At the risk of offending the "Old Iron" contingent, I would recommend
you start with an Asian 7Xwhatever minilathe, and the companion
minimill. I cannot think of a bicycle part that will not fit into the
work envelope of these machines. Personally, I have a Logan lathe and an
Atlas, and I looked at a Rockwell lathe yesterday. I like to tinker with
this stuff, restoring them to near-new. But if my aim was to get tools
capable of machining small items quickly, it's hard to beat the Chink
stuff on bang-for-buck. And support for these is all over the web.
If I were buying today, I'd look at the Cummins lathe (comes with
most accessories) or the Homier, cheapest, but buy the $99 accessory
kit. One step up may be the Lathemaster 8x14, which appears to be
heavier overall.
The minimill from Homier is $399, no reason to pay more. The Homier
usually has an R8 spindle (ask), which is generally preferred, but there
may be some value in buying a minimill with MT3 spindle so you can share
tools with the lathe, which has MT3.
So for about $1000 you'd have the basic machinery. Dan's list of
measuring devices and small tools is priceless - print it out and start
shopping.


wrote:
I am just getting into metalworking, primarily with the aim of learning
small-scale machining and steel brazing. I would eventually like to be
able to fabricate small bicycle parts, such as shift levers and the
like. After reading through the "Home Machinist Handbook" I am still
just slightly confused about what pieces of equipment and hand tools I
will need.
I assume at minimum I am going to need a lathe and a mill, but am a bit
baffled by the variety of these, particularly in terms of price for the
micro/desktop units (from around $350 all the way up to $5000). The
sort of questions I have a is it reasonable to buy a combo
lathe/mill unit, or is it better to have dedicated equipment? Is the
low-end stuff (Harbor Freight) decent enough to get going or is it a
waste of money? If I know I eventually may want CNC capability, what is
the best mill to buy for the money?
Also, what other types of fabrication equipment are generally found to
be indispensible for making things like, say, specialty washers,
pulleys, ratchet gears/catches, etc.?
A broad (perhaps stupid) question, I know, but I am just not finding a
complete answer in my books or other sources, so thought I just go
ahead and seek advice from those who know, since I really do not want
to waste money on tools or capability I simply don't need. Any input
appreciated.