Recommendations for Lathe and Mill with Space Limitations

[FortyFivePalms]

My Sherline lathe and mill are the only machines I bought new. I have easily doubled their purchase price with tooling and accessories, not including general tools like tool boxes, micrometers, calipers etc.

The mill seems to be the real money pit. Most lathes come with a steady rest, tailstock drill chuck, centers, a 3 jaw chuck, and sometimes a 4 jaw chuck which is enough to get you started off. Maybe a collet chuck and follow rest as soon to buy items but that will take care of most people for sometime.

A mill usually comes with nothing, so a vise, drill chuck with adaptor, appropriate collets, some end mills, flycutter etc can easily add $1000 over the purchase price and that is pretty much just bare essentials. Indexable face mill, rotary table, angle plate, hold down set, spindexer, dividing head, etc you can just keep writing checks, make sure to wave hello to the rabbit as you pass on by.

Then you have general use tools, tool boxes, drill bits, metrology tools, misc tongs, hammers, wrenches, scribing tools, lights, oil cans, fluids, rolls of emery cloth... Depending on existing shop tools, if you don't already have one you will want to add bench grinder and bandsaw or chop saw.

I think it is safe to say you could easily spend another $2000 in the first year at least if buying everything new.

Points well taken.

2000 bucks? Easy! And believe me, I've been a scrounger and re-furbisher all my life, so this 'new purchase' idea is a novel concept for me.
I never would have taken this approach ten years ago (before retirement). I have to keep reminding myself that we kept our noses to the grindstones all of our lives to get to this point, but old habits die hard...

Fortunately I have 45 years of tool purchasing history behind me, so I already have a full complement of every other tool needed for working metal (short of a lathe or mill). It's amazing what you can accomplish with a chop saw, bandsaw, belt sanders, grinders, a set of really good/sharp hand files, and lots and lots of time and patience, lol.

One regret - I purchased an 8" Craftsman rotary table many moons ago at an auto parts swap meet for $10 - it seemed like a good deal (duh!), it was in perfect condition (still wrapped in the greasy paper) and I thought it would come in handy for use with my new Craftsman drill press. I hung on to it forever but never used it. Then a buddy of mine spotted it while helping us pack for our latest (and greatest, and last, hopefully) move to our current location, and he offered me $200 for it. Figured I'd never use it, so why not? Aarrrrrgh......

 

[GrifterGuru]

My Sherline lathe and mill are the only machines I bought new. I have easily doubled their purchase price with tooling and accessories, not including general tools like tool boxes, micrometers, calipers etc.

This. Exactly this.

My Sieg SC3 owes me £1k GBP. Yet, with tooling and accessories, I have spent £4800GBP, almost five times the cost of the lathe and that number, whilst it has all but stopped, still keeps climbing as new cutting tools or accessories are added to the list. Whilst that £4800 happened over a period of time, not just in one transaction, if I had to start from scratch again, I doubt I would choose to.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

***UPDATE***

So today I was discussing the lathe (and mill) selection process with the spousal unit. She is totally supportive of all of my hobbies (as I am of hers) and I like bouncing ideas off of her, as she is a retired Senior Admin Assistant from a large California municipality and has a knack for clearly seeing the 'big picture'. She reminded me of the size of our financial windfall and questioned whether I really need to consider any used machines, because as she sees it I'd only be taking a chance on buying someone else's problems. I countered that sometimes part of the fun is finding a bargain and then fixing it up.

Anyway, after a bit more back and forth I've decided that I'm going to concentrate on buying new, rather than used. Which is good, as it narrows down my criteria and let's me focus more on size & features, and will let me get up and running much faster.

Grizzly and Precision Matthews are two companies that are well established and seem to get many favorable reviews, so that's where I'm starting.
I think a 12 x 36 is the largest size that I can comfortably fit in my tool room, although I would consider something smaller. I like the digital readouts and DRO, so that's on my list too. Cabinet unit (vs bench mount) is a plus.

Any suggestions for other features I should consider?

Thanks again.

I bought new for precisely that reason having owned 3 used machines and having restored one which was painful.

 

[FortyFivePalms]

Just a quick side note here...I want to thank everyone for all of the responses so far.
With all of my hobbies (cars, model railroading, etc.) I find myself on several online forums.

Based on my experience so far, this one is proving to be one of the best, with many thoughtful responses and observations.

It's very much appreciated!

Thanks again.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Points well taken.

2000 bucks? Easy! And believe me, I've been a scrounger and re-furbisher all my life, so this 'new purchase' idea is a novel concept for me.
I never would have taken this approach ten years ago (before retirement). I have to keep reminding myself that we kept our noses to the grindstones all of our lives to get to this point, but old habits die hard...

Fortunately I have 45 years of tool purchasing history behind me, so I already have a full complement of every other tool needed for working metal (short of a lathe or mill). It's amazing what you can accomplish with a chop saw, bandsaw, belt sanders, grinders, a set of really good/sharp hand files, and lots and lots of time and patience, lol.

One regret - I purchased an 8" Craftsman rotary table many moons ago at an auto parts swap meet for $10 - it seemed like a good deal (duh!), it was in perfect condition (still wrapped in the greasy paper) and I thought it would come in handy for use with my new Craftsman drill press. I hung on to it forever but never used it. Then a buddy of mine spotted it while helping us pack for our latest (and greatest, and last, hopefully) move to our current location, and he offered me $200 for it. Figured I'd never use it, so why not? Aarrrrrgh......

I have the PM1236 which is Chinese and I like the machine very well, there are a few qwerks I had to deal with but nothing problematic the Taiwanese machines are better fit and finish but accuracy wise I am not convinced there is much if any difference. If I were going to spend the extra money for the Taiwanese machine it would be for one with a quick change gear box to avoid the change gears for threading such as the PM-1236T.

When I bought my lathe from PM I also bought some basic tools for turning, a live center and if you get a machine with a stand/cabinet I recommend picking up the anti-vibration leveling pads.

I have the PM-940V-PDF mill which I also like very well but it is a big piece of equipment. I also picked up some tooling when I bought it as well related specifically to the mill and I picked up the anti-vibration leveling pads for it as well.

One thing I would suggest is talk to PM if you choose their machines, it will cost a bit more but buy DRO's with matching display/functionality for both machines or consider installing a touch DRO system. Being able to switch back and forth from machine to machine without adjusting your train of though is a big plus.

 

[Ischgl99]

One thing I would suggest is talk to PM if you choose their machines, it will cost a bit more but buy DRO's with matching display/functionality for both machines or consider installing a touch DRO system. Being able to switch back and forth from machine to machine without adjusting your train of though is a big plus.

This is a very good point, I have two totally different DROs and sometimes it takes some time remembering how to use each one.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

This is a very good point, I have two totally different DROs and sometimes it takes some time remembering how to use each one.

For me it isn't so much the idea of remembering how to use them as it is having functions in different locations and hitting the wrong button. my original DRO on the lathe was damaged in shipping, I paid a little extra to replace it with the same DRO as was on the Mill, makes life so much simpler.

 

[455dan]

Even though new is in the OK Approved to do range, I would still keep checking the estate sales / health forces sale type used. If you find a well cared for lathe or mill with lots of tooling You will probably know it at the time when checking it out, and sometimes folks are not only in the sale to make money- some genuinely want their pride and joy to go to a good home.

Few and Far between but sometimes the stars line up and almost like it was meant to be...

 

[FortyFivePalms]

I have the PM1236 which is Chinese and I like the machine very well, there are a few qwerks I had to deal with but nothing problematic the Taiwanese machines are better fit and finish but accuracy wise I am not convinced there is much if any difference. If I were going to spend the extra money for the Taiwanese machine it would be for one with a quick change gear box to avoid the change gears for threading such as the PM-1236T.

When I bought my lathe from PM I also bought some basic tools for turning, a live center and if you get a machine with a stand/cabinet I recommend picking up the anti-vibration leveling pads.

I have the PM-940V-PDF mill which I also like very well but it is a big piece of equipment. I also picked up some tooling when I bought it as well related specifically to the mill and I picked up the anti-vibration leveling pads for it as well.

One thing I would suggest is talk to PM if you choose their machines, it will cost a bit more but buy DRO's with matching display/functionality for both machines or consider installing a touch DRO system. Being able to switch back and forth from machine to machine without adjusting your train of though is a big plus.

This is a very good point, I have two totally different DROs and sometimes it takes some time remembering how to use each one.

For me it isn't so much the idea of remembering how to use them as it is having functions in different locations and hitting the wrong button. my original DRO on the lathe was damaged in shipping, I paid a little extra to replace it with the same DRO as was on the Mill, makes life so much simpler.

My thoughts exactly...I'm definitely interested in the DRO feature, and it makes sense to have common functionality.
Just one more reason to buy both machines from the same company. I'm hoping that I could also negotiate a multi-machine discount.

And the anti-vibration pads are a good point, I'll keep that in mind.

Regarding Chinese vs. Taiwanese, how much of a difference in accuracy are we talking about? Is it more of a fit & finish issue? Are these 'quirks' correctable? I'm used to buying offshore tools (both of my bandsaws and my disc/belt sanders, to name a few) and then spending a day or two 'blueprinting' them to correct any minor deficiencies. Of course, with a lathe or mill I expect it may be a bit more time consuming. Is the price differential between the two that drastic? If we're talking savings in the thousands than it's worth it to me. And of course I want accuracy, and more precision is better, but realistically the parts I'll be making won't be aircraft grade, lol.

 

[FortyFivePalms]

Even though new is in the OK Approved to do range, I would still keep checking the estate sales / health forces sale type used. If you find a well cared for lathe or mill with lots of tooling You will probably know it at the time when checking it out, and sometimes folks are not only in the sale to make money- some genuinely want their pride and joy to go to a good home.

Few and Far between but sometimes the stars line up and almost like it was meant to be...

Your thoughts line up perfectly with mine...I'm still glancing at the automated search results daily, never hurts and...who knows?
Just might find that jackpot of extra tooling & accessories.

That's what happened with my first lathe, an Atlas/Craftsman 618. The machine alone was worth twice what I paid for it, and it came with just about every accessory made for it, including the milling attachment. Maybe lightning will strike twice.