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Interesting process Hugh, thanks for sharing. You are going to hang onto the machinery for a while in case you decide to settle down somewhere?Dave
Wow! That is some operation!
Hugh, you know as well as I do that if you go to a smaller lathe, you're likely to need to make larger parts. Think fly wheels. The same with the mill. Think motor frames/bases.I know what you're up against but I would hold on to the bigger equipment until you have demonstrated to yourself that you can use smaller equipment without penalty.Hold 'em as long as you can!!Pete
Hi,I think you will be disappointed in the quality of some of the smaller lathes and I would tend to try and hang onto the lathe.Big change going backward from bigger to smaller. I think you have more flexibility on finding a suitable mill.Brian in Ohio
JimPS: It's too bad that more folks don't list what they're using for a lathe and mill when doing build threads. Might make these sorts of decisions easier.
Again same question, would a Tormach be a poor substitute for the SuperMax?
I guess it's a matter of perspective. I think it's a lot harder to go from larger to smaller, than it is from smaller to larger. For me, with my Sherlines, going to a 10" lathe would be a huge jump. One thing you might analyze is if you could of done the projects, you've done in the past, with smaller machines like the Grizzly you mentioned. Also, what projects you might want to do in the future. You're in a great position, in that you have your big machines stored and your Sherlines ready to work with. You might be surprised and find out that they give you the satisfaction and enjoyment of machining stuff without having to use a hoist to change chucks! I guess it's all about what your mission is.Jim
I build things within the work envelope provided by my tools. I have a King KC1022ML, essentially a Grizzly G0602. (The G0752 is its variable speed sibling). Prior I had a Taig, which I got a lot of use out of. But now I would not want to go back from the 1022. My criteria when looking for a machine was 1" through the spindle.
With regard to selling or not, I would consider what you are about to pay for storage. If you can keep that going for however long you are on-the-road, then keep your existing machines. It is unlikely that anything you buy to replace them will be of the same quality or condition (if used). E.g. 2 years ago when I was loooking for my lathe there was lots of choice in 9" SB's, 1022's, 1236's erc . Now almost nothing on the usual places, such as Kijiji.ca. Plus those machines are in your finger tips, anything else will be a learning curve which at our time of life is best spent using what we already know :-)
If during your travels you find that you totally enjoy the Sherline sized projects, then you can always make the decision to sell existing stuff.
I have a manual varispeed head Bridgeport (by Adcock and Shipley) and a Tormach PCNC1100, so the comparison isn't CNC versus CNC, but below is a version of something I wrote on another forum a while back:.....................Although I have a rotary table for the Bridgeport it doesn't have the same scope for complex parts as using the 4th axis on the Tormach. Since this was written I have added a high speed (24000rpm) spindle to the Tormach which greatly helps with small (<1mm) cutters, at the expense of being able to use tool tables.Andrew
I am glad that You mentioned that the Wife helped You out. I showed the pictures to My Wife and She thought surely You must not be married. My Wife helps with moves but My garage is underneath the house with garage door access. Carry on, good job.
That is one impressive moving job. And the fact that you did it successfully with no incidents shows that you did a pretty good job on planning it!
Not much advice on the machine front. Personally, I'd be disappointed giving up my 14" Grizzly lathe (G0709) back to my Taig exclusively. I did some work on the Taig recently and remembered all the 'small lathe' problems I used to have. Mainly rigidity, lack of power, etc. And how LONG it takes to remove 1/4" of steel on that little lathe. I loved my Taig, but I know it would be hard to go back. I do almost everything on the big lathe, even stuff that would work on the Taig. Of course, I have a DRO on the Grizzly which is a big advantage too.
Would the storage be in Arizona or Oregon? If Oregon I would be concerned about rust.If you can swing it, I agree with the others about hanging on to your big tools for a while until you get settled.Dave
This has been a really interesting thread. My take-away from it is that it's much easier to go from smaller to bigger, than to go from bigger to smaller. For example: If I was to go to a 10" lathe and comparable mill, from my present Sherline lathe and mill, I'd feel like I'd made a huge jump in capability.I just recently joined our local Model Engineering Club and I'm really looking forward to visiting other shops to see what equipment folks are using to do what we do. Jim
My phase converter is a VERY noisy 20HP motor so I don't really know how noisy the mill (or lathe) are.
Quote from: Hugh Currin on November 18, 2017, 03:21:36 PMMy phase converter is a VERY noisy 20HP motor so I don't really know how noisy the mill (or lathe) are.I'm running my Bridgeport on a proper 415V 3-phase supply, so I know that the noise is coming from the machine.