What should I get first?

Nick Hacking said:
As a newbie too, my advice is probably not all that valuable. I started with a lathe: it's a very popular old hobby lathe here in Britain and it didn't take me long to find second-hand milling attachments.

The thing with mills seems to be that the more rigid the spindle and table the better and a milling attachment in a hobby lathe is not all that rigid, so it's a viable solution if you are on a budget and are planning on light milling for small parts. But, now that I've got myself a serious mill, I think that I'd have been better off not spending the money on the lathe attachments and putting it towards the mill.

As others have said, the hobby tends to suck you in and once you have one machine you soon find that you "need" other machines to support it and get the best use from it... grinding wheels, saws of different types, welding kit, plasma torch, measuring equipment, collets... my poor postman must have lugged several cwt of tools up my drive over the past couple of years!

In short: I don't think it matters where or how you start; simply understand that the first purchase is the beginning of the wallet-drain, not the end.

Good luck,

Nick
Click to expand...

I think you are right. I think I will bite the bullet and get a lathe first. No just which one. I would really like to get the PM, But I think I will go with the G0602Z. It is 400 cheaper than the PM, AND comes with DRO. IF the PM had a DRO on it, I would get it, but I just can't justify the extra expense otherwise.
 
Make some money on the side? If you are set up and you know what you are doing, you can make enough as an excuse to buy more tooling. You are neither. Machining as a business is very competitive.

Invent some trinket for the RC guys, or the off roaders, or the gun guys, . . . Them sell that.

Why do you need to buy the lathe now? Wait, save your money. Take that JC course. Go look at as many lathes as you can (just a tire kicker).

That DRO version? A DRO on a lathe is not a big deal. I have a DRO on my one mill, it is awesome, basically it is a game changer. I have never used a lathe with a DRO, I think it would be handy in some places, but it is not a game changer. I buy tooling all the time, a DRO for the lathe is way down the list.

You can add a DRO any time. Put the money into the basic machine, not the glitzy trinkets.
 
snyper1982 said:
I think you are right. I think I will bite the bullet and get a lathe first. No just which one. I would really like to get the PM, But I think I will go with the G0602Z. It is 400 cheaper than the PM, AND comes with DRO. IF the PM had a DRO on it, I would get it, but I just can't justify the extra expense otherwise.
Click to expand...
You may wan to look closer at the PM lathe. In my opinion it is easy to justify the extra $$. A quick look at the specs shows it to have several more useful features over the Grizzly. 1. It has continuously variable speed 50-2000 rpm that, alone is worth it. (the low rpm is much more useful for threading especially for a beginner).
2. It comes with a quick change tool post, Thats something you'll would probably want you upgrade the Grizzly to right away.
3. it has power cross-feed, a very nice feature especially for getting nice finishes on facing. That's a feature you cannot add on later.
4. A three year warrantee.
VS a DRO that you don't really need. (DROs are a lot more useful on a mill than a lathe) Also, that DRO isn't a proper full featured DRO, it it a stripped down position only unit.
Choose wisely!
 
You can add a similar position only DRO to any machine for about $130 using igaging parts. You can upgrade that to a touchdro with a $70 board and an Android tablet or even an old phone. You can also buy a full DRO from aliexpress for about $200.

My budget was 3k as well. I was a little hung up on DRO as well. I decided I can add it later and use magnetic mounted dial indicators for now. And with shipping I went over $98. It will take some time as the one I chose is backordered, so I'm picking up bits here and there to fill in. Primarily ebay. I expect I'll spend a few hundred more before I make chips, but I think overall I will enjoy the machine more.

A few things I was convinced by..

Full variable speed.
Power cross feed.
Included QCTP. Note that some machines can't just bolt one on...
D1-4 chuck, very compatible. Easy to get things like a collet chuck later if I want to.
1.5" bore. I have some projects in mind right now that will use it. It sounds like some of yours might as well.
Wider bed, rigidity is increased, less tool chatter, flex, etc.
Hardened ways. More durable.
Included tooling. Things like steady and follow rests, 4 jaw, QCTP, face plate..
Comparing reviews between Grizzly and PM users.

As for what you need to make chips, some HSS bits, or carbide. A couple dial indicators and a magnetic base. A tailstock drill chuck. Some center drills. Calipers and micrometer. Oil for the ways, cutting etc.. I'm going with cheaper indicators to start, tests show them to be very accurate, and it's always nice to have some you don't mind getting beat up. I'll add some nice ones later. I'm sure I'll break at least one, I'd rather it be a $15 indicator than a $150 unit.

Just putting my reasoning out there from a fellow newbie. I don't know that my way is best, but it makes sense to me. Whatever you get, use the hell out of it and make cool stuff. Then post pics. :)
 
Hey snyper1982,
i just saw the thread,
welcome to the forum.
here is my .02
buy the largest lathe you can afford, then buy the largest mill you can afford.
i did things the other way around, and bought small- then bought big. :bang head:
now i have a shop full of both.
you are close enough there in modesto, i live in Tracy-
you could swing by my shop and see some of the different equipment i have and talk shop
send me a message
 
Chipper5783 said:
Make some money on the side? If you are set up and you know what you are doing, you can make enough as an excuse to buy more tooling. You are neither. Machining as a business is very competitive.

Invent some trinket for the RC guys, or the off roaders, or the gun guys, . . . Them sell that.

Why do you need to buy the lathe now? Wait, save your money. Take that JC course. Go look at as many lathes as you can (just a tire kicker).

That DRO version? A DRO on a lathe is not a big deal. I have a DRO on my one mill, it is awesome, basically it is a game changer. I have never used a lathe with a DRO, I think it would be handy in some places, but it is not a game changer. I buy tooling all the time, a DRO for the lathe is way down the list.

You can add a DRO any time. Put the money into the basic machine, not the glitzy trinkets.
Click to expand...

Its not that I need the DRO. But the 2 lathes I am looking at, one is 400 cheaper and it comes with a DRO.
 
Lathe has it's special place and is a lot of fun to watch your projects turn into something really stunning and artistic, but the mill has so many uses and it's much more practical. I would choose a mill first if I had a choice, but that's me.
 
Eddyde said:
You may wan to look closer at the PM lathe. In my opinion it is easy to justify the extra $$. A quick look at the specs shows it to have several more useful features over the Grizzly. 1. It has continuously variable speed 50-2000 rpm that, alone is worth it. (the low rpm is much more useful for threading especially for a beginner).
2. It comes with a quick change tool post, Thats something you'll would probably want you upgrade the Grizzly to right away.
3. it has power cross-feed, a very nice feature especially for getting nice finishes on facing. That's a feature you cannot add on later.
4. A three year warrantee.
VS a DRO that you don't really need. (DROs are a lot more useful on a mill than a lathe) Also, that DRO isn't a proper full featured DRO, it it a stripped down position only unit.
Choose wisely!
Click to expand...


Thank you. Thats info that is more useful. I know I can add a DRO later. I didn't realize that it had all the features you listed. I didn't notice it had a powered cross feed. The tool post I did notice, but again, thats not a $400 dollar upgrade. As for the variable speed, I seem to remember reading that the variable speed motors are sometimes not as good? I can't quite remember what it was. But I think it had something to do with being better off just upgrading to a higer end 3 phase motor with a VFD or something like that.

But you have given me a lot to think about. I do like idea of having a powered cross slide. Just out of curiosity, how useful is that feature?
 
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