3in1 lathe

[Todd Hodges]

I know this subject been beat to death but for limited space what 3in1 lathe would yall recomend for a beginner and what are to draw back to these little machine
Thanks for any INFO

[K D Redd]

IMHO NONE. They are to limited in every respect.

Kent

[aametalmaster]

I would like one just to test it out but i don't want to pay the big bucks for it. I already have 5 lathes so it would just be a toy. There are a few yahoo groups where the guys love them...Bob

[OTTO-Sawyer]

The main advantage of them is they take up less space than 3 seperate machines, and can be cheaper than 3 seperate machines, but there are deals out there to be found in both cases.

The main disadvantages with them are you constantly have to change things back and forth, and there's a limit to how large a piece they can handle. Some of the built in features tend to make up for some of the hassles, but it all boils down to what's your time worth, how much space do you have, and how often will you be using it/them. If you have the room, and shop around for bargains (while watching out for junk), it's hard to beat having seperate machines for each job, or even multiples so you can leave certain fixtures in place if they take a long time to set up properly.