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Four Letters Re: 3-in-1 Home Workshop Machines
JWR,
I agree with you on the machine tool issue. You end up with a lot of tooling
and accessories by buying a shop. Things like rotary tables, angle plates
and clamping stuff make this approach a bargain. A few grand goes a long
way if you dig into [the replacement costs]. Like you say, [in the depth
of the recession] there will be a lot of stuff out there.
I have a good set of machinist tools but no machines and have been thinking
the same thing.
I have millwrighted machines for people from closed machine shops. I used a
Ryder rental with a lift gate and rolled the machines on bars (a Johnson Bar
is very helpful.) The Egyptian method works! I had to remove the table from
the Bridgeport to get it through a doorway. The lathe was easier (longer base,
lower center of gravity). Buy capable machines and beware of buying equipment
with three phase motors.
Thanks again, Jim. Best Regards, - Mike from Michigan
Jim
An incredible place to get used industrial tools and equipment is H.G.R.
Industrial Surplus, in Cleveland, Ohio. They have 12 acres of equipment
under roof. The quantity and quality and very low cost is remarkable. Just
check their web site for a complete list of what they have. It changes daily.
I've
found that it is very well worth a drive through states to go there. -
Jim Fry, Curator, Museum
of Western Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio
James,
I bought one
of these milling machines sold by Lathemaster.
This is one of those Rong-Fu 45 clones, what they call a bed mill; the table
stays at the same height and the head goes up and down. It's a good machine
for the money, but not in the same league as big knee mill. Of course, it doesn't
cost $5,000, either.
Like any other low-cost bed mill, it isn't rigid enough to take really heavy
cuts. If you try, it flexes, and the cut goes sideways a little. But if you
work your way up to the intended line taking shallow cuts, it's fine. I've
made quite a few things with mine, mostly out of aluminum and titanium.
I'm very happy with it. That said, when I get the space, I'll get a true CNC machine,
probably the Tormach
PCNC.
In anticipation of this upgrade, I got Tormach tooling for my Lathemaster mill,
which turns out to be a pretty nice thing anyway.
Thanks, - PNG
Jim:
Three follow-up observations:
First, Do not mill in a drill chuck. as one
letter said to do. It will cause the drill chuck to fall off of the taper
it is attached
to, and can also break the jaws.
Second, [If taking the 3-1n-1 approach,] Grizzly.com is at the top of everyone's
list.
Third, Take a technological step back 100 years, and everyone should try and
find a shaper! See
this Wikipedia page. After all, a mill is only good until the cutters
run out! - Tantalum Tom
