# Bought a lathe and a milling machine.



## discus (Jun 28, 2013)

Hey Everyone,

I'm a newbie to the forum. Thought I would share my latest two craiglist purchases. Interested in opionions on how I did cost wise. I know everyone likes pictures so I included a few. First is an Atlas 3991 lathe I bought from a retired gentleman. He used it to cut armatures on power tool motors. I got it for $550 with some tooling. Came with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, straight left and right bit holders, boring bar holder, faceplate and a bunch of extra gears I assume was standard with purchase when it was new. The lathe seems pretty tight. A few minor nicks in the ways under the spindle but otherwise looks like it has been reasonably cared for. I'm waiting for some new grommets from clausing to set it on before I level the base and get everything hooked up and ready to run. 






The milling machine was really an unplanned purchase. I have some future projects planned now that I have the lathe but they also will require some light milling. After looking at the crazy prices people were asking for the milling attachment for the lathe, I was looking on craigslist and saw this mill pretty close by and went over to take a look at it. It has some light corrosion issues I'm hoping will mostly cleanup. The motor is 3 phase but came with a static convertor. Only tooling is a collet set. It also came with the stand. The table seems tight enough I pulled around on it and didn't notice any real play either direction. It has a power vertical feed. It ran smooth when turned on. Hoping I didn't buy a boat anchor. I know even less about mills than lathes when it comes to knowing what to look out for. I ended up getting it for $300 which seemed cheap enough. I had to seperate the head from the table because the thing is just too darn heavy. It's going in my basement with the lathe so I have to get it down the stairs. I see a lot of grumbling on here about the round column mills which I'm sure I will come to see why. As with any of these used tools you really don't know what you have until you run it some. Comments welcome good or bad. Hopefully I'm not breaking any rules by discussing a mill here with the lathe.

Cheers


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## genec (Jun 28, 2013)

If you are unsure about the mill I will be glad to take it off your hands.
looks like you are all set.


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## Rbeckett (Jun 28, 2013)

You actually did quite well on both machines cost wise.  Now the real fun starts when you start buying tooling and hold down sets and bits.  There are more different possibilities for tooling than you could imagine.  You will find that getting a few basic bits to start with and learning how to sharpen HSS tools instead of paying through the nose for indexable carbide will save you quite a bit of money and help you understand how the different angles used on tool bits work together to produce a quality cut and smooth finish.  For the most part our machines rarely have adequate horsepower and rigidity to really capitalize on the advantages that carbide tooling offers, so I avoid the high dollar bits and can afford many more of the basic bits and blanks to grind my own.  There are several really great books that will help get you started , among them is the workshop series for lathes and mills and the Southbend "How to run a lathe", it may be old but contains a plethora of really timely and well presented info for the newcomer and oldsters alike.  So good luck and welcome to the addiction and the gang!!!

Bob


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## 8ntsane (Jun 28, 2013)

Congrats on the new lathe and mill.
I would think you have done very well price wise, andfor the price paid you could allways re sell later if you wanted to move up to larger machines. The static convertor isn't my favorite choice for power, but you could allways throw a rotary phase converter on the cheap, or VFD. Either way I think ya done good :thumbzup:


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## Cheeseking (Jun 29, 2013)

Those look like 5C collets.   Did you get a collet closer for the lathe?   If so that with the collets is worth half what you paid so yeah I think you did well.   Congrats.   If you have the space, Id consider positioning the lathe to allow more access to the headstock end.  Youll be glad when it comes time to switch out change gears and feeding longer stock thru the spindle etc.


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## robert1352 (Jun 29, 2013)

Wow what a great find!!


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## discus (Jun 29, 2013)

OK you guys are making me feel better about the purchases now. I was worried I maybe could have done better. The mill has seen some use but I'm hoping it can hold some reasonable tolerances. I was thinking it would be more useful than the lathe attachment would ever be for around the same price. I will plan on swinging the lathe around the other way; thanks for the suggestion. I do have the collet closer it's on the mill with the only cutter bit that came with it. I do have some lathe operation books I will be studying up on. Thanks for the comments. This might be for the other forum, but what do you guys suggest for a vise and hold down set for the mill?

Dale


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## 8ntsane (Jun 29, 2013)

Dale
For a vise you might want to look for a 4 inch import , they usually are in the 100 dollar range. 
Providing your nor looking for a Kurt vise, there is many out there to choose from. Being your just starting out,
The low buck vise would be fine, and if you feel the need down the road for a hi end vise do it then. The cheap ones can also be had with a swivel base too.


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## davidh (Jun 29, 2013)

the mill is just like mine and many others on the forum.  there are pros and cons on the mill.  I just discovered how tight you have to make the column to make slots.  wow, and I really like mine so far.  your lathe I know nothing about but the price for the machines was certainly a steal.  now for the tooling and accessories


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## bloomingtonmike (Jun 29, 2013)

Your mill has power down. It is a geat find for the round columns.


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## discus (Jun 29, 2013)

Forgive my ignorance but I was assuming all the mill/drills had it. I guess I got lucky. I'm guessing it will be nice for drilling and making vertical cuts.

Dale


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## jmarkwolf (Jun 30, 2013)

You did well.

I had an RF-30 clone that served me well for almost 15 years before eventually trading up to a used Bridgeport.

Just set the head height to accommodate the longest tool you'll need for a particular job, and take shallow cuts, and you'll be fine.

Incidentally, I still have a brand new, unused 4" Glacern machine vise. Cost $299 new, make me an offer.


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## discus (Jun 30, 2013)

jmarkwolf said:


> You did well.
> 
> I had an RF-30 clone that served me well for almost 15 years before eventually trading up to a used Bridgeport.
> 
> ...



Well, I'm pretty tapped out after buying the 2 machines. I do need a vise. I was just thinking of getting one of the cheap imports as was suggested for now, unless you are willing to come down somewhat close to the cost of one of them. 

Dale


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## lens42 (Jul 1, 2013)

discus said:


> Well, I'm pretty tapped out after buying the 2 machines. I do need a vise. I was just thinking of getting one of the cheap imports as was suggested for now, unless you are willing to come down somewhat close to the cost of one of them.
> 
> Dale


to 

I'm not saying get a $300 vise, but I would advise avoiding a cheap import if you can. Just because you got your machines for cheap doesn't mean you should get a crap vise. That will make life especially frustrating for newbie when you work lifts or doesn't stay parallel to the table. I was advised by a buddy to dump the Grizzly vise I bought and buy a used Kurt 4" for $200 (that seemed to be the going rate). I'm glad i did. The other nice feature about a good vise is that they tend to weigh less than the imports.


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## lens42 (Jul 1, 2013)

Two Kurt D40s on EBay right now with about 19 hours left. Both are at $50 right now, but of course that won't last. They look better than the one I bought.


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## JWG (Jul 1, 2013)

You did great. I bought the same two pieces of equipment also on Craigslist. In both cases I had to drive several hundred miles to get them and I paid more. I bought a Craftsman lathe for $900 (and it didn't come with a stand) and an Enco Rung Fu RF-30 mill/drill for $600. You will like them both and there is a lot of info available on them and a lot of parts available on EBay.


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