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Advise on Multipurpose Lathe Please!

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Steve_S

Steve_S

Yoda
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I don't have a lot of space, so I'm considering buying a used multipurpose machine for my garage. I primarily just need a drill press. Is this a decent piece of equipment? I know it isn't going to be great quality but is it going to perform well enough? Is it worth $300? Will it function as a drill press as well as a normal drill press?

Central Machinery - Space saving machine turns, drills and mills. LATHE has a 7-1/4" center height with 14" between centers. DRILL PRESS has power to spare. MILL has the capacity to mill a facing diameter of 2-1/2" and a milling diameter of 3/4". Features include #2 Morse taper, regular and fine quill feed with lock, swing asway head and a separate motor for the milling head.
 

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Hi Steve,
It is hard to comment on the worth of a used piece of equipment. Relatively good drill presses start at $250 new. If there isn’t any slop in the wheels, I would consider buying it. If nothing else, you could practice figure 8s for your day job. Another point, if you buy it, I could come over and use it. Yeah, I like that.
evilgrin0045.gif
 
LOL! There ya go! I don't really have the room, but I need to buy a drill press anyway. I refuse to buy a new Chinese press so most of my options are out. I've been looking at used old US-made units which are bomb proof. But this would be nice to have for small projects and to learn on. I'm pretty inexperienced with machining. One person has warned me that this type of machine isn't the easiest to use as a drill press so now I'm rethinking my strategy. I may go look at it today and see for myself.
 
On a more serious note, and since its tax time I’ll offer this up too. I’ve met many camera operators over the years. A healthy percentage of them make (or have made for them) custom parts for their rigs, especially Stedi-cam operators. Seems that you could purchase the mill you’re looking at (or better) and claim it as a tax write-off. The above machine would be well suited for the small aluminum doodads needed for camera gear.
 
Good point, but I don't own my own gear. Despite the additional income that comes from renting out equipment, I prefer to rent. Especially when it comes to jib arms / camera cranes. Owning your own means storage, maintenance, a truck (preferably with lift gate) for delivery, etc. And insurance has tripled in recent years cutting profits. No sir, I prefer to make one phone call, then show up on set and have the equipment set up and ready to shoot. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Still, interesting thought and I will have to ask my tax guy about it. I write off a lot of things from video equipment to jeans. But I hadn't considered tools.
 
I've done my fair share of machine work, and the lathe with drill mechanism pictured doesn't look to be suited for drill press or mill work. If you want to to drill press and mill work, there are a number of small drill/mills around that should suit your needs. If you want to do lathe work, get a seperate lathe. It's pretty hard to combine the two processes without compromise.
 
Steve_S said:
I refuse to buy a new Chinese press so most of my options are out.
Click to expand...

You refuse to buy a Chinese drill press, but you'll consider a Chinese 3 in 1? I'm a bit confused by your stance.

The unit you're looking at is a lousy drill press. The chuck is in the way, and you're drilling against the bed of the mill and lathe.
 
Drill presses are not expensive, even for a good one. So there's no reason to buy a Chinese piece of junk. But lathes are very expensive, which for me means Chinese or nothing. I would not buy a 'new' Chinese anything. I was only considering this thing because it would be a good learning tool and might work as a drill press in the mean time.

What does "swing away head" mean anyway? I assumed it meant that the entire drilling head would swing 90-degrees to get out from over the rest of the machine. This would make it just like any other drill press. But I'm getting the feeling I'm wrong about that!
 
I'm not familiar with the particular machine you're looking at so I can't comment on that (but I suspect that the "Swing away head" just moves it to the side to make access to the lathe easier and doesn't turn it into a drill press).


Before you take the plunge on a machine I suggest you spend some time researching (as you're doing). (Are the instructions for that machine available on the net?)

Although you want the machine for learning, consider that tooling is expensive and can easily exceed the cost of the machine, especially a used 3-in-1. You should make sure that your first machine uses standard tooling (tapers etc) so you can retain your investment even if you replace the machine.

Many people frown on multi-purpose machines because of setup time issues, rigidity, quality, and so on. I agree with them - dedicated machines are better. However, if space is an issue a 3-in-1 is way better than nothing and can be an enormous help dealing with old cars.

My suggestion is that you hold off a bit & look around. Look at the forum (they call it a BBS) at https://www.homeshopmachinist.net and ask a few questions there. (Pay attention to their comments on Smithy machines, many of which are multi-purpose).
 
I bought a WWII vintage Navy surplus verticle mill on ebay for $405.00 and a 50's vintage Rockwell 3/4' drill press for $160.00...also on ebay.

very affordable...and these machines will do ANYTHING I'll ever need to do...
 
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