Compare Chineese Lathes

[RedDirt]

Thanks for all the input.

I spent some time at the home machinist site specifically searching the comparison issue and with a few exceptions the general consensus is that if it looks and specs the same then there is no difference between the quality of various "brands". I read nothing that said "Oh yeah, XXX is consistently a far better machine than YYY". I was surprised to see that even Jet lathes fell into the same category as they historically have a better reputation than the cheaper brands. I was also surprised to see how many thought their Harbor Freight was every bit as good as the others. But like mrennie says, they'd likely feel differently if they ever experienced a truly quality machine.

This said, I can appreciate JMC's point about the higher rated companies, Jet, Grizzly, etc, paying high dollar and getting the first run machines. This makes sense and I suspected this was the case but the other machinist sites do not back up this theory so it is still a guess.

The combo machine that EE-Bota posted is what I have recently been considering. His experience with the ways as well as his other comments and comments by others have me waffling again.

I do understand a low end new Chinese machine will not hold a candle to old USA iron that is in good shape but the caveate is that old iron needs to be in good shape. There are a lot of used machines to choose from and it would be very easy for a novice to buy an old dog.

I also understand certain limitations of a combination machine but my workspace and pocketbook have limitations too. I probably mislead by mentioning "precision" in my original post. I am a fabricator not a machinist. I am looking to fit pins, bushings, cut a shaft keyway, build sliding mounting plates and other "close" tolerance stuff rather than what a bone fide machinist would call truly precision components.

I had been looking at a local 12x36 Craftsman/Atlas this past week for $400 with the milling attachment and a little tooling but I got cold feet when I began discovering a multitude on "little" things. This lathe belongs to a friend I've known for thirty plus years and I know for a fact the machine has had only sporadic use and relatively little use since he bought it second hand in the sixty's. I don't think it's even been fired up in over ten years. But I also know that Don tends to be a bit heavy handed, not too meticulous, and not very maintenance concious. With almost thirty "daily" lube points I fear some of them haven't been lubed since he's owned it.

I am looking for a lathe to do work, not a lathe to work on. For starters the Atlas has a broken lead screw bearing. It is replaceable but for $100 new or be patient on ebay for about $40-$50. But without the bearing I can't run the feeds and see how they feel or sound. I found the half nut housing very loose and discovered one of the two housing nuts was missing. Who knows how long it was run with it missing. Besides those things, everything moves very stiffly (it needs a serious clean up), there are some minor dings and some (maybe) signs of wear on the ways, some small dings in the head and tailstock tapers and then I discovered a slight bow in the ways. Besides considering the half nuts may need replacing along with the leadscrew bearing, the bow was what scared me the most even though the operator manual says the feet can be shimmed to take out a concave or convex bow in the (flat) ways. I'm not knowlegable enough to tell whether the bow is from wear or misalignment.

I think most of these things could be fixed and the lathe would probably be at least as good (probably better) than a new import. But at what cost in time and dollars? Passing on the Atlas got me rethinking a new import that I could put to work with relatively little fuss. Now, reading this and Home Machinist posts, it seems the imports are likely to need tweaking too.

Time is on my side. This is a "want" tool not a "need" tool so I can afford to wait. I have another friend that is a fine machinist and maybe I can enlist his help finding American iron (or "other") in good condition.

 

[mjncad]

I know my model-maker's Unimat SL-1000 is a toy; but it's a 3-n-1 type of machine and is frustrating to use because it can only do everything in a mediocre way instead of one thing very well. The milling machine setup is the worst since it uses a round post to hold the power-head with no lead screw to accurately move it up and down. I added a lead screw; but without a key-way or other method to keep the head aligned, it shimmies like a belly dancer when one turns the lead screw.

KennyD and a friend/ex-coworker have Grizzly mill/drills and their biggest frustration is the round column. It has a similar problem of staying in alignment as my Unimat or a conventional drill-press. There are square column mill/drills out there. They're not as good as a Bridgeport style mill; but may suffice for your needs.

I suggest you buy a decent lathe whether new or used, and then go after a mill at a later date. If multi-purpose machines are so good, ShopSmith would be a major player in the woodworking tools market. I understand the $$$$ and space issues; but you're looking to make a significant purchase.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I bought Logan 10" while ago and for the price you can't beat it. Thread cutting is a hassle and the price for replacement gears is almost prohibitive and it is also warn out in some position.

Conclusion: I am happy with it, I learned a lot and done a lot with it I would otherwise had to outsource. If I had to do it all over again, I would find some package with tooling and lathe with a gear box for more money - Chinese or not - but more complete than the Logan.

My $0.02 only of course.

 

[FlaDon]

Thanks for all the input.

I spent some time at the home machinist site specifically searching the comparison issue and with a few exceptions the general consensus is that if it looks and specs the same then there is no difference between the quality of various "brands". I read nothing that said "Oh yeah, XXX is consistently a far better machine than YYY". I was surprised to see that even Jet lathes fell into the same category as they historically have a better reputation than the cheaper brands. I was also surprised to see how many thought their Harbor Freight was every bit as good as the others. But like mrennie says, they'd likely feel differently if they ever experienced a truly quality machine.

This said, I can appreciate JMC's point about the higher rated companies, Jet, Grizzly, etc, paying high dollar and getting the first run machines. This makes sense and I suspected this was the case but the other machinist sites do not back up this theory so it is still a guess.

The combo machine that EE-Bota posted is what I have recently been considering. His experience with the ways as well as his other comments and comments by others have me waffling again.

I do understand a low end new Chinese machine will not hold a candle to old USA iron that is in good shape but the caveate is that old iron needs to be in good shape. There are a lot of used machines to choose from and it would be very easy for a novice to buy an old dog.

I also understand certain limitations of a combination machine but my workspace and pocketbook have limitations too. I probably mislead by mentioning "precision" in my original post. I am a fabricator not a machinist. I am looking to fit pins, bushings, cut a shaft keyway, build sliding mounting plates and other "close" tolerance stuff rather than what a bone fide machinist would call truly precision components.

I had been looking at a local 12x36 Craftsman/Atlas this past week for $400 with the milling attachment and a little tooling but I got cold feet when I began discovering a multitude on "little" things. This lathe belongs to a friend I've known for thirty plus years and I know for a fact the machine has had only sporadic use and relatively little use since he bought it second hand in the sixty's. I don't think it's even been fired up in over ten years. But I also know that Don tends to be a bit heavy handed, not too meticulous, and not very maintenance concious. With almost thirty "daily" lube points I fear some of them haven't been lubed since he's owned it.

I am looking for a lathe to do work, not a lathe to work on. For starters the Atlas has a broken lead screw bearing. It is replaceable but for $100 new or be patient on ebay for about $40-$50. But without the bearing I can't run the feeds and see how they feel or sound. I found the half nut housing very loose and discovered one of the two housing nuts was missing. Who knows how long it was run with it missing. Besides those things, everything moves very stiffly (it needs a serious clean up), there are some minor dings and some (maybe) signs of wear on the ways, some small dings in the head and tailstock tapers and then I discovered a slight bow in the ways. Besides considering the half nuts may need replacing along with the leadscrew bearing, the bow was what scared me the most even though the operator manual says the feet can be shimmed to take out a concave or convex bow in the (flat) ways. I'm not knowlegable enough to tell whether the bow is from wear or misalignment.

I think most of these things could be fixed and the lathe would probably be at least as good (probably better) than a new import. But at what cost in time and dollars? Passing on the Atlas got me rethinking a new import that I could put to work with relatively little fuss. Now, reading this and Home Machinist posts, it seems the imports are likely to need tweaking too.

Time is on my side. This is a "want" tool not a "need" tool so I can afford to wait. I have another friend that is a fine machinist and maybe I can enlist his help finding American iron (or "other") in good condition.

The difference between a tool operator and a machinist is the the machinist takes care of his tools and knows how to overcome the machine's shortcomings. A machinist with a worn tool can still get as good a result ( within reason ) as a tool operator with brand new tools. For a lathe, a rigid, true running headstock and good ways are the most important. You can overcome a worn leadscrew. For a mill, you need a rigid column, head, and table while still being able to move them as needed. You can even mill with a drill press if you understand its limits.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Well put, SlaDon.

 

[akpilot]

Red Dirt

It's true US built (anything ) is usually better than an import and that is certainly true with the Lathes and Mills, however Price and availability have to be figured in.

A few observations from the research I've done

1) I looked a long time for a Lathe in our area, all I found was junk or one that the owner thought they were made of gold I found one in the states that "looked good" (taking the owners word for it is a little scary) but the shipping was almost the same as buying a new one and having it delivered. If you live in an area that US made lathes are readily available, I definitely look around, I would find someone who knew what they were looking in an attempt to weed through the junk!

2) 3-in-1: I started off looking for the same thing, however most people that have used one of these are hesitant to endorse the idea. I was told on more than once the "yes they are three in one, however they don't do any of them very well" This all depends on the size of your shop, if you have very limited space than this may be the only option.

3) Size: As other have said, I would buy as big as practical.

4) And I think most importantly it depends what your going to do with it, sounds like you are in a similar situation as I am, wanting to do some tinkering and a little home R&D If your looking for ultra precision then may want to look a little deeper.

After what I think is sound advice I didn't buy a 3-in-1 I bought a Lathe and still looking and saving for the Mill. Since I'm novice and not doing highly precision work I chose to buy a Grizzly 12x36 (Gunsmith model) I figured that would increase it's accuracy. I'm very pleased with it so far.

Good Luck

 

[GuglioLS]

Red Dirt PM'd me and and Scotty asked the question about my harbor freight multi tool on Brads Grapple thread. Here are the compilation of my response with some additional thoughts...

Scotty - I thought it more appropriate to answer your question here on a PM rather than hijack Brads grapple thread talking about my H/F multi tool.

RedDirt:
Okay so here goes....

[FONT=&quot]Overall I'm quite pleased with the H/F multi tool. Some of the pros are:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. Low cost, fits a budget for a miser like me.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. The Lathe works great for turning, boring, threading, and drilling out the center of round stock.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. As a drill press it's fantastic, especially for drilling large holes. I have drilled many 1" holes and as large as 1.5". The lowest speed setting I think is 120 RPM, for large drill bits and using hole saws that slow speed is really great. It also works just as well drilling smaller holes with the higher speed settings.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4. Boring with a boring bar works quite well too.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]5. Small size to fit a small shop.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Cons:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. As a milling machine it sucks, it chatters really bad with the larger mill bits, although I have been able to mill, I just have to go slow and make very small passes and .02" to .04" depth at most (time consuming). Don't expect too much from the milling machine function. Also do not expect to cut too many key slots in shafts, it's not going to work all that well for doing that. Although I did cut some key slots it was a pain and time consuming.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2. The "T" slots in the table are non standard so you have to search to find metric or odd "T" nuts or make your own or like I did mill down some standard "T" nuts to fit. Perhaps they fixed that? I got mine about 3 years ago and it may be improved now?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3. It does not come with a stand, it's a "Bench top" but setting it on a bench would be way too high, so I made a steel stand that's about 2' high and bolted it to that.[/FONT]

4. When using it as a drill press expect to be creative clamping the work piece with the use of 123 or even 456 blocks. To some this may seem a PITA but I find it a fun challenge. I own a dedicated drill press, but for larger holes I prefer the power and slower speed on my multi tool.

5. Threading rod HaHaHa, it can be done but your better off buying threaded rod or bolts because figuring out the gears to use even with the chart to change the gears is not a no brainier (for me anyway). To overcome that I just use a die and run it on the rod to thread the end.

[FONT=&quot]Be advised you have to purchase a ton of tool bits, mill bits, boring bars, boring bar holder, 123 blocks, carbide bits, clamp sets, vice(s), rotary table etc. if you want to use the machine to make anything worthwhile. The machine as is, is just the machine, it comes with one tool post. Expect to shell out at least another grand or more tooling it up. But that can be done in stages as the need arises, thats what I did.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Overall it's a good buy for a home shop hack like myself on a low budget and limited shop space. You must also understand it's limitations and work arounds.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For those of you who have checked out any of my threads, Obviously I have been able to use it to fabricate quite a few projects on my own. I'm especially pleased (proud) of the work I was able to perform with it making my dump trailer, Landscape rake from scratch, FEL upgrade for my 1953 ford, Grapple Jaws, 360* rotating back blade project (with allot of help from Rob (3RRL), and on and on....[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If I had to do it all over again, sure I would. It's a great starter tool for a low budget and limited space. Someday I might spring for a good used full size milling machine and then a lathe. But then again I would need a place to put big machines like that. And can you really justify the expense and space for a tool you might use once in a while? I suppose you have to decide what it is your going to use it for. If you expect to do allot of milling, save your money and get a "real" milling machine. If you want to tackle smaller home shop stuff like I have then it's a good buy. Especially if you want to get started right away and not save up for a larger unit or the time (years?) waiting for just the right local deal.[/FONT]

If your looking for justification to buy, the heck with it, just go get the darn thing and live with it. Thats pretty much what I did. If you find it's a piece-O-crap, take it back.

Now that I have a taste for "machining" I have an appreciation for what a "real" machine with a DRO might be able to do and with less effort. But lets face it, I've already completed many of my "must have" and really wanted to do projects with that el-cheapo machine.

[FONT=&quot]Hope that helps answer your questions.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Best regards,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Larry[/FONT]

 

[toy]

Guglio you mentioned needing to get a rotary table as an accessory for the mill, just so happens I got a 8inch rotary table for Christmas. I haven't got to use it yet but when I started to put the little positioning key steel in their slot on the rotary table the predrilled holes in the key still matched up with the predrilled holes in the table in three locations but on one of the slots it seemed off center. The casting of the slot in the rotary table had a bur on it and I took it off and the key steel would fit the slot but the drilled hole needed to go over more in the direction of the bur. I have thought about sending it back but then again I have a milling machine. I am thinking that the slot in the table needs milled over just a little but when I got my try square to check it I checked for the square's accuracy { supposed to be a machinest square import ]. When I get an accurate square to see for sure which peice needs to be milled I believe I can do it. Would you have sent the rotary table back or would you have challenged yourself to correct this piece yourself just for the experience? The slot that I am talking about is used when you have the rotary table in the vertical position. Also is it necessary to use both of those key slots to align it and hold it in square position? I would appreciate your opinions on that or anyone else that might have an opinion on it. I will be getting an accurate square soon hopefully.

I don't get much time to mess with it, but I know that it will be an enjoyable hobby. I also got the indexing plates to go with it but I never got to get them out of the box to check them out yet. Thanks for any replies.

 

[mjncad]

After what I think is sound advice I didn't buy a 3-in-1 I bought a Lathe and still looking and saving for the Mill. Since I'm novice and not doing highly precision work I chose to buy a Grizzly 12x36 (Gunsmith model) I figured that would increase it's accuracy. I'm very pleased with it so far.

Good Luck

Please enlighten me to the differences between Grizzly's regular lathes and their gunsmith ones. Are the gunsmith ones more accurate than their regular lathes, or are there specific features catering to gunmakers?

I notice Grizzly offers toolroom lathes, which I suspect are their versions of highly accurate Hardinge lathes.

Has anyone else noticed that Grizzly is marketing 'South Bend' lathes, mills and bandsaws? Based on the pictures they appear to be rebadged Grizzly's since a friend told me South Bend went belly up in the 70's due to labor squabbles.

 

[mjncad]

Larry:

Thanks for posting your experiences with your 3-n-1 machine as you are the only one I know who does a lot of work with one.

 

[toy]

Please enlighten me to the differences between Grizzly's regular lathes and their gunsmith ones. Are the gunsmith ones more accurate than their regular lathes, or are there specific features catering to gunmakers?

I notice Grizzly offers toolroom lathes, which I suspect are their versions of highly accurate Hardinge lathes.

Has anyone else noticed that Grizzly is marketing 'South Bend' lathes, mills and bandsaws? Based on the pictures they appear to be rebadged Grizzly's since a friend told me South Bend went belly up in the 70's due to labor squabbles.

I did a little reading about the south bend going under and to me it seemed a little more complex than that. If I understand what happened the south bend company was about to go under and they was bought out. They began to prosper again somewhat but the managers of the company didn't want to share with the new owners of the company and that led to the labor problem. It was an interesting study and an experiment that I wish had been successful.

 

[RedDirt]

Based a lot on Larry's informative reply to my PM (above) I may simply opt for the 3 in 1 (and deal with its limitations) as my situation is quite similar to his. I want to dabble in lathe and mill work but I don't have a lot of money or space to dedicate to this endeavor.

If I decide on a dedicated lathe I like akpilots 12x36 but Grizzly's 10x 22 or 11x26 would be pushing my budget. But by then the 11x26 is getting real close to HF's 12x36 (w/20% discount coupon) so...

I have a few months before I make the plunge. In the meantime my machinist friend who helped on my snowblower conversion is going to help me find a good used late. If nothing surfaces I'll likely do the 3 in 1 or a med/small dedicated lathe like the 10x22.

 

[MJPetersen]

I also debated for a long time what I would get. I considered the 3 in 1 and almost went that way, but reading on the forums and machinist guys all seemed to not think that they were very practical. Therefore I considered the different options for a regular lathe. I decided that the headstock through size and the length that I had in my mind that I would need for my projects and decided on the 12X36. I have not made that many things with it and have not yet tried threading, but I have enjoyed using it in making pins, a roller for sliding door, spacers for a bike, bearing spindle and spacer for my gauge wheels and various other things. i certainly like the convenience of having it when I want to make something.

It is heavy and to move it into my shop area I had to be creative--the forks I made worked well, but the front wheels did not want to stay on the ground. By adding an extra 3 phase 7 hp motor that I have and sitting on the hood and driving backwards I got it into position where I lifted it with an engine hoist.

My lathe is very similar to Mark's (AKpilot). I am very much an amateur, but I am using it to learn and do the projects that I need. I am gradually adding tooling to be able to do more.

Mike

 

[GE222]

With the economy being the way it is, and so many companies closing their doors, now is the best time to find used equipment. As a bonus, often times the machine will include a fair amount of tooling, which by itself can get pretty pricey. Be patient, and plan on a road trip. As per usual, just when you find one and purchase it, a better machine always comes along.

My lathe is a South Bend 10" swing with a taper attachment. Do I wish it was bigger, sometimes, but as with most of use, shop space is always a premium. If my machine can't handle it, it is pretty easy to find someone who will do it for a very reasonable cost. I am tall, and hate bending over, so most of my machines which need to be stable are bolted to custom made pallets. Having a pallet jack makes then easy to move around the shop.

Other movable machines are on 3 layer plywood platforms with 6" steel wheel casters.

 

[akpilot]

Please enlighten me to the differences between Grizzly's regular lathes and their gunsmith ones. Are the gunsmith ones more accurate than their regular lathes, or are there specific features catering to gunmakers?

MJNCAD: The main difference with the "Gunsmith" model is the spindle support (see pic), closer tolerance on the spindle bearing and a larger spindle bore (1 5/8") The rest may be hype, not sure

I like the larger spindle bore and support, works great for threading shafts, turning projects on longer stock, ETC....

 

[Kernopelli]

Larry really summed up the 3-in-1 well and pretty much echos my experiences with one. OK starter machine, better lathe than mill, decent as a drill press ( but I like my drill press better myself), has its peculiarities and faults. As I mentioned before, I bought mine from a freight recovery and returns company off ebay for a little over $300 including pick up charge. Mine was literally like new and came just as HF sells it, some are missing things like tool post or dead center, etc. This company sells a lot of HF items and they are located in Lebanon TN. They have these 3-in-1's, lathes and mini lathes fairly often and they usually seem to sell in the $200-$400 range. They had 4 of them for sale last week ( 1 of the large 3-in-1's and 3 lathes). Shipping can be pretty steep and I feel that adds to the risk of buying a "used" machine (caveot emptor) but anyone within driving distance of Nashville area might want to watch their auctions or go to one of their live auctions on Saturdays and look at a machine they're interested in and maybe get one of these at a cheap price. I won't post a link since it is against TBN policy but the name of the company is Tadd Wholesale Supply. An ebay search for the word "tadd" will usually bring up one of their auctions and then you can click on "visit store" and see what they've got. They don't have them all the time so persistent watching is the key here.

Anyway, even though I think I got a bargain and I have used it extensively, I wish I had been able to find a bigger old lathe and mill and tried to make room for them. I will also bring up the something I touched on before and Larry discussed and that's tooling. I started off without any tooling for the mill and initially just bought some HF indexable 1/2" lathe bits. As time went by, I slowly and relatively inexpensively found bargains on ebay and built up what I had. I finally hit a couple of local auctions and stumbled across the mother load, picking up a substantial amount of tooling for pennies on the dollar. I have talked to a few guys through the years that have gotten their old U.S iron complete with tooling and if a guy is lucky, he can save thousands this way. I have heard more than a few stories about guys that have $1000 in their quality old lathe, mill and tooling. My best friend is one of them, I have been lucky...just not that lucky!

 

[dfkrug]

Overall I'm quite pleased with the H/F multi tool.

Let me add my name to others' and say thx for a informative post, Larry.

You have certainly gotten a lot out of that mill/drill. It is especially
valuable to hear from someone who has had actual experience using these
units to make things. I know lots of machinists who have serious name-
brand machines in their workshops, and of course they say not to get
those combo units. But no personal experience. And of course lots of
people buy "hobbiest" machines and never use them.

I would love to have one of those Grizzley G4000s, but space is such a
concern that I have traded off capacity for size. I HAVE sent out lathe
work before, and that is not my preference.

There is certainly nothing wrong with trying to save money on your tools.
You are only a miser if you elect not to spend your money at all.

 

[GuglioLS]

Guglio you mentioned needing to get a rotary table as an accessory for the mill, just so happens I got a 8inch rotary table for Christmas. I haven't got to use it yet but when I started to put the little positioning key steel in their slot on the rotary table the predrilled holes in the key still matched up with the predrilled holes in the table in three locations but on one of the slots it seemed off center. The casting of the slot in the rotary table had a bur on it and I took it off and the key steel would fit the slot but the drilled hole needed to go over more in the direction of the bur. I have thought about sending it back but then again I have a milling machine. I am thinking that the slot in the table needs milled over just a little but when I got my try square to check it I checked for the square's accuracy { supposed to be a machinest square import ]. When I get an accurate square to see for sure which peice needs to be milled I believe I can do it. Would you have sent the rotary table back or would you have challenged yourself to correct this piece yourself just for the experience? The slot that I am talking about is used when you have the rotary table in the vertical position. Also is it necessary to use both of those key slots to align it and hold it in square position? I would appreciate your opinions on that or anyone else that might have an opinion on it. I will be getting an accurate square soon hopefully.

I don't get much time to mess with it, but I know that it will be an enjoyable hobby. I also got the indexing plates to go with it but I never got to get them out of the box to check them out yet. Thanks for any replies.

IMHO....
If you think you can mill out the mounting hole that's out of position, then by all means go for it. If it looks like your going to trash the table in your attempt then better take it back, complain and get one that's cast and machined properly. Thats what I would do. A Rotary table in the vertical position needs to be mounted dead nuts or your results will vary. Obviously mounting it Horizontal is no problem just so long as it's flat (parallel) to the table your good to go as you then index the table to the tool.

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Since were talking about the multi tool here are some pics in no particular order of a few things made with it:

I needed a 2-7/16" hole for a king pin (landscape rake from scratch). The work piece was clamped onto the cross slide, index to center then drill a pilot hole. A press fit was desired for the king pin so the next smaller size (2-3/8") hole saw was used. After pushing the hole saw through both sides, a boring bar was used to get the ID under sized by .003" for a press fit.

Notice the use of 123 and or 456 blocks? The below setup really illustrates why I like using the 3in1 as a drill press vs my dedicated drill press. This is especially true with larger stock because you can clamp down the stock to the table, then index the table to the center of the drill. You can't do that on a drill press with a fixed (X-Y) drill press table.




More random pics of the size and scope of the landscape rake build:




The PIC below shows how I use my drill press table to support large stock on the 3-1 machine. I tried to plan the placement of all my shop tools and table heights so that most tables and tools can support long stock from one bench / tool to the next.




Making a bending tool build for my 20 ton press:
Here is what happens when you forget to clear the drill shavings. What a tangled mess. After removing all that, a 1.5" drill bit was pushed into the anvil holder....




Milling round stock....Notice all the 123, 456 blocks, "V" block and clamps?




Getting ready to mill rounded ends on 1/2" thick stock using a rotary table:




CRAZY big stuff on my little 3in1! The huge index plate you see was plasma cut, but I fine tuned all the plasma cut holes on the 3in1:






Just in case you were curious? This is the end result. Amazing what one can do with a little determination, ingenuity (angle grinder) and that little 3in1

 

[GuglioLS]

Here are some Redneck (American Genius) things I've done with my 3in1.
Yes I mounted an angle grinder on the table to true up the edge of a flywheel. I made this project for TBN member Skunkwerx. I call it "Poor Mans Surface Grinder" It worked!

A few reasons I did that:
The metal was "stubborn", for some reason a carbide bit on the tool post was not cutting very well. Probably because I had no good way to chuck this thing up, it kept slipping on the makeshift shaft I had bolted it to and chucked in the jaws.

This is just one work around for accomplishing something the 3in1 was not meant for.




Larry