Okay! I have been sort of "off the grid" here for a few weeks... I ended up getting the BT800 ... It is sitting on a trailer in my garage now. I am now looking for advice on how much space I should leave around the machine for general work ... I was planning on having enough room to fully extend the y axis of the mill table without hitting the wall, but other than that, I don't know ... Any general guidelines?
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Bolton BT800 and AT750 difference?
- Thread starter aPpYe
- Start date
That is basically how I have my machine set up. I will say though in our 3in1 world you may want to leave a smidge more room on the back, I find it hard to clean back there. as far as in front of the machine 2 or three feet for safe movement. Don't forget to leave your self enough room on the left for changing gears.
Hello Everyone, its always nice to see people conversing in a respectable manner 
I was reading your posts here and since AppYe purchased the BT800 I was curious as to what you think of this machine at this point.. do you like it ? I'm thinking of getting one as well. thank you..
I was reading your posts here and since AppYe purchased the BT800 I was curious as to what you think of this machine at this point.. do you like it ? I'm thinking of getting one as well. thank you..
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2019
- Messages
- 7,145
Hello Everyone, its always nice to see people conversing in a respectable manner
I was reading your posts here and since AppYe purchased the BT800 I was curious as to what you think of this machine at this point.. do you like it ? I'm thinking of getting one as well. thank you..
Hi, welcome to the forum, I hope this also comes across as being respectful.
Honestly I believe you would be better served buying a more capable lathe and using a milling attachment when you need it if you only have budget/space for one machine. As a beginner most of the operations you will need to learn are done on a lathe. I had a different 3 in 1 machine long ago and was very happy to sell it when I found a 100-year-old Seneca Falls Star lathe for $300. My experience was these machines really don't do anything well and although I'm sure people get quality work from them it is harder than if a better quality tool had been purchased in the first place.
As many others will surely tell you the first step in any machine purchase is deciding what projects you would like to do with it. If your projects require both lathe and milling work much of the latter can be accomplished with an adapter on your lathe. If most of your projects require milling than you will probably be better off with a dedicated bench top mill/drill. Unless all of your projects involve very light cuts in soft materials rigidity is a very big deal with machine tools, I doubt the Bolton is very rigid for the money it costs.
If you search this forum you will find examples of others modifying their 3 in 1 machines to try and increase the rigidity. IMHO, if you need to do that you would have been better off buying a larger used machine that needs TLC rather than modifying something bought new. A $2500 budget will go quite a ways towards getting a decent used lathe or mill, if you want new then take a look at what Precision Matthews or Grizzly offers, they both have a better reputation for support than Bolton.
And of course, realize that tooling can cost as much or more than the initial purchase. Finding a used machine with tooling is probably the best way to jump into the hobby provided you buy it from someone who will let you check it out first and you know what to look for. There's lots of help here either way
Cheers,
John
sort of the boat I am in? If I were to purchase over again, I would likely go for separate machines. I bought the machine because I came into a few thousand bucks a little while back and was asked to do something fun with it (long story) ... Anyway, It has mostly sat unused. I have done a few things around here and there, but mostly it has not been used.
...That being said, one of the things that has prevented me from using the milling part of it has been the fact that I mostly want to do small things with it, which requires me to lift the vise closer to the work. That has been my project for the last day or so. I cut an old trailer hitch into two pieces, roughly 2.5 inches long. The other two dimensions are both roughly 2" ... From there, I figured I would face them so their measurements are both identical. I have yet to finish with the first piece. For some reason, and this is very consistent, the piece ends up being about .004" taller on one end. I can't figure out why. I do know that when I lift on the milling table, I can feel and see a little movement that seems to be independent of the main body of the machine. It is hard to tell, but it seems like the whole milling table assembly moves together. All the gibs are tight... I have tried it with the vise mounted to different ends as well as the middle of the table, and it always comes out the same. Not sure what to do!
...That being said, one of the things that has prevented me from using the milling part of it has been the fact that I mostly want to do small things with it, which requires me to lift the vise closer to the work. That has been my project for the last day or so. I cut an old trailer hitch into two pieces, roughly 2.5 inches long. The other two dimensions are both roughly 2" ... From there, I figured I would face them so their measurements are both identical. I have yet to finish with the first piece. For some reason, and this is very consistent, the piece ends up being about .004" taller on one end. I can't figure out why. I do know that when I lift on the milling table, I can feel and see a little movement that seems to be independent of the main body of the machine. It is hard to tell, but it seems like the whole milling table assembly moves together. All the gibs are tight... I have tried it with the vise mounted to different ends as well as the middle of the table, and it always comes out the same. Not sure what to do!