A question

[artme]

I know many penmakers on this site use metalworking machines.

what are the thoughts of those people on the combination lathe/mill/drill machines? Smaller ones of course.

 

[artme]

Does anyone have an opinion?

 

[dogcatcher]

They save space in the shop. For occasional use I would say they are okay, but for daily use of both the mill and lathe function you have to change the set up each time. I prefer separate machines.

 

[Daniel]

Are you asking about something like the shop smith? If so I used to hear a lot of memebr commenting on them. They work very well and are a huge space saver. they are also a big money saver when you are just starting out. as has already been mentioned there biggest draw back is the set up time. but when it is all you have room for most people do not seem to mind to much.

 

[Mike of the North]

This web site has a forum dedicated to the 3 in1 machines you can get a lot of your questions answered there.
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/

 

[bitshird]

Does anyone have an opinion?

My opinion is save your money, they don't perform either function very well as tyour work envelope is quite restricted, you would be much better off buying a 7 X 10 or 12 and a Taig mill then you have some decent work room, the constraint changing from Mill to Lathe is a pain,
Keep in mind this is just an opinion, ans some are sure to differ.

 

[artme]

Thanks fellas.:star:
I had sort of come to similar conclusions after doing lots of other reading. Nothing like the opinions of thosw who have had experience , however.