If starting again, what would you buy with a budget of £5k?

Budget might stretch a little but not much.

Purchases ought to cover; Lathe, Milling Machine and Accessories for both.

Before that question can be answered please give us a clue on what you want to do or make. I do not make models as my interest lies in old motorcycles which dictates size/type of machinery. Also what space have you got to set up your workshop ? £5k should give you a nice set up, be patient in finding machines and enjoy the setting up of your shop. If you are near the Lichfield area your welcome to see mine.

A good condition South Bend clone lathe (Boxford to you, Hercus to me) with slotted cross slide, rear parting tool post, traveling and fixed steady, three and four jaw chucks, faceplate, catch plate, dogs, plus a 4-jaw self centering chuck, ER collet set up, the usual tailstock chuck, centres and die holders, plus the usual selection of tooling.

A SIEG X3 Mill with six inch Vertex rotary table and a similar dividing head, plus the usual cutters and collets etc. Vertex vice. Clamping set. Edge and centre finders by Starrett.

That'd get me started.

How did I know this question would be answered with several further questions.

There were a couple of reasons to enforce ambiguity here. Firstly, I didn't want to sway any replies with my current research results or preferences. Secondly, and most importantly, I don't yet have a niche area of interest. I just enjoy making things. Mills and lathes are kind of a next step in my foray into metal working. Firstly it was welding (Tig, Stick, MIG - in that order). Now I would like to start working on some projects (nothing in particular) requiring more precision.

One thing I can tell you that should help with your query; I do not plan on being a model engineer. The larger stuff takes my fancy, so the model series mills and lathes won't cut it (so to speak).

So the more in-depth questions are; would you go new or old? What accessories/attachments would you consider must haves, and which brands do you consider going for at this early stage?

Lee, with the budget set you will have to go to used machines if wanting something bigger than model engineering size, 1 new machine in the size envisaged will wipe your budget out in 1 hit.

Emgee

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My precis of your post ^^^ should indicate that you are asking an unanswerable question.

The only real hint that you have given is that you probably want to work on larger items than I do.

MichaelG.

Personally 2nd hand every time, I'm on a steep learning curve, have no intention of model making just making stuff for my own use (lathe tool holders, tap wrench, modifying my lathe etc) and pleasure of having a reasonably well equipped workshop

I want to upgrade my lathe to a Boxford / Harrison / Colchester when I am in funds, I have a Tom Senior M1 with DRO which is more than adequate for my needs, and an Invicta shaper which is a thing of beauty - another tool to learn how to use, it's an indulgence rather than a need

I would add a decent bench grinder to your list

That should leave plenty of money for tooling and materials - Hopper has given a very good account

As an aside, if you are looking to pick up techniques and skills quickly, the Axminster 5 day intermediate course is an excellent starting point, I wouldn't bother with the Lathe or Milling beginners course having done the Lathe beginners course too

The machines I mentioned above are good for more than model size jobs. Would cope with motorcycle and car restoration work no problems.

Not a lot! Might get some of the big stuff, lathe and mill not much else. A couple of years ago I did a rough calculation of the value of my tools and stopped when I got to £50K. Some of my Stahlwille spanners are over £30 each! A Hoffman dividing head second hand will set you back £500+

The original question is "...what would YOU buy with a budget of 5K".

I've already stated the cold hard facts of what I would buy.

What the OP might buy is up to him and nothing to do with the original question.

But now we seem to be getting back to the dreaded "used relics of the Empire in various states of disrepair vs current Asian artifacts of hotly debated quality" , which is totally pointless as countless previous threads have shown. Might as well argue religion.

Unfortunate question for the OP's first post on the forum.

Edited By Hopper on 10/03/2019 10:49:26

To answer the OP, I wouldn't. I spent more than £5k on my lathe and mill without additional accessories. To be fair both came with enough in the way of chucks and vices to be usable. I've probably spent another £3k on accessories.

I think these sort of threads should be banned. They really don't add anything to the debate, and everything that needs to be said has been said. In most cases the original question is unanswerable anyway.

Andrew

Sounds like you've done this before?

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Technically correct, Hopper

'though [reading the text of his post rather than concentrating on the title] I suspect that was not really his intended question.

To answer in the spirit of your comments, I would have to say:

"That's none of your business"

... But that would be rude, and I was trying to help.

MichaelG.

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P.S. [Hopper] You may also note that I did not respond to the original question, but only to his follow-up post.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 10/03/2019 11:26:38

I used to believe that these were genuine enquiries however I now think these questions can all be answered by the original poster in the first place as if you can't work out what machine you need, how can you possibly work out how to use it?

Therefore these posts are purely intended to inflame and like Andrew above, I also think they should be deleted/banned even though they appear to come from people new to the hobby. I might be wrong, but how can you come up with a budget and yet not have an idea of what to spend it on.

On the off chance the title of this thread is real my answer would be :-

'Exactly what I bought this time'

Also worth checking first what your workshop is like. I would build a decent insulated shed first to make sure I can actually use the machines and not a papier mache bought in shed. Need to have a solid concrete but insulated floor, and corrugated iron pent roof to ensure no leaks and maximum height within planning regs. Also leave room to extend it. A cold shed makes using the expensive machines less enjoyable.

Andrew, I entirely agree. Particularly when there is a hidden agenda in the original post, deliberate ambiguity, admitted in post #4.

Not an ideal way for a new member to endear themselves to the community!

Or an old member either.

I think it's worth treating queries in good faith, or if you find them too vague or peculiar - just move on.

In this case, I think reluctance to give an idea of what they want to do is rather like asking 'what guitar should I buy' without saying the genre of music.

Neil

Although I can understand your ambiguity, maybe its best to pin down a little more tightly what you can forsee yourself making. Although you say you want to be open about the sort of things you will be making, its currently a "What kind of car should I buy" question, with the answer to "what do you want to use it for" currently no more accurate than "everything".

As you can see its a question thats been hotly debated in the past!

Now there's a thought - I wonder if any other forums would have me?

Andrew

Postscript: The guitar analogy isn't a good one, as guitars don't vary that much in size compared to an instrument lathe (50mm centre height) versus a large industrial lathe (500mm centre height).