Mel Long wrote:

Harbour frieght has a long bed 3 in 1 (lathe, milling, drilling) machine for
$1300. Anyone have opinions on this? I'm a knifemaker and just want a small
lathe and milling machine to do things like butt caps and pocket knives,
etc. I was thinking that this would be about right without buying the 2 big
machines. Thanks.




If it has a head that can be elevated, it might not be too bad. But, we
got one from
Enco that did not have any methid to change the distance between the
head and
the table, except quill movement, which is pretty short. It is almost
useless
as a mill. It makes a passable lathe, but just passable.

I'd get a small lathe and a mini-mill over the 3-in-1 if we had this to
do over
again. At $1300, you may save money, too. The lathe is small enough to put
in a drawer or on a shelf when not being used. The minimill can be broken
down quite easily, but is a bit heavy to pick up in one piece.

Jon

On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:32:08 -0600, "Mel Long" wrote:
Harbour frieght has a long bed 3 in 1 (lathe, milling, drilling) machine for
$1300. Anyone have opinions on this? I'm a knifemaker and just want a small
lathe and milling machine to do things like butt caps and pocket knives,
etc. I was thinking that this would be about right without buying the 2 big
machines. Thanks.

That machine is similar to earlier Shoptask machines. I had one of the
latter. It is actually not a bad lathe. It isn't a great mill, but it beats no mill.

Gary

Since this is also a drill, doesn't that take into account the elevation of
the head? I don't know the first thing about milling and metal lathe work.
I'll have to find info on it. Anyone know a good place to learn?

Mel


"Jon Elson" wrote in message
...


Mel Long wrote:

Harbour frieght has a long bed 3 in 1 (lathe, milling, drilling) machine
for
$1300. Anyone have opinions on this? I'm a knifemaker and just want a
small
lathe and milling machine to do things like butt caps and pocket knives,
etc. I was thinking that this would be about right without buying the 2
big
machines. Thanks.




If it has a head that can be elevated, it might not be too bad. But, we
got one from
Enco that did not have any methid to change the distance between the
head and
the table, except quill movement, which is pretty short. It is almost
useless
as a mill. It makes a passable lathe, but just passable.

I'd get a small lathe and a mini-mill over the 3-in-1 if we had this to
do over
again. At $1300, you may save money, too. The lathe is small enough to
put
in a drawer or on a shelf when not being used. The minimill can be broken
down quite easily, but is a bit heavy to pick up in one piece.

Jon