I love tools. I aspire to own one of every kind. Right now, my fab skills are slightly better than being able to drill a good hole. I WILL have machine tools one day. I'm always keeping my eyes open for them, and when the right deal comes along I'll get it. The post about getting the free lathe got me thinking: I've always thought a mill would be the ultimate piece of shop equipment, but I've also heard guys say a lathe is more useful. So, for you machinists out there, which is the more useful tool in the hot rodder's garage: A mill, or a lathe? And why... I don't have ANY machine tool experience, but it seems to me there are a lot more square edges and flat pieces on a hot rod then there are round pieces or shafts...milling brackets, valley covers, etc. plus drilling holes and general trimming. Again, that's my uneducated view of it. Are there jobs that CAN'T be done on a mill that can be done on a lathe, and are there jobs that can't be done on a lathe that can be done on a mill? A couple examples would help. Big questions, but it is tech week! -Brad
Brad.... I too would like to someday have a lathe and a mill, but don't know how to use 'em...yet. Been looking for a good, small lathe at a price I can afford for a little while now. A lathe can make so much more than just shafts and cutting threads.... But I do have this book my dad gave me.....has ALOT of info on how to run a lathe, cutting gears, threads, mathematical equations, mills, etc. Maybe search Ebay for one.
I'd say Milling machine, but that's just one mans opinion. I've actually turned things in a milling machine before, at work, when the lathes were being used by someone else. If doing that, you need to think a little backwards, and sideways though.
BOTH !! LOL You will use a lathe at least twice as offten as a mill. And to be really useful a mill needs a shit load of tooling ,boring head ,rotory table, angle head and lots of various size mills etc. As I mentioned in the other lathe ? post try to get the Atlas later operators manual,shows the how to's on everything. And many small mill jobs can be done with the milling vise on a lathe. A final word or 2 buy a lathe with a quick change if you ever plan to do threading as setting up change gears is a pain, much nicer to move a couple of levers. Also as to size try for a 10X24 or larger,the little 6 inch ones are too small for most car stuff.
First start, yes there are tons and tons of jobs that a lathe can do that a mill can not and vice versa, i.e. turning down a block of aluminum into a ribbed coil cover wont happen on a knee mill. And making your self your own custom finned valve covers would be alot of fun on a nice knee mill. As far as a mill being more useful than a lathe is all personal preference and dependent on what type of machining you are doing the most. I would definitely prefer to have a mill first. Mills are just work horses; drilling, cutting, shaping, grinding, and yes you can do some small lathe type work with a mill if you know how to make custom chucks and setups, but it is always nicer to do on a lathe. With a mill in the garage when your doing that new power plant transplant and you see you need complete custom mounts, instead of using separate pieces of flat stock and welding, if you know what your doing you can make it out of a solid block. I could go on and on with all the fun stuff you can do with a nice mill and I am sure plenty others will chime in as well. On another note if your going to get a mill I would stick to a nice Bridgeport. And here is a little more food for thought if you like tools as you say, this is a bitchin one. It takes your normal Plasma Cutter and turns it into a CNC cutter its pretty cheap and super effective. www.torchmate.com
Lathe, by far. For me, about 30 uses of the lathe to one of the mill. A good mill-drill works well and is a lot cheaper than a bridgeport. About the only thing I've been using the mill for lately is drilling starter holes with the dividing head. Most lathe accessories aren't too expensive. Conversely, mill accessories can be very expensive. Get youself a subscription to Home Shop Machinist - located in Traverse City, Michigan. Once you have that, order some of Guy Lautard's books on projects and how to do them. Once you have the lathe basics down Lautard's books will teach you a lot of more advanced stuff. Hit the library, do some reading on machine work. Don't sweat it if some of the books are from the 30's. With the manual machines we're using at home, the books and manuals from the 30's and 40's are perfect.
I use my lathe way more than my Bridgeport. Don't get me wrong, milling machines are very handy to have, but if had to get one or the other, it would be a lathe first. +1 on what John Evans said about tooling for the milling machine. It's not the price of the mill itself that will be an issue; the tooling is the killer. YMMV
If you have a really well made drill press and a nice lathe (not of chinese make) you should be right as rain. You will use the lathe alot more than a mill. I do.
Lathe, by far. I've been using both for 22 years, and it's about 10 jobs to 1 IME. BTW, with the right tooling, a lathe is one of the best tools for notching tube fits
Yup, agreeing with most. Lathe first and for what I do, like C9 says, 30 to 1. But when you need a mill, ya need a mill. I happen to have two model M (1/2 hp) BP's one with a vise and one with just a bare table, cause sometimes you need to go back and forth between a vise and a table and 2 machines make that easier (and the second mill was free!) I got a 10 inch South Bend, and 99% of what I need done can be done there. My next purchase is gonna be a 16-18 inch lathe for larger jobs that just cant be done now. I use the lathe almost daily. For something.
See, I'm going the other way. I started my tool-maker apprenticeship in high school, so I've been the shop for over 30 years. If I could have any tool, I'd want a CNC mill. Ok, they can be a little expensive. Second would be a mill with a cross-slide rotary table. You can use a mill as a lathe much easier than a lathe as a mill, at least for the small stuff. And with a cross-slide, the skies the limit. Back before they had CNC's, all we had in a shop was Bridgeports w/cross-slides, lathes, drill presses, EDMs & pantographs. It is amazing to look back & see what was built without any CNC machines....... I guess we're lazy now. Matt
Start with a lathe. If you can find a good used one that comes with lots of tooling, you'll be way ahead of the curve.
I don't have nor have ever used a mill but I can't imagine not having my lathe. Every now and then I come across something that I think a mill would be handy but there are a lot of ways the accomplish similar tasks with other tools. It may not be as easy but it can be done. I can't say the same for the things I do on my lathe.
Start with a Bridgeport. If you can find a good used one that comes with lots of tooling, you'll be way ahead of the curve. It really just depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. I use mills (Bridgeports and CNCs) all the time. It may be months between times I need a lathe. One other consideration: there's always somebody with a lathe you can borrow. Not necessarily so with the Bridgeport.
I had for years a Smithy Lathe Mill Drill. Most versitile tool I ever owned but I had to include it in my equipment when I sold my shop stuff. There is little the mind could concieve that cant be made on that machine. Used to be just under $1000 but are now close to 1400 I think. Then you have both , a milling machine, a lathe and ALL the attachments you will need for most jobs included with that price. I now have a Huge Milling machine and a small lathe but just made a deal for a bigger lathe. Still the Lathe Mill Drill would do almost anything these will except this Mill is big enough for head and block milling. The smithy wouldnt do that. I know it isnt a super precision exotic machine but it works to .001" just fine. I had one minor repair in I think 15 years I had it. It was a 12 dollar gear and took less than 1 hour to replace.
I luckily have after hours access to both in the machine shop at work. But if I didn't, and I had the space for it at home, I think a mill would be my first pick. I use the mill more than I use the lathe. But it's great to have both available.
You can do 90% of the work you'll ever encounter on a lathe or a mill. One will work better than the other for some things, but both will do nearly anything you can come up with. If you have the tools, you'll find uses for them you couldn't have imagined before. If you don't have a specific machine, you'll figure out a way to make the cut you need to make, using the tools you have. I lived for several years in a machine shop environment without a lathe of any kind, and I never found it to be too great of a stumbling block. BUT, now that I have one, I'd not go without again. Currently I have a 16x60 lathe, two 9x50 vertical turret mills, and a 24x16x16 vertical machining center (CNC). I'm looking for a cheap-ish medium sized horizontal mill and a medium sized shaper to round out my capabilities. It's wonderful to have access to the right tool for the job, no matter what you happen across. If you don't have all the tools you ever wanted, then you'll have to think like Teddy Roosevelt, who said: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!" That all said, since I've lived the shop with a mill and no lathe thing, I'd say go with a mill first, 'cause I know from experience that that's a serviceable option. I've got friends who've only got lathes, and I've ended up doing lots of work for them because there are some things a lathe just can't do (especially if you're imaginationally challenged when it comes to set-ups).
A HF mill drill for $850 will do most Brackets and a lot of your machining get R8 and buy all the tooling needed which will cost as much as the mill I have one in my basement and take a lot of little stuff home and do in evening it not a perfect machine but a ton more versital than a drill press, it got a good double reduction and reverse , and yes it will tap holes dont buy the geared R8 machine or the little one both junk my favorite lathe is my HF 12x48 and yes I do own a Clausing , but the HF is a nice ,tight , and pretty precise with a little patience and conversion work, like a new belt does a fantastic job for a hobiest
I would go mill first... I can make round things on my mill (Use the spindle & collet as head stock or rotary table) but I'll be damned if I can make square things on a lathe. I bought my mill with this in mind... Andy
Its really not that hard, and I don't know your skill level,,,, but it can be done, like I (and others) said. Yep a lathe is easier to use for that, but wasnt my point. Lmao,,, everybody loves a roadster.
I have a !4x30 lathe, a12x36 lathe, a 2 h.p. bridgeport, and nichols horizontal mill and I would hate to have to do without any of them. But I probably use the 14x30 lathe more than the other three put together.
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