Cheap lathe and mill.

I wish I'd kept my old lathe and mill. Now I'm going to need one for various things on the car 

I've seen Chinese combo units cheap and wonder if for the little they are asking if one might do?  
I've got an old wobbly Atlas bench top lathe but no tail stock.  The cheapest I've seen them is $210  which gets me more than 1/2 way to some combo's

The combo units don't do anything well. I would pick up the HF mini-mill and mini-lathe instead. They are fairly capable and don't take up a lot of room in the shop. 

In reply to Toyman! :

Thanks.  

I have to agree, I ran one combo machine once and it was an exercise in frustration. The HF ones are workable, the Grizzly ones can be decent. I also like Sherlines. They aren't big or heavy but they are accurate and nice to work with, especially for small aluminum parts.

How much room working space do you need in your mill and lathe?  The cheapy combo units are pretty small, and at least in a mill - that space gets eaten up real fast with part holding and tooling.

I think Tim Suddard had a combo smithy unit, so maybe Tom or Tim will chime in with direct experience.

LittleMachineShop.com has great stuff for sale as well.  Solid prices.

NY Nick said:I

I have to agree, I ran one combo machine once and it was an exercise in frustration. The HF ones are workable, the Grizzly ones can be decent. I also like Sherlines. They aren't big or heavy but they are accurate and nice to work with, especially for small aluminum parts.

I'll be making aluminum bushings. Sub frame bushings, probably 3"x 2" will be as big as it gets.  
 I'm used to working with worn sloppy  equipment. Shims are your friends.   Be prepared to go slow and make light cuts.  My vertical mill was an old overhead flat belt  that had been converted  to electric motor sometime in the 1930's  the actual mill was made in 1880.  About 4000 pounds. 
     My Lathe was a old tool room lathe pre WW1. 

Brotus7 said:

How much room working space do you need in your mill and lathe?  The cheapy combo units are pretty small, and at least in a mill - that space gets eaten up real fast with part holding and tooling.

I think Tim Suddard had a combo smithy unit, so maybe Tom or Tim will chime in with direct experience.

My shop is 1800 sq ft. But stuffed with a lotta wood. Small makes sense but cheap is better. If I found a big old cheap piece I'd make the space. 

You can probably find a South Bend 9 for less than the Harbor Freight. It will still be fairly compact and do the job. It may also come with tooling which eats up a lot of money fast. 

Toyman! said:

You can probably find a South Bend 9 for less than the Harbor Freight. It will still be fairly compact and do the job. It may also come with tooling which eats up a lot of money fast. 

     The old me would be on my way over to Harbor Freight credit card in hand.  But those were the days when whatever I spent would be paid off with my next commission check. 
  Since 2008 I've been extremely prudent about my spending.  Cash in hand before I buy. 

Here's a combo for sale  but pricing seems strong  

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/for/d/minneapolis-combo-lathe-mill-drill-press/7436007475.html

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

I checked that site but the owner had already withdrawn it.