. The first one costs $700 but does not have an auto feed on it. It is pretty large and can do stuff up to 15X8, but won't auto feed. This second one is also a 3 in 1 mill/lathe but will only do up to 7X10 stock. However it is $300 less and does have an auto feed. What do you scratchbuilders out there think I should do? I will primarily be working in 1/35th scale but would like to shoot up to 1/16th scale on occasion, do you think that would make a difference? Is the auto feed going to be important? I just withdrew the order pending further investigation.



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39743

Sorry for being so stupid and asking a stupid question but...

What is that?

Angela

Hey rob,

I think you should go with the second one,
there won't be that many big things that you probably would do.

Rob

P.S My 50th post!

I also sa the second one Rob. That leaves 300 bucks for more material to practice on

Rob,
I would go with the second one. The auto feed will give you thread cutting capability, whether you want to make them functional or just for looks. If you intend to make your own gun barrels, look into the capabilities for turning a taper. With my Shurline, I often have to cut the barrel a half at a time because of the limited travel of the compound slide. Not a huge deal, but a little more tricky that way.
Jim

This is a miniature metalworking mill/lathe for turning and machining. Larger versions of these tools have been how products have been manufactured for many decades. And in my humble opinion, the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. You never learn anything without asking, so go ahead and ask and don't feel self concious about it.

I would go for the second one myself..the auto feed will probably give you a smoother finish on the end product. Where as with the manual feed, you will have to be pretty steady to get a relativly smooth finish.. IMHO of course

Mojo

According to mini-lathe.com I should not get a 3 in 1 machine, but I don't think I can afford separate pieces, unless you guys have some ideas.

Hello, Rob, greetings from Pennsylvania...I just caught this post, and I must say that either choice of machines should work great for our hobby...I work for a company that has the large versions of this machine in our shop and I can only imagine the multitude of uses and hours of just playing around with this tool. Good luck and have fun with it, sir...

sincerely,
Gunny

Thanks to all who have replied, I have made a purchase. After doing a lot more research (which I thought I had done enough of) I decided not to get a 3 in 1 machine and went with a straight lathe. I got the 5278 from Cummins tool. It does have an auto feed and thread cutter. It also came with about $100 in accessories like a live center and 2 dead centers, a follower rest and a steady rest, faceplate, plus a quick change tool holder. I took a small piece of PVC pipe, and this is so cool, I made a smaler PVC pipe! Isn't that cool!

http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,876.html



When I can find a camera I will post some pics. Now all I need is a mill.

hi
i am also thinking about getting a new lathe to replace my Unimate SL which has blown up.
i hav ebeen using a lathe for about 15 years now.

i have decided on two types of lathes by two differant manufactures to which end i shall go and see them.

1) is Warco mini lathe (uk built)or Chesters Conquest (chinese built) http://www.warco.co.uk/lathes.html
this i sthe same has the one you have bought.

2) Warco BV20 or 918 (Uk built) or Chesters 920 (chinese built) http://www.chesteruk.net/Lathes.htm

if i had the space then it would be a Myford 7 but i do not nor the funds to buy one.

both work out the same money once you have them to the same specification.

it is nice to see that you have bought one of my choices, could you let me know what you think of it.
i intend to do a evening class where you can take a project along and get taught how use the lathe etc properly. but you must have a Lathe to do some work at home.


ossie

I need that class.

Having machine shop capability with which to produce 'fiddly bits' is largely unappreciated by those who have not experienced same. I would not build models if I didn't have a shop at home. You're doing the right thing.

Cody

hi

man that is some milling machine!!

what do you think of my choice ?

i want when i retire to build a south african Beyer-Garret articulated loco 4-8-4 + 4-8-4

but before that the Creeping grip Bollock tractors of 1915 used by the landship committee which lead to the tank.

as long as the 920 or 918 or BV 20 is what i want then i might buy one but if it to big then i will have to go to the Mini but buying all the extras would then bring it up to the 920.

thinking of getting a tool post vive to allow some milling to be done.
but which ever i get i want it to last a long time
any advice i should be looking for ?

by the way i do not have the room at this time to get a milling machine one day i might even own a Myford

what do you build?

thanks ossie

Hi Ossia,

I am unfamiliar with 'hobby machines' but they are completely capable of producing whatever someone might require. I have 'professional' equipment as I was once full-time self-employed at home doing machine work and needed this capability. I now use the equipment for my own projects - see gallery.

Cody

I don't know Ossie, I have not heard of the Brit machines, but this one is pretty nice. Like I said it came with about a hundred dollars worth of accessories including some bits to start you off. Just be prepared for the smell of gunmetal grease, as it comes lathered in the stuff, it took me an hour to clean it.

Cody, maybe you should do an "idiot's guide to machining" article for the site (and so make it easier for me to figure out what te hell I have just done). It was actually seeing your thing about the Tiger that pushed the goal of getting a lathe and mill into the forefront of my mind.

Wow, I made a round bar out of a square of resin! It is exactly .690" diameter. Isn't that cool!

But seriously I don't have anything to turn so I am turning anything I can find. This was a block of Ren Shape that Talal sent me. I turned it down then used some steel wool on it and came up with a good finish. I am slowly workling into this.

hi all

i bought the Warco version of the Mini Lathe along with all its acessories + some more. delivery in two to three weeks.


how are you getting along with yours?

ossie

I have been doing pretty well, I have just got some good bits for it. I decided the ones that came with it are crap so I went to a local tool supplier and got real ones. They work a lot better.

I was also able to pick up Harbor Frieghts Micro mill:



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47158

One of my in-laws knows a guy who knows a guy so I got it cheap. Haven't been able to use it yet so I can't say anything about it. I do know I need a lot of practice before I can start truning anything usable. We'll see how things go.

hi

you said that you replaced the tools that came with it.

i have bought the tools that are availble but i bought some 8mm index type cutting tools which means i can change the points.

i will do some milling with the lathe at this time then progress from there.
one of the first things i have to do involves indexing and that has really confused me but i dont want to pay the big sums they want for indexing tools.

keep me informed.
ossie