Subject: Novice: which machine?

From: [email-masked] (GREGORY SCOTT HENDLEY)
Date: 30 Apr 1996 05:50:20 GMT

The extent of my knowledge on metals comes from a high school class 10 
years ago, this news group, and a few books that I have picked up at used 
book stores.  I picked up a copy of Home shop machinest and promptly sent 
out a check for a subscription, but what I am curious about is what 
machine to buy.  Smithy, Shoptask, Sherline (the lathe and the mill),........
So far, my metalworking tools are a drill that has been bolted to a desk 
(my lathe) and a Dremel tool (my mill).  Needless to say, the quality of 
work that I can turn out is limited (not bad, just limited) by size and 
tolerances.
Any advice, opinions, and experiences are welcome. 

Thanks in advance
	Gregory.
		[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (WRitt)
Date: 1 May 1996 02:04:22 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (GREGORY SCOTT

>Any advice, opinions, and experiences are welcome. 

What you buy depends on what size parts you want to machine.  You  can't
machine Harley Davidson  engine parts on a Sherline, and you don't want to
 machine 1/25 scale engine valve covers on a kneemill, believe me  you 
don't. Decide what you want to machine  and select a machine big enough to
do the job.

Bill Rittner

---

From: [email-masked] (James Kirkpatrick)
Date: 1 May 96 09:22:39 MDT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (GREGORY SCOTT HENDLEY) writes:
|>The extent of my knowledge on metals comes from a high school class 10 
|>years ago, this news group, and a few books that I have picked up at used 
|>book stores.  I picked up a copy of Home shop machinest and promptly sent 
|>out a check for a subscription, but what I am curious about is what 
|>machine to buy.  Smithy, Shoptask, Sherline (the lathe and the mill),........
|>So far, my metalworking tools are a drill that has been bolted to a desk 
|>(my lathe) and a Dremel tool (my mill).  Needless to say, the quality of 
|>work that I can turn out is limited (not bad, just limited) by size and 
|>tolerances.
|>Any advice, opinions, and experiences are welcome. 

This of course depends on the size/type of work you want to do, but around
here there is almost universal praize for Sherline equipment.  You just
about can't go wrong.  However, do note a few things about accessories:

  1.  The lathe comes with enough accessories (chucks, toolholder, etc) to
      get started right out of the box.  The mill is "plain" and comes with
      no extras.
  2.  You will eventually want to get nearly every add-on they make
      (I speak from experience).

Also, get a decent drill press.

Read the FAQ for this newsgroup, about which I will be posting more,
later today.

Jim