Lathe and Milling machine help

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So I'm clearing up some space in my garage and expanding my capabilities a bit. As the title says, I'm looking for a milling machine, and a lathe. I was originally drawn to the 3-in-1 machines but got steered away pretty quickly after reading some reviews on them. Really the only thing I'm looking for in a lathe is for it to have at least a 1" spindle arbor. I haven't had a true need for either of these yet, but I'd rather have them and not need them then need them and not have them. As far as cost goes, I'd PREFER to be under $1k each. I've seen some bridgeport mills on craigslist for $1,600. I don't have a lot of space, so they need to be relatively small and run off 110V.
Reply:Maybe look on Little Machine Shop for the smaller equipment?  If you want both for under a grand, your going to have to be looking for used & those are few & far between.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:1" thru hole on the head stock is going to put you in a moderately big lathe. Most of the ones I looked at were at least 13 x 40 or larger. Most of the import ones new, will set you back at least $4K for the basic machines, and they weigh over a ton. Used most of the stuff I looked at were all 3 phase if the price was decent. Smallish single phase lathes seem to bring a premium. You can find monster 3 phase lathes cheap all day long....No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Trust me, if I had room, I would cough up the extra cash and buy a REAL lathe. I would eventually like to open up a shop but until I finish school, I'm stuck working in my garage. Which is part of the reason why I want cheap equipment because I know one day I'll upgrade. And I guess it's nice to have smaller equipment to use for smaller jobs. Despite the negative reviews, I am starting to lean back towards a 3-in-1 one combo unit. I've found some for around $2-3k that have a 1-1/8" spindle bore, and an R8 taper for the mill. Unit weighs about 900# though... But it's compact enough for me to fit in my garage. From what I've heard, they're a pain to switch between methods, but that's something I can deal with considering I wouldn't use it that often.
Reply:You should be able to get a clausing or south bend lathe with  real change gears and threading capability plus a three and four jaw chuck with an RC collet shaft  pretty cheap As for the miller.   Older Index, Tree, and  Bridgeports are all over the place for about what you saw. I think you 1K number is the problem. You gotta add to that a  Couple of Drill Chucks and a Vice. Get a Kurt. There is no matching a Kurt.  Also a good sine plate and rotary table will be terrible useful.  Then there's the End Mills.  Stalk some local  big industry machine shops and see if they throw their used ones away. Little shops will have 'em reground but the bigger house may not. So for the trouble of picking through the rubbish you might get all you'll ever need. Remember - - - you get what you pay for in machinery.Picking out a miller involves you  bringing a very good indicator to the party and a long steel straight edge - about as long as the  table.You have to check the gibs and ways, the lead screws,  all for play and slop. Gibbs are adjustable - to a degree. If the machine was used in production for most of it's life doing just one job ( this is common) then the table's ways will be worn in that one small area more than the rest and if you can't detect it and avoid that machine, you'll end up needing to learn a whole new trade skill - - SCRAPING WAYS.  It's doable but not the sort of thing most folks want to tackle.Then ya gotta check the spindle.  A sloppy spindle can usually be fixed with new bearings - usually. Tram the head and  grab  the spindle and  push/pull on it while watching the indicator.  You can run any three phase machine on a  VFD type phase converter.  The tech has gotten so eqasy it's like hooking up a toaster.Check out this video[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOxNjsuUrZA[/ame]Just buy the correct size VFDYou can make a phase converter tooGet a honkin big 3-phase motor at a junkyard for scrap metal prices ("honkin big" being the technical term), open it up and replace the bearings. Clean it inspect it use a hack saw blade (hand held) to re-shape the commutator if it is worn down and replace the brushes, connect it to a 1-HP single phase electric motor VIA pulleys with a drop out to disconnect the pulleys from each other once it's all running , Use a Switch to wire 230 lines to two ( T1 & T2) of the 3-phase motor lines also run lines from these two PLUS the other line from that motor to power your three phase shop machinery.Use the single phase motor to get your three phase motor up and running, Disconnect the single phase 1-HP motor - and quick like a bunny - before the three phase motor slows down switch the power on to that motor and VIOLA ( pronounced Wala) you have three phase power.It is important to get the three phase motor up to it's rated running speed so the phases are timed correctly.You can improve the thing and even eliminate the starter motor with 400 volt run capacitors and a magnetic motor switch and such, but that's another story. Google will help.The VFD or a Phase Perfect digital converter is cheaper to runLast edited by Raul; 04-26-2013 at 09:58 AM.Hey~!! It's a hobby. It's not supposed to make sense~!!