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Thread: New guy

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Perth, West Australia
    Age
    63
    Posts
    28

    Default New guy

    Hi,
    i have just joined, and to be honest, down have a huge amount of experience with fitting Turning. My main passion is restoring classic bikes. I have a Hafco AL50G lathe,
    a Hafco HM10 small mill/drill, a decent size drill press and have just acquired a herless SM1 vertical mill. Dont ask me why but i have.
    Anyway, I am thinking thati would be best served by selling them and buying or swapping them for a combination lathe /mill .
    I am short on space and dont use them a lot.
    Any advice on these much appreciated

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Norwood-ish, Adelaide
    Age
    59
    Posts
    6,540

    Default

    Unless you really have to, I would say don't.

    For starters, you are unlikely to get anything close to replacement cost for your existing machines, so if you decided in a few years time that you did need them after all, you would be considerably out of pocket.

    The next point is that combination machines always involve some compromise in design to get everything to fit with a reasonable work envelope. That translates for the user into something that is not quite as good as separate machines would be. If you were only doing small, light cuts, that would not be so bad but as soon as you want to remove relatively large amounts of metal it will likely be slower and not give you as good results. People still buy them and get acceptable results but they haven't pushed comparable separate machines to extinction yet...

    Michael

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    35
    Posts
    1,522

    Default

    Welcome to the forum! Combination machines are total junk, you would be better just keeping two of your four current machines. I'd probably lose the drill press and HM10.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
    Posts
    3,228

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Rocker View Post
    Anyway, I am thinking thati would be best served by selling them and buying or swapping them for a combination lathe /mill .
    Hello and welcome to the forum. Do you have a particular combination machine in mind?
    Chris

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Perth, West Australia
    Age
    63
    Posts
    28

    Default

    Thanks for your views, I think the best way to go would be to keep the lathe and turn the big mill, drill press and small mill drill into a decent mid size mill drill bench mounted?
    One of the drivers is lack of space .

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    35
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    Default

    Probably above all else id keep the sm1, Its a lot more capable than the other two and not that big. you could maybe build that and the lathe onto a tight little bench to save space.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Perth, West Australia
    Age
    63
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    28

    Default

    sm1.JPGThis is my problem

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    Hi and Welcome to a TOP FORUM.
    Your problem is easily solved, get some pallet racking and make a few frames to hold the bikes, then get a walkie stacker and stack the bikes on top of each other!!! If you sell a machine, you'll wish that you hadn't, the monetary loss etc. Do you have any GOOD friends close by that are into the same thing as you, could they store/use the machine???
    You are not alone in the shortage of space, it's everyones problem. No matter how big a shed you have, it's never big enough.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Frankston south
    Posts
    102

    Default

    I know WA is on the other side of oz to where I am, but I didn't realise pictures have a different orientation..............Keep the SM1

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Rockhampton, QLD
    Age
    68
    Posts
    454

    Default

    Welcome to the forum.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Healesville
    Posts
    2,129

    Default

    It is this simple, you need to get a mrs with more money and get a bigger shed, or if the shed is connected to the house you could knock a hole thru the wall into a bedroom, or lounge room, it doesn't matter, if the mrs complains get a new one
    I had 28 or so pommie and usa bikes and had to sell them when we had the "recession that we had to have" to feed kids and pay bills..... yeah it hurt.

    cheers, shed

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    6,439

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by waxen View Post
    I know WA is on the other side of oz to where I am, but I didn't realise pictures have a different orientation..............Keep the SM1
    That is why is called "Down Under" here
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    269

    Default

    Space is a problem we all have when starting out. I had one of those combi machines, served its purpose as a starter, while doing a m achining course at TAFE, and learning on bigger 3 phase lathes, i sold it to a fellow student and bought a bigger machine. Like you, have bugger all room to move, Dragon has her car on one side of the garage, me on the other. Bit the bullet and built another shed that backs onto the existing garage.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    332

    Default

    Hi Johnny,
    As others have mentioned, keep the SM1 its quite a capable and versatile little machine and if fitted with a VFD more so, it was one of the first milling machines I had. As for space no real suggestions apart from what has been said, long span shelving is readily available at reasonable prices, several sellers in the Welshpool area. Alan.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Perth, West Australia
    Age
    63
    Posts
    28

    Default

    Well, I did suggest to SWMBO that she could park her can on the street, I could then park mine in the drive and hey presto! problem solvered. She did quite see it that way and declined my problem solving offer.

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