Welding Tips and Tricks

Now that I have my welder at home, I'm thinking of a cheap lathe/mill to make copper backups for things I'll do a lot of. I've read some reviews on the harbor freight mills/lathes and for the most part they were positive. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with them here? I am new to machining also so don't want to dump a bunch of money on a mill in the event I don't use it a lot or suck at it

Sounds to me like "generally usefull" is more important than "extremely precise", and reliablility is a concern. I suspect, for an extra ten dollars or so, you can get the "extended warranty" where you can exchange it any time "no questions asked".

Go for it. It should be more than precise enough for the use you describe, and it might surprise you.

Steve S

I have a Harbor Freight mini lathe and have found it to work well for small jobs and prototypes. I am not a machinist but I do have a interest in lathes and mills. One thing I would advise it to purchase extra fuses, they will blow very easily when you get it stuck (ask me how I know lol). The largest item I have made so far is a set of flange pins and it did ok but pushed the limits and takes a while to finish. For the money I think you cant go wrong for a hobbyist or for small prototypes.

Moved to the new Metal Cutting/Prep work forum.

I am in a similar boat: while I have succeeded at most of my construction, welding, engineering endeavours, I have never run a lathe or mill ... until recently. And I didn't want to pay a lot to find out that I had "no talent or interest" once the chips started to turn tan.

So, I looked at mini-mills, combination lathe-mill machines, and mini-lathes.

I was frightened off by the cost difference between a cheap bench mill from China, and a cheap mini-mill from China: about $200. That is, why not spend the extra and get what is described as a small, industrial quality machine that can make parts about 400 mm cube size?

I have nothing bad to say about the quality. The spindle was very accurate on arrival (after clean-up, installation, etc, I used the dial test indicator check against the table; and it machines a surface flat, according to my engineer's squares-- if spindle not true, then a concave surface is milled).

These are early days, but I'm steadily becoming confident in my machine.

I am used to undershooting my tools, and often bought "suck it and see" tools which I quickly grew out of, now so I try to avoid this.

And, mills have a great re-sale value. If you have a mistake on your hands ... sell. (This also works for people who buy mini-tools: they resell quickly and for a good price.)

In short, if anybody asked me, I would say, "Only buy a mini - lathe/mill if you know it is the right tool for your needs. Otherwise, go somewhat bigger, more powerful, robust. As your skills grow, your applications will expand. And the price difference is about 20%."

I've been thinking about buying a HF lathe to make dies for my bead roller and Ewheel, but I've been waiting to see what others have to say about them first..seems like it may be a good option to having them made for me.

I would use any excuse to learn new skills, like "serviceable" metal turning. It is just a matter of what is the wisest use of funds (after having decided to buy a lathe): 1) buy a tool for the job in front of you today, or 2) buy a tool that will easily do this job today, and one twice as big tomorrow.

Too often I have not gone the second road, and I should have done. Once you get some skills it is amazing how you can see further opportunities, and two years later you are reborn.

I am also quite keen on industrial machinery from China. Fifteen years ago I wasn't. And, if I can buy a locally made tool that does my job, then that is my preference. But so often the choice is local brand made in China, or no-name brand, looks the same, made in China.

Every mill and lathe needs adjustment, whether it cost $2,000 or $20,000. Our importers now have enough savvy to bring in reasonable through to excellent quality machines. I am not going to run a mill for 24 hours a day, with three shifts of workers, so I can reasonably approach the industrial quality manual mill from China, for example, with some confidence that I can make it work for me.

And I have visited China twice, 2004, and 2010, and toured extensively, and they have done some fabulous engineering, large scale and very small scale.

"Average" Chinese industrial tools are well and truly good enough for most of us to learn on and make our first few years of "products". Of course, toys are toys, wherever they are made. Very light steel cutting tools are toys, in my context. I don't make clocks, or miniature hot air engines.

I hope I am encouraging you to add lathe work to your array of skills. All the best.

I purchased from Harbor Freight in September 2007. I use this machine in my knifemaking so I thought it might be of interest to other knifemakers to provide a little review. I am not a machinist and I have limited experience with mills and lathes but this is what I know from my experience.

I bought it new and on sale at Harbor Freight for around $500. This is a heavy piece of machinery weighing in at around 400 lb. It comes in a large wooden crate and it is a bear to transport and to get on your bench.



This machine has separate 120v motors for the mill/drill head and the lathe. The mill/drill head does rotate so it can be moved out of your way when using the lathe functions.

It comes with this universal vise with accessories for holding the lathe bits.



This OK for lathe work but the vise sucks for milling. I wanted to use a better mil vise.

Also the mill/drill head comes with a drill chuck. I changed to using collects which are more stable and precise.



Between changing the vise and removing the drill chuck, I found I had a new problem. Bolting a regular mill vise to the table lowered it about 3 inches. Likewise, replacing the drill chick with a collet loses about 3 inches. Since the mill head only has 3 1/2 inches of vertical travel, my bits wouldn't reach my work. I ended up having to make a riser to get my vise up within reach of the milling bits.





I also found that the lathe chuck prevented me from moving my work far enough to the left in some cases. I remove the lathe chuck to gain about 3 more inches of horizontal travel.



I have used this machine for over two years now. I mostly use it for milling slots in guards but I occasionally turn a knife handle on the lathe.



It does all functions OK but none of them great. If you really crank down on the mill it can move and for precision pieces that's a problem. You definitely need to lock things down with the various locks for anywhere near precise results. It can be rather time consuming to change things around to go from milling to lathe work. If I were to do it all over again I would buy a dedicated milling machine rather than a multipurpose machine even though the mills tend to run 2x - 3x the price.

After 2+ years of moderate use, the mill motor quit working. I called the 1-800 service number on the front of the owners manual and to my surprise a real live person answered the phone, immediately looked up the correct part, and quote a price if $84 shipped to my door. I received the replacement motor in 2 or 3 days. I felt the motor should have lasted longer but I am impressed with the customer service. However, after about two months the replacement motor died. I called again and they shipped me another motor at no charge. The second motor burned out in another couple of months and harbor Freight provided another replacement at no charge. A few more months and the third motor burned out. I should say, burned up. It literally burst into flames.

Enough time had passed that Harbor Freight would no longer exchange the motor under warranty. I debated whether to buy another motor or just bite the bullet and buy a better mill. I decided to give it one more try and so far it is working but I am being very careful not to work it too hard or too long at a time.

I think the main motor problem is that the milling motor is entirely enclosed inside the vertical cast iron housing with no ventilation. It simply overheats.