buying advice for Smithy 1220XL 3 in 1

To me, the 3 in 1s are overpriced considering their limitations. That's purely my opinion and many people like them. Not sure if this was mentioned but changing setups between lathe and mill can be an issue. I won't say "a problem" but I believe it takes longer & requires more effort.
I have also seen several instances of folks having motor reliability issues, but many import machines have that weakness. If I recall the motors are an odd size and difficult to source from anyone except Smithy. Your mileage may vary. I would get two little machines, then you can upgrade one machine at a time rather than the whole unit.
Mark
 
That does appear to be the general consensus and I would really like 2 machines as well. But with my 2 car garage already stuffed and the price I figured that I can get out from under this one with little or no loss. Factor in that my only knowledge of mills and lathes come from Youtube so I'm not even sure I'll be able to run this contraption. o_O If I catch on, with the collective help of this forum, then I'll look at this as a starter machine. With that said I believe that I offer him 1600 instead of the asking price of 2000.
 
Clear out your garage and get 3 dedicated machines. If you only have room for one buy a decent benchtop lathe as that will also work as a drill press and a small mill with the right attachments. I had a 3 in 1 and there is a good reason why people are trying to advise otherwise. I bought my Seneca Falls lathe for $300 and it has served me well for 15 years. The 3 in 1, well I was happy to sell it for about half what I paid. Never could make a decent cut with it. Now, I won't tell you that nobody does good work with one. But it's unreasonably hard to make one of those machines do what you want it to do. The Smithy's and Emco's seem better than most but for that money you could build a shed and put bigger machines into it.

Do what you like but $1600 will buy a decent small lathe or mill/drill and you will wish you had bought either with that money. It's kinda like if you want to learn how to play guitar. You can get one for $25 bucks at the pawn shop but you're unlikely to learn anything because it won't be worth the time you put into it.

JMHO,

John
 
BTW, reach out to someone from the list with more experience and see if you can spend an afternoon in their shop. I doubt any of the youtubers you've watched are using $1600 3 and 1's, life is just too short for that....
 
As others have said, less than two inches between the front of the tool post and the spindle axis makes no sense for a 12" swing lathe. My guess is that that is the vertical distance between the flat surface on the top of the compound slide and the spindle axis. That dimension is about 1-1/4" on my 12" Atlas 3996. A little less than 2" there would mean that you would probably have to use a BXA tool post instead of an AXA. But nothing else.
 
Grasshopper/Kent! We DO know each other! 914 RZ-1 here, aka Jeff. Glad you found this site. It's been a huge help to me. I'll see you at the WCR.

Did you buy the 3 in 1? Did you look at it? Do tell! Post any pictures you took.

If you do buy it, keep in mind that if you don't like it you'll have a hard time getting rid if it and will have to sell it as a loss. Seems no one wants these machines except a few types with certain needs.

I went with 2 separate machines. Got an Atlas Craftsman 12 x 24 lathe (look for my restoration thread to see what it looks like) and a LMS 3990 mill (littlemachineshop.com). Parts are available for the older Atlas Craftsman machines, and are not too expensive. It fits on a 24 x 48 table. You really need to mount it on something heavy and substantial to minimize vibration and shaking. I've been told by the machine shop teacher where I work that the mounting method I'm using will be fine for light cuts. I've got it on a 3/4" MDF table with a 22 Ga steel top. I plan to add a piece of support steel under the table located under the headstock. The lathe is bolted to the table. I'll see how that goes, then add a more substantial table if needed.

The mill is small, but it's all I have room for. I've got mine on a rolling tool chest. The next size up seems to be the RF-25 and RF-30, which are a little too big. Knowing what you want, I think you'll find them too big as well. The next size after that is a floor-standing machine.

Look on CL in the LA area. I saw a few lathes and milling machines for sale. Not "name brand", but that's not as important as you think.
 
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Check this one out. I've never heard of the brand (maybe others who have will chime in) but it looks alot like other ones I've seen under different names. He's asking $1500.:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/d/la-habra-king-metal-lathe-1-owner-lathe/6888456813.html

Maybe this seller will part with just the lathe:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/ant/tls/d/lancaster-metal-brakemetal-lathe-drill/6898193751.html

This one is small (the table it's on is big):
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tls/d/tarzana-lathe-south-bend-9x-36/6890703679.html

This looks like something you want to call about. I found it by typing "mill drill" in the search box. Might be gone, it was down about 5 rows:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/for/d/sunland-craftsman-atlas-lathe-12x36/6900521577.html
Seller wants $1400. Comes with a QCGB and a QCTP. This is just like mine, I think, but it's longer. Mine has change gears, though (no QCGB). I think I saw something about these being worth about $600 if bought separately. A QCTP is about $175 new shipped.
I might be able to look at if for you.
 
ARC-170 said:
Grasshopper/Kent! We DO know each other! 914 RZ-1 here, aka Jeff. Glad you found this site. It's been a huge help to me. I'll see you at the WCR.

Did you buy the 3 in 1? Did you look at it? Do tell! Post any pictures you took.

If you do buy it, keep in mind that if you don't like it you'll have a hard time getting rid if it and will have to sell it as a loss. Seems no one wants these machines except a few types with certain needs.

I went with 2 separate machines. Got an Atlas Craftsman 12 x 24 lathe (look for my restoration thread to see what it looks like) and a LMS 3990 mill (littlemachineshop.com). Parts are available for the older Atlas Craftsman machines, and are not too expensive. It fits on a 24 x 48 table. You really need to mount it on something heavy and substantial to minimize vibration and shaking. I've been told by the machine shop teacher where I work that the mounting method I'm using will be fine for light cuts. I've got it on a 3/4" MDF table with a 22 Ga steel top. I plan to add a piece of support steel under the table located under the headstock. The lathe is bolted to the table. I'll see how that goes, then add a more substantial table if needed.

The mill is small, but it's all I have room for. I've got mine on a rolling tool chest. The next size up seems to be the RF-25 and RF-30, which are a little too big. Knowing what you want, I think you'll find them too big as well. The next size after that is a floor-standing machine.

Look on CL in the LA area. I saw a few lathes and milling machines for sale. Not "name brand", but that's not as important as you think.
Click to expand...
I did indeed purchase it, Jeff. OMG that thing is heavy. I'm just about finished setting it up and will post pics. The one I purchased was in San Juan Capistrano. Much nicer than the one you posted. I look at this as a starter machine. It came complete with lots of accessories and tools so I should be turning in a week or so. Lots to digest and more reading to do before so. I understand the limitations of this set up but given my space limitations it was the right move. I had to move my bench press outside and re-arrange my garage in order to have even this 3 in 1. I'll post up pics soon. See you @ WCR.
 
I've been going thru this machine and correcting what I'm able. Spent the better part of a day cleaning, lubricating and generally discovering my machine. Parts take about a week to arrive but that's OK as I'm taking baby steps here. The first order consisted of new belts a spindle cover and a 2 piece brass nut that is used to remove backlash. Then I discovered that the power feed would only engage in one direction so I pulled that gearbox. Pretty obvious why these 2 gears wouldn't mesh. The new gears will be here next Tuesday.
 

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