Setup, Setup, Setup.
I had a 3 in 1 machine several years ago, and the main thing it taught me is that I never want another 3 in 1.
The change over from mill to lathe and back is very time consuming and irritating.
The tail stock and chuck get in the way when milling anything other than the smallest parts. So if you are using the lathe and need to change over to mill a decent sized part be prepared to remove the chuck, tail stock, and tool post. Depending on the machine size these can be rather heavy. now you have to put the mill vise where the tool post was, as that is your milling table. Ever tram a mill vise? want to do it EVERY time you change from lathe to mill? also look closely at the pictures/videos, the cross slide doubles as the milling table or vice versa the width of it is laughable compared to even a small mill.
Just my 2 cents if you have the space and budget go for 2 machines.
If you want quality Taiwanese machines have a look at precision Mathews I now have their largest current Taiwanese lathe and mill and am very impressed with the quality so far
I had a 3 in 1 machine several years ago, and the main thing it taught me is that I never want another 3 in 1.
The change over from mill to lathe and back is very time consuming and irritating.
The tail stock and chuck get in the way when milling anything other than the smallest parts. So if you are using the lathe and need to change over to mill a decent sized part be prepared to remove the chuck, tail stock, and tool post. Depending on the machine size these can be rather heavy. now you have to put the mill vise where the tool post was, as that is your milling table. Ever tram a mill vise? want to do it EVERY time you change from lathe to mill? also look closely at the pictures/videos, the cross slide doubles as the milling table or vice versa the width of it is laughable compared to even a small mill.
Just my 2 cents if you have the space and budget go for 2 machines.
If you want quality Taiwanese machines have a look at precision Mathews I now have their largest current Taiwanese lathe and mill and am very impressed with the quality so far
