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[79fairmont]

I've been thinking about picking up a smaller mill and lathe to keep at the house. I see smithy makes a mill and a lathe the prices seem decent. I'm not talking about the 3 in 1 machine they advertise. I also see grizzly makes some. Then harbor freight also makes some but I'm afraid of the normal harbor freight quality. I've used bridgeport's before but never of the mini mills. I may buy two and convert one to a cnc type mill.

[ADSR]

SX3 is the best bang for the buck.  The cnc conversion kit is about 900 bucks.

The mill from grizzly is 1300.

Add mach3 software for a couple hundy and you're laughing

[onlyflash944]

a smithy just sold local to me for 900 but i didn't have the cash in hand and its gone 

[civiceggturbo]

i just see it being a waste unless you dont have the space, I know guys at work who have picked up Matsuura 500's for their home shops from the late 80's in great condition with tool holders for around 2 grand. Plus with a name brand if something goes wrong you can find parts easily and since there old and proven to be reliable anything that has gone wrong can be easily trouble shot. Not hating on china shit tho, they do make some decent tools but for alittle more you can have a real cnc mill

[chris]

Lets ask whats the goal?

[onlyflash944]

Lets ask whats the goal?

this

[Joseph Davis]

How small can you live with?  The 7X10" and 7X12-14" from HF are basically the same as all the other asian lathes foisted off through Smithy/Grizzly/etc at a markup.  They are semi-solid units out of the box, and very nice units after you drop 20-30 hours of work on them.  They're just... small.

The asian mills tend to be a bit more fragile, but can be made to work.  I have an off flavor of one of the Seig X2's, IIRC, from HF. 

http://www.mini-lathe.com/ has everything you need to know.

[t_cel_t]

ive heard the first thing you do is replace most of the bearings, as on the ship ride over they get some rust in them. after that and cleaning up some of the flash off the cast parts and replacing some of the plastic gears they are pretty solid.

[79fairmont]

My intended uses and milling heads, manifolds, manifold spacers(ford stuff) and adapter plates, Some light gun smithing. Making accesory brackets,

[SgtB]

milling heads

That takes a big cutter, and a very square jig.

[79fairmont]

I've allready done it. I worked in an engine machine shop for years.

[SgtB]

ahh. Disregard then. 

[onlyflash944]

milling heads

That takes a big cutter, and a very square jig.

yea, i don't know if i would trust a mini mill or one of teh 3 in 1s to handle flatening a head

[79fairmont]

I mean something along these lines.
http://www.smithy.com/product_home.php?cid=2&scid=12&pid=8
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40939

[ADSR]

This-------> http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619

+

This-------> Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit PREMIUM BALLSCREWS   http://www.cncfusion.com/smallmill1.html


= big time bang for the buck.

[Joseph Davis]

You can get a fucking Bridgeport for a grand, do NOT fuck around.

[ADSR]

You can get a fucking Bridgeport for a grand, do NOT fuck around.

that's a waste of money. The ways will be shot and the bed will flop around like a dirty cunt.

[Joseph Davis]

You can get a fucking Bridgeport for a grand, do NOT fuck around.

that's a waste of money. The ways will be shot and the bed will flop around like a dirty cunt.

 

[79fairmont]

You can get a fucking Bridgeport for a grand, do NOT fuck around.

My whole problem with that is I have been looking and everyone I find within reasonable distance the table is fucked, the ways are loose, or it got bearing issues. I see them all the time on the net for cheap but that's a game of roulette I am not about to play.

[Joseph Davis]

Pal around with guys who work in large, large machine shops.  One of the dudes whose Supra I tune works for GE making jet engines, has offered me gear cutting setups for $850 with a pile of tooling, Bridgeports for $1400 ("it's in really good shape but he wants too much and I don't think he'll come down") and other odds and ends.  To find those deals you really have to go in those circles.

[ktown powder coating]

This-------> http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619

+

This-------> Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit PREMIUM BALLSCREWS   http://www.cncfusion.com/smallmill1.html


= big time bang for the buck.

This is very neat.  I would love to have a setup like this someday

[ADSR]

This-------> http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619

+

This-------> Small-Mill Deluxe CNC kit PREMIUM BALLSCREWS   http://www.cncfusion.com/smallmill1.html


= big time bang for the buck.

This is very neat.  I would love to have a setup like this someday

Not bad for the money. You can have a full cnc machine, and 4th axis soft. For well under 3k

[Passenger]

You obviously aren't capable of cyclinder head machining if you think you can do it with a pos Smithy or anything related to its class.

[79fairmont]

Click the links I provided..... What do you think is the hardest part about setting up a cylinder head to be cut? I surfaced many cylinder heads on a bridgeport. I installed a ton of guides and and cut many seats and cut down pedastals and installed studs on winona's... My work speaks for me. Did you even look at the machines I pointed out? I said NO smithy 3 in 1. Why don't you go work on making more mongrel failures of an intercooler.

[Passenger]

Click the links I provided..... What do you think is the hardest part about setting up a cylinder head to be cut? I surfaced many cylinder heads on a bridgeport. I installed a ton of guides and and cut many seats and cut down pedastals and installed studs on winona's... My work speaks for me. Did you even look at the machines I pointed out? I said NO smithy 3 in 1. Why don't you go work on making more mongrel failures of an intercooler.

Yes I did look at the machines, they are chinese pos machines that lack the rigidity working envelope to do quality cylinder head machining, especially surfacing.

[79fairmont]

So instead of acting like an intelligent person and voicing that opinion in the first place, you try to attack my ability. As I have never had my hands on one I asked for opinions on them.

[Joseph Davis]

Thus the whole reason I get drug into arguments with Passenger, my valid points and honest questions turn into accusations of ability.

That being said, I *am* the most argumentative person on this site and bring some of it onto myself.

[Passenger]

So instead of acting like an intelligent person and voicing that opinion in the first place, you try to attack my ability. As I have never had my hands on one I asked for opinions on them.

Fair enough, looking back I agree that I should have posted what I said the second time, the first time, I apologize.

[Passenger]

Thus the whole reason I get drug into arguments with Passenger, my valid points and honest questions turn into accusations of ability.

Joke?

[ADSR]

Click the links I provided..... What do you think is the hardest part about setting up a cylinder head to be cut? I surfaced many cylinder heads on a bridgeport. I installed a ton of guides and and cut many seats and cut down pedastals and installed studs on winona's... My work speaks for me. Did you even look at the machines I pointed out? I said NO smithy 3 in 1. Why don't you go work on making more mongrel failures of an intercooler.

Yes I did look at the machines, they are chinese pos machines that lack the rigidity working envelope to do quality cylinder head machining, especially surfacing.

Some import machine are just fucking garbage.  Some are better than others.  You better damn well know the machine you're working with for doing heads.  Like you said, the rigidity of the ching chong are not the best.  I know a local guy in town here who uses a BP from 1953. But it was well taken care of and is as tight as a nuns cunt.  he can do some fucking awesome work on it. He's also used it for over 35 years.