Paintball

[CustomLight]

Hi i am new here and have decided to start doing some custom work i need a lathe and a mill. I have been looking at several different options.

A combination Lathe/Mill
G9729 Combo Lathe/Mill
OR
G0516 Combo Lathe w/ Milling Attachment

Just a Lathe
G0602 10" x 22" Bench Top Metal Lathe
OR
Page Title

The Mills I was looking at
G3358 Mill / Drill
or
G1005Z Mill/Drill Milling Machine #25

Like i said i am new to this. I found this site by looking for lathes/mills, and decided to probe the brains of people who actually know about this stuff. Any help, advise, direction that anyone has to offer will be greatly appreciated. I want to spend about $3000 total on a lathe/mill or a combination lathe/mill please point me in the right direction.
Thanks.

[BigOldSkool]

Combos suck... leave it at that.

We had one at the high school I mentor at for the robotics competition Im involved in... and its pretty much a hack tool... it seems like it can do both thing well in truth it does both things pretty badly.

[kidneythief]

DO NOT i repeat DO NOT go with a combo. You'll waste far too much time with set-up and tear down going back and forth between the lathe and mill. Some people get by with them but if you have the cash/space go with separates. Also I would stay away from any of those round column mills they are kind of a PITA also.

The lathe you listed will be perfect for PB use. The 1" spindle bore is a huge plus and so is the larger taper on the tailstock.

As far as your mill goes I would get the X3. Plenty of us use one and they make great CNC retro fits down the road. I use one and I believe both Rainman and Legion have CNC versions.

The X3
G0463 Mill / Drill

and the super X3
G0619 6" x 21" Mill / Drill

Both the X3 and SX3 are the same machines except the SX3 has a few added features. The pictures make them look somewhat small but I assure you they arent.

Lastly expect to pay about the cost of both machines in tooling...

-Jake

[fastev]

I just bought a new mill and lathe. I went with an SX3 and the next lathe up from what you are looking at, the G9972Z 11"x26". I've heard nothing but good things about the mill, and the lathe should be sufficient. Good luck!

[Mstrtal]

Why doesn't any one buy Bridgeports and Southbends any more? Nothing else to add just curious.

[kidneythief]

BP's while cheap and very good machines are too big for most small shops or folks that just want to get a taste of machining before they jump in full boar. Not to mention most shops arent set-up for 220v electricity.

These days its hard to find a southbend in decent shape.

-Jake

[noxx55]

Not sure if I ended up with an actual "Bridgeport", but it's the same style and I got an absolute steal on the price. It's all manual but makes custom 1 of 1 projects easier and setup is a lot less than a CNC. Makes production runs a little harder. Kidney Thief is right when he said they are not the easiest to get set up at home. I had an electrician over this weekend helping me install a 3 phase breaker box and converter (included with the machine which made it worth it to purchase). I get a lot more horse power out of it than an x3 but dont have the CNC function. I also agree with the others on here about not getting the combo. That's what I started with and I now use it solely as a lathe until I purchase a seperate lathe. Good choices so far though.

[Jaan]

Originally Posted by Mstrtal

Why doesn't any one buy Bridgeports and Southbends any more? Nothing else to add just curious.

Even used those machines tend to cost more, they're also heavy and run on 3 phase. Not that practical for a home machine shop. New the price difference is enormous.

I bought almost the exact same lathe from Wholesale Tool with a stand for about the same price.

Link to page

Keep in mind this was on-sale (they always have sales) and also, with Wholesale Tool, if you buy something from them, they send you a 5% discount coupon on your next order. Since I had bought only a $10 thing originally to get the coupon, I saved up my money and bought everything at once lol. I also have one near my house so I didn't pay freight.

This is the milling machine I bought from them as well...

Link to Mill page

I paid $800 before discount.

If you can wait until X-mas that's when the real deals start.

[Mstrtal]

Ah ok thanks for clearing that up for me. I have only ever used Bridgeports and Chevleirs for Mills and Southbends for lathes. Well not counting the Haas,Storm,Cincinnati,Kiwa and Hurco CNC machines. =)

[russc]

I'm considering picking up a Grizzly G4000. It's a 9x19 benchtop, comes with 3 jaw, 4 jaw and drill chucks and a live center, no tooling. I'd be paying about $550, no freight since I'd be picking it up. Any thoughts?