"F. George McDuffee" wrote:

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:07:02 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
wrote:

I'm looking into purchasing a small combo lathe/mill. I could buy one of
each, but I don't have much room in my shop and, unless there's good
reasons to avoid the combo units, that's the way I'd like to go.
snip
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A great deal will depend on the types of projects you will be
working on.

For occasional milling, with mainly lathe work, take a long hard
look at a good medium size lathe with a milling attachment. Be
sure you get a lathe with power cross feed.

While a bit of a PITA to set up, you can kluge a low-cost milling
adapter using an inexpensive enco angle plate and your lathe
compound. See
http://mcduffee-associates.us/machin...theMilling.htm

As in much craft/hobby machining the Brits are miles ahead. I
suggest you spend 12$US, and get the book Milling Operations in
the Lathe (Workshop Practice Series, No 5) (Workshop Practice
Series, No 5) (Paperback) by Tubal Cain (Author) ISBN-10:
0852428405 ISBN-13: 978-0852428405
http://www.amazon.com/Milling-Operat...ef=pd_sim_b_14
This will give you a very good idea of what you can accomplish,
equipment needed, etc.

This is an interesting lead. I'm going to grab a couple of these books.

As to the use of a lathe for milling: I'll consider it, but as my budget
will cover a mill and lathe (either combo or separate units), I think it
will be easier for me (a beginner) to figure out milling operations on a
mill.

I'm also coming to the conclusion that a separate mill and lathe is
probably the way to go. There may be a few operations a combo unit will
excel at, but I can't think of them and the recommendations seem to
indicate that the combos are a compromise.

I'll be measuring the space in my garage before finalizing my decision.

--
Paul Hovnanian
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Have gnu, will travel.