Question by Harpreet: what are recommendations of lathe and milling machines?
Greatest answer:
Answer by Dave B.
Honestly, the cheap-o Harbor Freight models that I’ve employed do the job each and every bit as effectively as the more costly brands. Each and every as soon as in awhile there’s a minor QA headache to deal with (my HF scroll saw was missing a rubber foot out of the box), but in all, the tools do what I need them to do for much less funds.
I have their 8″ benchtop lathe and it performs like a champ. I’ve turned a number of tool handles and dozens of pens and other projects on it. The bearings are precise, and there’s no wobble or play at all. The motor appears adequate for the job, and it only ever slows when I get truly aggressive with plunging a chisel into my operate. It has a soft start/quit function that performs nicely as well, and makes the lathe safer to operate.
I have not utilized their milling machine, but I hear great things about it from my buddy who owns it and makes use of it frequently. He fabricated replacements for all his mother’s kitchen cabinets, and even though I did not see the function in progress, I’ve noticed the outcomes, and they are stellar. Bast*rd tends to make me look like an amateur. I only have their low-end table router, and it works as well as any I’ve ever utilised, even if it really is ugly enough to scare tiny young children away.
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