well here it goes... i need to ask, is there any one here that owns a 3n1 lathe,mill,drill combo and has anything good to say about it? i have very limited space in my garage/shop and those chinese built smithy's look very appealing. now i know these in no way compare to "real" machinery but to make those small parts, can you get decent results?
There is a thread on here where a retired machinist loves his. It might have been Dolmetsh? I have a pal \with one and he loves it. I am looking at a pricier German made one..........
You will never own a more versitile rewarding machine. There is nothing you can want that can not be made on it. I had to sell mine in the package with my shop equipment when I sold it. I miss it real bad even though I have a lathe and a vertical mill. It was handy, reliable , cost me only $12.50 repair in almost 12 years. It was never not up to the task and was accurate to less than .001 which is more than adequate for any hobbiest let alone most general shops. I reworked pistons Flycut valve reliefs . Reworked valves, Cut keyways made tooling for my Valve guide seat machine. it would take an hour to list it all. I even once made an experimental Hi stall torque converter on it (after removing the ring gear so it would fit in the lathe portion.) If you wonder how good they are try and find a used one for sale. Highly unlikely I think unless the guy died. Don
The one I am looking at is an Enco? German made, the mill head is at the back and not off to the side.
Mine was a Smithy. I think it is bigger than the ones from Deutschland. When i needed a part 11 years later the guy knew the number of my machine and the part from my phone number. Took all of 2 minutes to place the order. Shipping used to be free in USA. i shipped mine to Watertown Roadway terminal and drove down from Canada to pick it up.Smithy has an automotive version with a extra long bed although mine was a plain jane model. Man I wish I still had it! You've got me thinking again! Don gotta tell you this tale. When we brought the machine back it was in a wooden crate on the back of my Dodge truck. I pulled up to the Canadian border and the lil miss university student on summer job asked me what I had. i told her it was a lathe and its value and I knew I would have to go inside. She sent me there. On the desk was this big redhaired dude, a seasoned Customs officer but with a heart. A very rare breed to be sure! "What do you have in the truck?" he said. "I have a Lathe Mill drill". I replied and showed him the bill that came with it. "Now sir," he said "I want you to pay very close attention to what I am about to ask you. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO MACHINE WOOD ON THAT MACHINE?" He caught me off guard but i had been warned so i was sort of prepared. "Well yes" I said "you could i suppose." "Thank you sir, right answer! There is no duty on woodworking erquipment coming into to Canada so have a nice day." May he live to be a 100 ! Here it is remaking a piston for an experimental engine.
If you go to their website www.smithy.com there's a link to a free info pack. I got one a while back. Leafing through a magazine at our store today I saw a website for another supposedly USA-made 3 in 1. Was gonna look it up when I got home, can't remember the addy now. I'll look tomorrow. Edit/update; Don't know anything about these, you look; http://www.sherline.com/
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