Lathe/ Milling Machine combo opinions.

GummyMonster said:
This one is from AliExpress. It's considerably more, $1160 + $645 shipping.
But it has a 850 watt motor, speed and axis DRO's, a 1.5" bore. It comes with a 4 jaw chuck as well . The basic shipping gets it here the first wee of June. If I pay $115 more shipping, it's guaranteed to be here in less than 3 weeks.
Any lathe I've found in The USA are between $1300 & $1600 usd. They don't come with DRO's, have a 0.75" bore, and 500 - 600 watt motors.
I've bought numerous items from AliExpress, some higher priced items, and as long as I bought from sellers with good ratings and did lots of comparisons I've had no problems with quality or delivery times.
And it seems most outfits in North America are out of stock as well.
Maybe I'm making a mistake, but I'm fairly confident about purchasing this one.
Ken
Click to expand...

That's Canadian dollars right? So total $1300-1400 USD? That puts it at about the same price as most of the 8x16 or 9x20 lathes but with the larger spindle and the DRO.

Speaking of odd lathes that only seem to be on ebay, there is an MX600 and MX750, nominally a 9x24 or 9x30 with 1.5" spindle bore. I don't do ali or banggood but I'm sure they show up there as well.

Might be a total hunk of junk, but that is a lot of lathe for $1300 US if it isn't complete garbage. The longer bed would be more useful for what you are talking about doing.

Here is the 8.7x29" version on ebay.

MX-750

This brings up another question, how comfortable are you with stripping down, cleaning and possibly making improvements to the lathe you get? With the Chinese lathes some seem to get one that is pretty decent out of the box, while another receives a machine that basically needs a rebuild, broken or loose motor mounts, poorly finished parts etc.


John is right, that a 12x36 or 13x40 is what most people seem to buy for gunsmithing, but it sounds like that is your eventual plan and right now you are just looking for something cheaper to start learning with. If you had the budget for the perfect lathe, I'd fully agree get a bigger one but it you are looking at 2-3+ years to get there and can get a less than ideal lathe now, 2-3 years of tinkering with the cheaper lathe will teach you a lot. Admittedly it can be frustrating as well if you have to fight with the lathe all the time.

I have some small machines I've bought new, but all of my larger machines were bought used and are older machines. I've had to disassemble most of them to get them into my shop and many have needed some repair to get them working right. A little inconvenient, but that work has taught me a lot about how they work, and made me much more confident in using them as well and making adjustments.

I guess I don't see needing to rebuild a machine as a huge drawback, as long as you are willing to do that. I look at my shop as more than just a place to make things. For me it is partly a DIY metal shop class, and some of my projects are done for no other real purpose than to learn to do something I haven't done. It wasn't my plan but I'm having fun with it. If I had set up my shop to make money, then I would be very frustrated at times, as I literally spend more time working on the shop and the machines than actually making things.
 
Aaron,
Thanks for the tips.
I'm fine with breaking the new lathe down, in fact I'd already planned on it. I've read many places that the Chinese lathes need a tune up to greatly improve their potential.I'd want to ensure everything is tight and in alignment before I did much of any work with it.
I'm decent with most mechanical things, they just take me longer now.
I'll check out the 2 you mentioned. Always good to have choices.
Ken
 
This guy tears down and reassembles a 7x12 mini-lathe. Different from the ones you are looking at and at the bottom price wise (around $500) so perhaps worse quality control but it does give you some idea of the kind of work you could be facing to get a direct from China lathe it running well.
Some do get these same lathes that need little work, and at least one member received theirs with a cracked bed and had to go through a difficult exchange to get a new one, so luck plays a part.


 
I'm not too concerned about tuning it up, as long as it shows up with nothing broken .
I've rebuilt engines from vehicles,atv's, power tools etc. As well as some electronics stuff since I've had children.
I'm actually dealing right now with the seller about getting a better deal if I purchase the lathe and a milling machine that I was already considering.
Might as well go all in.
I'll either end up with a real decent setup, or be angry at myself for making a big mistake. But I'd think it would have to be severely flawed before the purchase was a total waste.
But I've heavily researched (what my limited computer skills allows) the company that sells these and haven't really found anything negative. Nothing major anyways.
And I've had good dealings with AliExpress. I purchased a riflescope that came slightly flawed, and the seller offered very little, so AliExpress stepped in and refunded the entire amount, when I was only after about 10 - 12% off.
I guess time will tell.
Ken
 
I didn't mean for that to sound like I figure I'm some mechanical genius.
Far from it.
I'm just comfortable taking things apart and figuring out how to fix them.
Ken
 
Never know what peoples comfort levels are, sounds like you shouldn't have much trouble.
 
Look in the Shop Task / 3 in 1 forum. I lived with a shoptask for near20 years. You'll have to be tooling creative. As mentioned above, two separate machines is the way to go. If cost is a consideration, look at a local junior college that has a machinist courses until you have the money. Expect 2 to 3 times tooling vs machine cost.
 
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