New To The Forum & I Am Sure This Has Been Debated

Pjblues

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I am brand new to the forum so please excuse me for bringing this up but does anyone own or have knowledge of the Smithy IMax 1340? I am considering it versus a bench mill and a 12 x 36 lathe. I am a retired person who is not interested in starting a business. This is pure hobby for me. I have a room I built in my garage 10' x 9' just for a small or couple of small machines. Again, you folks have most likely debated this over and over but I just wanted an opinion.

Thanks.

PJ
 
Thanks so much Randy. I really appreciate your help so fast.
 
Welcome PJ, Looking forward to your contribution here.

David
 
Hi PJ,

I had a Smithy Granite Classic for 14 years. I purchased it at the time due to space constraints. IMHO the smithy Granite is the best of the 3-in-1 machines. The lathe is pretty good and the mill is okay. Working on this type of machine takes some planning and strategy but high quality work can be done if you understand its limitations. There is a pretty active Yahoo group for the smithy machines and you can see what work can be done on them.

I posted some examples of the work I did in it here. http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/combo-machine-quality.49980/#post-420512

That being said, if you have the room and means, separate machines are always better. I have since moved on to a larger lathe and mill.
 
Hello JBolt,

Thanks so much for sharing this information and pictures with me. The projects you completed are fantastic and I am betting dead on the money in quality and dimensional accuracy. Great work.
 
Welcome to H-M, PJ! Most of us here are hobbyists, but yes, a few are professionals. Like you, my shop space is limited, though my shop is in the basement in a room that is 12 x 14 which affords me a little more elbow room. I do not have any personal experience with the Smithy line, but I've seen some beautiful projects done with them. All machines have limitations of one sort or another, and as long as you work within the limitations of your machine you will be quite happy with it.
 
Thanks so much Terry for your opinion. I appreciate them.
 
From what I know the Smithy is a better version of the 3 in 1 setup and there is forum support which is a big plus.

I have seen/run one of those lathe/mill machines (Not Smithy) in person and it had one motor and a transmission to switch between lathe and mill. It was very loose and full of vibration due to the transmission. For that reason if you go this route try to get something with a separate motor for lathe and mill.

An issue and probably the reason that mentioning planning to use the machine above (With the precision parts made on it.) is it can do one thing or the other at one time but not both. And depending on the setup it takes some time to remove the vise you had on and trammed in for milling to place on the lathe tooling for turning. Then remove the lathe turning setup and replace the vise and re-tram (Get it set precisely) for something else. Sounds like not that big of a thing but is there.

One thing to consider is the new price of the Smithy Imax 1340 From what I can see $4500 to $5000. With that budget you could have two good quality separate machines. Or else with that budget could consider something beside Smithy 3 in 1 for similar price but more precision tool. For example and I just typed in "Lathe mill combo" on eBay.com to get this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-11-x-28...694810?hash=item3ac87c55da:g:pvoAAOSwZVlXkpRW

Then there is that concern of replacement parts if needed. Smithy will have parts if needed in the future, Off brand might not.

Best thing you did was ask questions prior to purchase to get some ideas. This is a great friendly forum.

Being in Ohio where used equipment is plentiful is a bonus. Could take time and search for your equipment as part of the fun of it. Definitely search all Craigslist within trailer range for mill, lathe or used Smithy. And can search eBay with location closest to find something close if going used from there.

Smithy machines are quality and might be the best option.
 
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Here is one on Craigslist Cincinnati just searched "Smithy" Not sure where you live location wise in Ohio.

This is not the 1340 but could give you into one for less. For the price likely get back out of it without losing money if you want:

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/hvo/6108461625.html

For used when they say "Tooling" it can be a significant amount of cost savings over what the machine itself is worth.
 
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