Table lathe and drill/mill

[vtsteam]

Thanks Paul, I like it.

I should have said, though that this is only worthwhile if your chuck is somewhat bigger in diameter than the spindle flange. If it's one of the chucks that comes with the smallest Sieg, it might not be possible to do. If you went to a larger chuck, then it might be do-able -- obviously the chuck needs to be large enough for its outer bolt pattern to clear the spindle flange and reach the slots of a faceplate. Since I built my own lathe, I was able to put a chuck of any size I chose on it. But a stock purchased lathe and chuck might not have this capability.

[Zephyrin]

Even though larger machines are preferable, keep in mind that over the years, mounting an heavy divider on the milling machine table can become too much of a chore...yes, it's true.

Fortunately, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of my little Sakai 210 mill, drill & lathe... I would like a little more space on the workbench, but this setup allows me to spend hours in this small workshop. There are plenty of other solutions with this size of equipment, Toyo, Emco Unimat3, 4, UnimatSL; Sherline lathes & mills... not always cheaper, but all capable of building models from stock or castings.

[steamer]

To say nothing of Sherline.  They are small...but they are mighty!..    Ask Chris!

[Robert Hornby]

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for all your replies to my question. They have been of great help and I will take on board all of the suggestions and comments. I probably will not make any more steam models but just small bibs and bobs stuff. I have made quite a few gear stick knobs these past couple of years, mainly for Jaguars but other cars too, so a small lathe will do the trick. It will not be for a while just yet as we have to sell our present house. I propose to leave the converted bedroom as a workshop as we have 3 other bedrooms. All the larger equipment will have to be sold off which will be a little sad for me, but I have to move on.

[Robert Hornby]

Still looking for a table lathe and curious why Proxxon PD400 lathe states 85mm swing and 58mm height over cross slide. shouldn't the swing be 118mm ?

[uuu]

As I understand it, the Proxxon PD400 lathe comes with a 100mm diameter chuck.  So when they describe the "swing" as being 85mm, perhaps they mean the centre height - otherwise the chuck would hit the bed!   So the maximum diameter workpiece, to clear the bed, would be 170mm.   And then 58mm centre height over the saddle = 116mm maximum diameter at this point.

I've never seen one of these lathes - just extrapolating from the chuck size.  So a check from an owner would be valuable.

Wilf

[Thor]

Yes, the Proxxon PD400 has a centre height of 85mm and can turn a 400mm long rod between centres.
There is a downloadable manual here: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/3459089/Proxxon-Pd-400.html?page=7#manual

Thor

[Roger B]

There is a write up on the PD400 here:

https://thehobbyistmachineshop.com/cms/workshop/proxxon-pd400-lathe/section-1