Bought a lathe and a milling machine.

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
 
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.
 
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.

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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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