Any good websites to check out machinery? I have looked at Enco, Smithy, etc,,,any other good ones? Any recommendations for a good 3-in1 machine for under $1k? Anyone, Bueller?
A 3-in-1 machine, like a lathe, mill, drill,,,I have seen some of them for around $1k or so. Just looking to start a thread on machinery for turning cylinder heads and bases, etc,,,Do you know of any good ones?
Eric has a Smithy in his shop and it has served him well over the years. I believe MACE bought one as well so you might want to PM him and ask about his experiences with it.
Hi JMAN,
The under 1K machines don't have much power. Save your money for the Smithy 1324 Granite, its under $3,000 with tooling kits. These are the tasks that I use my Smithy for;
Lathe side
1) Turning single cylinder heads of 2-strokes
2) Turning cylinder tops or bases
3) Making exhaust valve parts like bushings and such
4) Radiusing carb air-bells
5) Cutting 0-ring grooves in cylinders
Mill side
1) Boring holes in crankshafts (balance and pin holes)
2) Boring crankcases for rod clearance on stroker cranks
3) Boring bearing pockets that have been welded (crankcases, hubs, etc.)
4) Enlarging combustion chambers and squishbands for siamese twin two-stroke heads (snowmobiles, watercraft)
5) Facing heads and crankcases
Smithy also offers a 2 axis CNC kit for this model for under $2,000, that is if you're really ambitious :yeehaw:
Thanks fellas, I would probably only be doing mostly lathe work w/ two-stroke heads and cylinders, etc,,,the Granite sounds like the best deal. That is really cool if it comes w/ the tooling starter kit, b/c all those little goodies add up after a while. Rich, thanks for the ingo, I will pm MACE about his machine. Thanks again,,,
If all you need is a lathe, Jet makes an excellent 9x20 version with a simple tooling kit for under $1000 US. I've had mine for a while now and have been very happy with it.
This is a GREAT time to buy used machine tools.
A little more $$ will buy a lot MORE machine tool.
Shop your local auction houses for some bitchin' deals.
Just a thought...
SFO,
I used to get a flyer occasionally listing sales and such on machine tool.
Do you get anything like that? If so shoot me the name of it, I would like to get back on the mailing list of one.