Becoming hobby machinist in the near future.

[Rodneyk]

As new guy to the hobby, I will jump in first.
1) shop location ?
2) power available ?
3)Access to shop, ie Doors?,basement?, stairs?, etc.
4)Can you move the machines yourself or will you need help ?
5) What kind of work size will you be doing ?
...

Great list to start.
My current wood shop is in a Garage with one full bay for all my equipment (so I will need to arrange things to fit).
Power in the shop is currently 120c single phase, but the mains in on the wall in that bay so I was planning on adding 240v 1 phase outlet.
Access to shop, Garage door and entrance to home easily accessable.
I will probabaly need to move the machines by myself (was planning on getting a HF 2ton hoist to help, but I might have help.
Size work, much of the stuff could fit on a mini mill/lathe but I desire very high precision for most of the projects, however I would also like to handle larger pieces like gun barrels too. I KNOW that most of precision comes from technique, but I can learn that, but I prefer to not fight the equipment to get there.

 

[Rodneyk]

Welcome RodneyK.
You come from a similar background as I. Woodworking. 3D printing. etc.
Rest assured, all of us are very adept at spend others money.
Based on your projects, it sounds like a mill would be good choice for first machine, as long as you don't plan on turning 3D nozzles, although there is a way to do that on a mill too.
If you are thinking about converting the mill to CNC at some point, you may be interested in reading the following PDF from one of our esteemed members, David Best.

Excellent, this is great information. I would definitely like to convert the mill into a CNC at some point.
One of the main reasons I even started considering getting metalworking equipment it that I have some designs for extruder gears and nozzles that I'd like to try. Once I started researching the equipment I started down a rabbit hole from "a mini mill/lathe could cut it" to if I add $500 dollars I can do more, to look at all the other things I can build for a little more money, to "Honey, can I buy a real machine, please, please, please"

 

[Rodneyk]

Welcome RodneyK,

[Edited}

I was asked last week by a friend who is buying a new mill and lathe to suggest some get-started items he will need. So I put together a list, based largely on my own collection, with comments and suggestions from another member here. The list is attached. It does not include any cutting tools (end mills, lathe tooling, etc), nor does it speak to the issue of accessories such as lathe chucks, DRO's, power feeders, power drawbar, etc. But it does represent a pretty complete list of the items I wouldn't be without for the kind of work I do. A few lathe-specific items are included where versions of drill chucks and ER collet chucks would be common to both machines.

The list will probably come across as daunting, but you'll be amazed how much gear is required to properly support a mill and a lathe. I've often heard that tooling up a lathe is about the same cost as the lathe itself, and I don't think that's far off, especially if you factor in DRO's and chucks.

I have tried to color-code the items in the attached list, with green being what I consider "must have", red for more advanced work, and yellow for specialty and REALLY advanced work. Hope this helps. If you download the file and open it locally, the hot-links should be enabled.

If you're considering a CNC mill project eventually, personally, I think a benchtop like the PM833TV is a better platform than a knee mill. I've not done a CNC conversion, but studied it enough to know how I'd go about it, and attempting that with a knee mill looks like a very tough journey.

Thank you, this is the sort of thing I was looking for. I am not hard set on the knee mill, I just really was trying to avoid getting something that I would out grow. I will look more at the PM833TV...

 

[Rodneyk]

If you are eventually converting to a CNC, I think a benchtop mill would be better than a knee mill. Get the heaviest Taiwanese made bench mill from PM you can afford.

I recommend the PM1340 as the lathe

So that looks like the PM-833TV if I look at the site correctly?

 

[Pcmaker]

So that looks like the PM-833TV if I look at the site correctly?

I think so

 

[7milesup]

So that looks like the PM-833TV if I look at the site correctly?

That would be correct. The other mill that might be an option is the 728VT. There was recently a thread on here about someone looking to convert it to CNC. I have the 833T. They did not have the TV version when I bought mine. Personally, I really like mine but have not converted it yet. It is on my seemingly never ending to-do list.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/precision-matthews-pm-728vt-cnc-conversion.89172/
Also... https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm-728vt-conversion.83937/

And from an outside link that really piqued my interest... ---> 833TV CNC Conversion<---

 

[Flyinfool]

You mentioned buy once cry once. Very true.
If you really want to end up with a CNC mill, Buy it that way.
In the process of doing the conversion you will be removing and replacing some expensive parts. If you initially buy as a CNC it will be a lot less money in the end.
On the other hand, since you are new to machining, you will learn a lot more and faster by starting with a manual machine. With a manual you can feel the cutter doing its job and adjust the speed of your hand to compensate. A CNC will just keep plowing ahead till something breaks.

My Tree 2UVR mill is a bit bigger that any of the PM machines or the Bridgeport. I am looking at around $3K to do a CNC conversion with me machining all the parts. You also have to really have the design of the conversion very well planned out because once you tear it apart to do the conversion you can no longer make any parts on it.

You mentioned some gunsmith work, I also am down that rabbit hole, Make sure what ever you buy is big enough to work on the biggest gun you will ever have. The lathe needs room for the barrel length but do not forget to add length for the 3 or 4 jaw chuck, and at the other end you may need room for a drill chuck and drill bit. All this stuff adds up quick.
Same for the mill, make sure it is long enough to set up a barreled action and indicate one end and machine the other end.

Yes there are pros and cons to everything, only you can decide which are most important to you. What is best for me may not be at all appropriate for you.

 

[Rodneyk]

Welcome RodneyK,

[Edited}

I was asked last week by a friend who is buying a new mill and lathe to suggest some get-started items he will need. So I put together a list, based largely on my own collection, with comments and suggestions from another member here. The list is attached. It does not include any cutting tools

...

If you're considering a CNC mill project eventually, personally, I think a benchtop like the PM833TV is a better platform than a knee mill. I've not done a CNC conversion, but studied it enough to know how I'd go about it, and attempting that with a knee mill looks like a very tough journey.

David, Thank you for the list, it is fantastic.
What are you thoughts on adding power feeds on a mill? From the website the warrantee is 5 years if it is preinstalled, and only 1 year if user installed. It seems like it would be useful for getting predictable feed rates (at least in the X) for operations like facing.

 

[7milesup]

David, Thank you for the list, it is fantastic.
What are you thoughts on adding power feeds on a mill? From the website the warrantee is 5 years if it is preinstalled, and only 1 year if user installed. It seems like it would be useful for getting predictable feed rates (at least in the X) for operations like facing.

Power feeds will certainly give you more predictable feed rates, and hence, better finishes for facing operations. That being said, I personally have not added them to mine because I don't want to spend $800+ on them only to take them back off if I convert to CNC.

 

[davidpbest]

David, Thank you for the list, it is fantastic.
What are you thoughts on adding power feeds on a mill? From the website the warrantee is 5 years if it is preinstalled, and only 1 year if user installed. It seems like it would be useful for getting predictable feed rates (at least in the X) for operations like facing.

I'll send you a DM on this.