metalworking lathe and milling machine

hi all

i am new to this forum am looking to finally bite the bullet and get myself a metalworking lathe and a milling machine, im already a dab hand with a angle grinder and welder and want to advance my metalworking skills even further. so was wandering if someone knows where i can get these machines from and not pay thousands of pounds for them.

chris

Machinery House (aka Hafco) in Dandenong have a good range and moderate prices, as well as other smaller suppliers in Melbourne. . Unfortunately the place i got my mill (Standaco, Nunawading) dont carry them any more.

My lathe is close on 100 years old and came out of 'the trading post' but that is no more either.

Oh, you aren't in Victoria?

Seriously, a little more info is needed. What do you want to make? Do you need rough but big? small but precise? ready to work or 'a project'?

The market for hobbyiests seems to consist primarily of used 'local manufacture' (eg, myford if you are UK), or new chinese, with potentially used chinese as a third choice. The used market is 'buyer beware', with the chinese likewise. You'll find many discussions around the quality of chinese machinery, but basically it comes down to the quality the supplier ordered and where they choose to hit the market - buy good, sell high; buy cheap, sell cheap and wear the possible claims; or buy cheap, finish locally and sell 'in between'...

-just my observations,

russ (Australia)

Chris,
From bitter experiance do yourself a favour and avoid the muti purpose lathes the mill part is in a round column and once you start any serious work you will find it lacking use the money the top part cost to get a better lathe. (I talk from bitter experiance).
Could you say what you are intending to build, restore or fix..
I do not know the Australian equivelants in your area but look at grizzly.com who are in the states and that will give you some idea.

good luck
Bob

Set yourself a target of NOT buying anything for 6 months. Even dedicated long standing Model Engineers don't rush out to get both a mill and a lathe in quick succession. It can be expensive stuff, though it doesn't have to be. There are about 50 threads on this forum started by beginners so start reading all of that advice first.

If you have a polytechnic or school near you so you can attend night classes this will give you some experience and a feel for what sort of gear you want. And the opportunity to 'talk engineering' with like minded people.

Edited By JC Uknz 1 on 17/03/2013 09:16:29

Personally I would have got bored and spent the money on something else if I had tried to wait six months! Aside from taht personal view, the advice already given is sound.

I suggest you browse he websites of companies like Wraco, Arc Euro Trade and Chester and others that advertise thorugh this site. Think about what you would like to make, bearing in mind that bigger is more expensive in mjaterials as well as equipment, but up-sizing is costly too!

You'll find there are three main choices:

• A new British or European machine .
• A used (perhaps very used) European of even American machine.
• A new far-eastern machine.

(Second hand far-eastern machines can be found too!)

Bear in mind that you will NOT be tied to the lathe or mill you buy for accessories, with the exception of a few items (such as change gear wheels if these don't come with the lathe).

Everyone here has a strong preference, usually so heavily influenced by personal experience we find it hard to understand why anyone might not share our choice. Suffice to say that intelligent choice of machine can get you more accuracy, usability, capacity or reliability for your money than you might expect.

I suggest to really do think about what you want to do, your budget now and in the future, and also look at some of the discussions. Then ask lots of questions of people with the sort of things that take your fancy.

The only biases I think MOST people here would share are to avoid combination machines and think twice about round-column mills, as has already been mentioned. The combination machines do not have the versatility of a true vertical mill, and owners of round column mills usually end up making a lengthy modification to stop teh head turning sideways when it is moved up and down.

Neil