Yah i just looked on craigs list, nothing but junk
-
Welcome back Guest! Did you know you can mentor other members here at H-M? If not, please check out our Relaunch of Hobby Machinist Mentoring Program!
Smthy 3 in 1 cobos
- Thread starter Bresh
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2018
- Messages
- 102
Like said by others, it takes patience. Just now I went to “all of craigslist”, searched for Smithy and saw a lot of nice machines. The postings may be a few monthes old, but never hurts to call. They will not all be local. I searched everyday viewing all new tool postings for the day. That allowed me to be first in line for the widows selling husbands old junk. Lol
I forgot to ask, or missed..what are you cutting. The Smithy worked pretty well on aluminum, but not steel.
I forgot to ask, or missed..what are you cutting. The Smithy worked pretty well on aluminum, but not steel.
what area did you look? I'm in NJ. I would like the machine to be able to cut anything from Aluminum to steel and brass
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2015
- Messages
- 429
I bought a new Smithy Granite 1324 15 years ago, and have been happy with it. If you are limited on space and you are limiting your work to hobbies and gunsmithing I think a Smithy 3 in 1 would be a good choice. The lathe performs quite well, and the mill is certainly adequate, though you are limited on travel and set-up's can be a challenge.
My Smithy machine has been reliable. I have had only 2 problems - a bad bearing in the gearbox and failed motor brushes. Both were simple fixes - and the Smithy technical service is very good.
I have machined plastics, brass, bronze, aluminum, and steel, including tool steel on the machine. It took me a while to learn its capabilities, but once there, I find that any of these materials can be successfully machined to include meeting tolerance and producing a fine finish. Cutting metric and Imperial threads is also straightforward.
I have found that rigidity of the stand is crucial since the machine is quite top heavy. I bought the Smithy stand, but ended up anchoring it to the wall studs to firm it up. There was a discussion on stands for the Smithy here.
Like others have said, you may find some used Smithy's on Craig's List, but you will want to be very careful. They are sometimes starter machines, plus the earlier models lacked protection against crashes, resulting in badly damaged components.
Last edited:
Thanks , I have been checking craigs list today and nothing in NJ
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2018
- Messages
- 102
Here is one in Delaware..not to far
https://delaware.craigslist.org/tls/d/buy-my-shop/6770343395.html
'All of Craig's list', searches everywhere. Dozens of other Craigslist seach engines exist. Try a few and find one you like.
Simply type "Craigslist search engines" into Google.
I use an App called cplus on my ipad for my local daily searches. It's not perfect, but I like it alot.
The 3-1 machines seem to go fast and as you stated, they are not as common.
Cheers
https://delaware.craigslist.org/tls/d/buy-my-shop/6770343395.html
'All of Craig's list', searches everywhere. Dozens of other Craigslist seach engines exist. Try a few and find one you like.
Simply type "Craigslist search engines" into Google.
I use an App called cplus on my ipad for my local daily searches. It's not perfect, but I like it alot.
The 3-1 machines seem to go fast and as you stated, they are not as common.
Cheers
Thank you
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2016
- Messages
- 3,285
Another consideration for combo machines, you may out grow one function before the other.
I have a mini-lathe and a mini-mill, I just bought a bigger lathe because I was bumping up against the size constraints of the lathe. So far I am still well within the capacity of the mini mill.
It looks to me like most of the 3 in 1 machines are based around a fairly good size lathe combined with a rather small mill. Not sure which machine you are specifically looking at but the Smithy Granite is based on a 13x24 or 13x40 lathe, which is a respectably large lathe for a home shop, but the attached mill (Spindle to table 13.38", XYZ 9.5" x 7.63" x 10.25") is not much larger than my Sherline mini-mill (Spindle to table 12", XYZ 8.65"x 5.0"x 10..25"). The Smithy mill does have a more powerful motor and larger table.
I have a mini-lathe and a mini-mill, I just bought a bigger lathe because I was bumping up against the size constraints of the lathe. So far I am still well within the capacity of the mini mill.
It looks to me like most of the 3 in 1 machines are based around a fairly good size lathe combined with a rather small mill. Not sure which machine you are specifically looking at but the Smithy Granite is based on a 13x24 or 13x40 lathe, which is a respectably large lathe for a home shop, but the attached mill (Spindle to table 13.38", XYZ 9.5" x 7.63" x 10.25") is not much larger than my Sherline mini-mill (Spindle to table 12", XYZ 8.65"x 5.0"x 10..25"). The Smithy mill does have a more powerful motor and larger table.
- Joined
- May 3, 2017
- Messages
- 2,026
I get the impression from your initial post that you have little to no machining experience. Not too many years ago, I was in the same category. I had developed a curiosity in machining but had an immediate need for a small drill press. I ran across a good deal on a very nice Smithy 3-in-1 and figured I could satisfy both issues simultaneously. Here's what I learned: The Smithy was indeed a very good machine, but in a very short period of time, I found that it is extremely limited in its capacity and capabilities. It seemed to be very well built but clearly could not handle much more than the smallest of projects. While the multi-function nature of the Smithy was attractive, I also discovered that its capabilities for each of them was somewhat compromised - along the lines of Bob Korves' comments above. It didn't take long for me to realize I would need to get sturdier pieces of equipment if I wanted to do anything approaching normal machining.
The second drawback to the 3-in-1 is setup time. I found through experience that it is not uncommon to move from one function to another on any given project. With independent machines, that's not such a big deal, but with a 3-in-1, it could involve several complicated and time-consuming setups. Moving, for example, from mill to lathe then back again to mill can involve far more setup time than the actual operations themselves.
My general assessment - based on my experience with exactly one Smithy - is that it is a very nice machine but extremely limited for anything more than absolute minimal applications. I do not regret buying it, but it didn't take long for me to begin accumulating large independent machines to satisfy my developing interest in machining. I sold the machine to a man who had some marginal experience in machining and only needed it for a very narrow range of applications. In his case, it was ideal. In mine, it was a good first introduction, but I very quickly outgrew it.
Another observation: The $5,500 cost is not bad for what you are getting (in my opinion), but understand it's highly unlikely you'll get anywhere near that if you decide to sell it. I don't remember exactly what I paid for mine, but I seem to recall it was noticeably under $2,000. And it was in great condition and came with all the original equipment and attachments. I used it about a year and sold it for about the same.
I would suggest you carefully consider what your long-term interest might be, as well as, your space and budget constraints before you buy one. If it satisfies all your anticipations, fine. If not, you might want to consider another strategy.
Good luck,
Terry
The second drawback to the 3-in-1 is setup time. I found through experience that it is not uncommon to move from one function to another on any given project. With independent machines, that's not such a big deal, but with a 3-in-1, it could involve several complicated and time-consuming setups. Moving, for example, from mill to lathe then back again to mill can involve far more setup time than the actual operations themselves.
My general assessment - based on my experience with exactly one Smithy - is that it is a very nice machine but extremely limited for anything more than absolute minimal applications. I do not regret buying it, but it didn't take long for me to begin accumulating large independent machines to satisfy my developing interest in machining. I sold the machine to a man who had some marginal experience in machining and only needed it for a very narrow range of applications. In his case, it was ideal. In mine, it was a good first introduction, but I very quickly outgrew it.
Another observation: The $5,500 cost is not bad for what you are getting (in my opinion), but understand it's highly unlikely you'll get anywhere near that if you decide to sell it. I don't remember exactly what I paid for mine, but I seem to recall it was noticeably under $2,000. And it was in great condition and came with all the original equipment and attachments. I used it about a year and sold it for about the same.
I would suggest you carefully consider what your long-term interest might be, as well as, your space and budget constraints before you buy one. If it satisfies all your anticipations, fine. If not, you might want to consider another strategy.
Good luck,
Terry