Hi from Portsmouth

Hi Gary here from portsmouth, i have a small lathe (raglan) and looking for a milling machine at some point just here to gain knowledge and help where i can. Background is mostly car and bike restoration but wanting to get into more machining activities

Welcome Gary there is a wealth of information and expertise available on this very active forum--all you need do is ask.

Good idea to fill in your profile with at least minimal info, as you say you are in Portsmouth but this will be soon "lost" and in the future anyone clicking your name will not know where you are.

Cheers John

Hello Gary and welcome.As John above said, there is a huge amount of information and opinions on here and if you have any questions you have but to ask and answers will come flooding in.

Brian

Welcome to the forum, Gary.

Neil

Good morning Gary, and welcome,

Are you a member of the Bransbury Park Club?

Hello Gary,

As an addition to your Raglan lathe might I suggest a mill in the larger Myford VMF sort of size if you can fit it into your workshop,

The usual advice on there things is to buy larger than you think you need and that so often proves to be good advice.

I hope you find what you want and answers here to the other questions you are bound to raise.

Regards

Brian

Thanks to all the kind replies , I have updated my profile to replect where im based but have not joined any local clubs yet but that is a thought.

I really do want a mill and a myford or even a Raglan (rare) would be perfect , at the moment buget is limited at the present but hopefully that will change. When it comes to it i will definately be asked advice on here when i find a suitible one, the trouble is there are plenty of mills for sale but some need alot of work to make then acurate again and that is something i dont wish to be involved with.

I'll be honest and model engineering is not really why im here i tend to be more involved in restoration of old machinery/vehicles but having looked at the information on the forums for quite a while there is a lot of content that i find very useful.

From observation everone on here seems very friendly and helpful so I hope that an 'outsider' can fitr in, who know i may be conviced to start making things on a smaller scale!

regards

Gary

Hello Gary,

Now that you have indicated where your interests lie then I think my advice is even more relevant but you could extend your search to the machine tool auction sites and pick up a reasonable sale at one of those.

You do get the chance to inspect what they have on offer but as these are internet sales you have to be registered with them first. They also have a nasty habit of using the 10 minute rule where an item can be bid on again in the closing seconds of an auction that then allows a free for all on that lot beyond the advertised end of the sale. Moreover it can be repeated as long as there are two competitors. Why the chosen end of sale isn't adhered as in an attended sale I don't know. You can get shut out by this trick just when you think you are home and dry

VAT on items plus 16% and VAT on their commission boosts the hammer price by close to 40% so be aware of that too, but in fairness, a machine in your size range may not attract the business people who can afford this sort of auction without feeling it'

Apex Auctions hold regular sales at Bournemouth which isn't that far from you to go take a look. If you think it might be a route for you look up their website and register for email notification of future sales. That will include disposals in Germany. Singapore and elsewhere of course but you might just find a machine to look at. It is of course entirely at your risk, they offer no comment of condition or even if it is complete, all you get are photos.

It is though I think a step up from the sharks that swim on ebay where even inspection seems to be discouraged.

To avoid as much as possible of the uncertainties in those waters, take a look at www.lathes.co.uk where you will find a sales page(s) with much more trustworthy information to help you, opportunities to inspect and so on. This is of course has a price range to reflect that more selective display but it does give you better confidence in what you are looking at before you start. Private members sales in the Forum pages are worth checking too for similar reasons

The general message in all this is that you will be truly lucky to find a top class machine for pennies and without paying attention you could buy an expensive boat anchor, it is a fact of life I'm afraid

I hope this dissertation has helped lay out some options for you to consider.

Regards

Brian

Great advice Brian thanks for your lengthy and informative reply, I keep my eye on ebay of course but many on there are way past being of any accurate use and i want something to use for a long time reliably. Im quite happy to get an older machine provided its had light use or been looked after i just need to be patient. A milling machine for me is not an essential item but i can think of so many uses for that it just is too tempting to resist.

Gary

Hello Gary,

As I said, you get no guarantees and being commercial auctions these offerings might be flogged to death anyway.

Machine operating voltages are quite likely to be 440v 3 phase but at least you get decent pictures of the gear and a fighting chance of a better buy than some of the ebay stuff I have seen.

Put a lathe and milling machine together and you have a well equipped workshop

Regards

Brian.