Looks like the only people thatare interested in machining are Spoke & myself.

Anyone else interested?

I am very but ,have limited time and considered getting a good milling machine and lathe but there just so expensive

are smity conbo mech worth the cost harbour frieght tools and enco have some which one would any body sugest.

Smithy's are fine machines, but not from Enco and damn sure not from Harbor Freight! By the time you get it from Harbor Freight, the warrantee will have expired! The one that Enco has is an older unit and it doesn't look like it has powerfeeds. Couldn't find the one at Harbor Freight.

It's always been my policy to go to the source, Smithy. http://www.smithy.com/ As far as the machines go, don't put too much faith in the prices that are there. You call them and they'll give you a good price. Shipping for one of these puppies is $200 and it's shipped by Roadway I think, to a terminal closest to you. Then, you go and pick it up, (they'll load it into your truck).

Also, if you buy from Smithy, they'll include $500 worth of tooling to get you started. For what they charge, it's not a bad deal!

Steven, do a search for used machinery. Generally, you can find a used machinery shop in your state somewhere. Only thing is, some of these machines might be BIG or older and may not come with any tooling or accessories, and you can get them at a good price. Then you hafta consider the amount of room that you have; lotta times a combo unit would be benificial. If I had the room, I would have gotten separate units.

If you have the room, try to buy a seperate knee mill and a small bench lathe. These can be had for cheap prices and even a worn out mill will easily outperform a Smithy. No offense to Smithy owners, they work very well. When I first started my shop I bought and old Hartford knee mill, a nice Yuasa indexing head, a very nice Yuasa rotary table, a spin fixture, an X, Y table with rotary, a big box of end mills and a bunch of collets for $1000. Then I bought a Logan bench lathe with a collet closer, tons of collets including a bunch of soft step collets, a 3 jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck, drill chuck, live center and a quick change tool post for $250. I paid $200 for a 5hp phase converter and $200 for rigging.

For $1650 I got a bunch of stuff and I was up and running. With all that old equipment I could have made all the RC stuff I wanted if I was into it back then

The guy I sold that lathe to is still running it and I still use the Hartford almost every day.

here's what I make my RC stuff with now

DAMN!

CNC? Thats a pretty serious machine!

Now you can mass produce custom discount parts for us.

I did a little CAM in college, but nothing related to R/C's, just simple stuff like Yo-Yo's and Chess pieces. I remember to this date, when I was programming the damn thing for a Yo-Yo, it took like 300 farking lines of code. I hear now it can be done with much less, if even any with the right software.

Big Wig, why don't you just compare a Smithy to an all-out Bridgeport? A Smithy is a very accurate machine and granted, combo units do have their drawbacks, such as work size limitations. Whatever you can do on a Hartford, I can do on a Smithy, size permitting, and be just as accurate. Set-up might take a little longer, but, it's a hobby, not a vocation. You're the first & only person I've ever heard put down a Smithy. There are some on other forums that have a lesser Smithy than I do and they make mechanisms for pistols & rifles, both require a high degree of accuracy. So, please don't put someone else's machine down cuz you work/worked in a machine shop.

Sgt, most parts for RC's ARE simple stuff, mostly flat, some with curvature & texture of a type and some are complex. Now, if you did a Yo-Yo on Cad/Cam, you should be able to do RC parts as well. Compared to some RC parts, a Yo-Yo IS complex!

It's been quite a few years since I have touched CAM equipment, so I'm not really sure what is involved with today's modern rigs.

I'm not sure what it compares to today, but the one I was using was Oarnge, about 15ft square, and had a large Lexan cage around the table,--- and had to be programmed from a remote desktop.
The part that always got me screwed up was when I had to program outside the third Axis. I really couldn't "grab the concept.

P.S.- My Yo-Yo's turned out like shit. I made them out of Delrin and set the feed speed way too high. There was flying plastic EVERYWHERE!

*/Hit The Deck!

outlawsmithy,

Where in my post did I "put down" a Smithy? I said a full size knee mill will "outperform" a Smithy. I said that because it will outperform a Smithy. I have been a machinist all my life. I don't "work in" a shop, I own a shop... and for a one-man shop I have been quite successful at it. For several years I was also a machine tool technician and I've repaired and upgraded lots of different types of machinery... including 2 - 4 axis mill and lathe CNC retrofits. I have a pretty good idea what makes a machine a "good machine".

There is nothing wrong with a Smithy and yes, you can make anything on your Smithy that I can make on my Hartford. But, I can throw a 1" diameter endmill in my Hartford and take a massive bite out of a hunk of aluminum.... can you? If a person has the room for some "full size" machinery and they want to get into machining, there is nothing wrong with my suggestion.

I am sorry for getting defensive but it seems you did the same. Art you trying to tell me that my opinions aren't welcomed here? Machining isn't a "hobby" to me so I usually stay out of this forum... maybe that's what I should keep doing. The reason I always stayed out of here is I never want to come across with the attitude that what I say is gospel. I'm not like that at all but when I open with "I own a shop" folks might think I feel that way. I have opinions like everyone else: I don't like HPI, I hate "sport" motors and the RC10 GT is the greatest RC car ever made . Am I supposed to lie? Sharing ideas and opinions is what makes these forums fun to me.

regards
Jay

No offense to Smithy owners, they work very well That does not sound like a put down to me! Big wig your advice is always welcome here.

Well, if anyone wants my take on the situation. -

Outlawsmitty,

I personally feel that you owe Big Wig an apology. In no way did he put down your smitty. He just said if you can fit larger seperates, that is the way to go. I agree with his post 100%.

Jack

P.S. I have been in BigWigs shop. He's not pulling your leg.

Don't mind what has been said you know how touchy some people get when you start talking about who's tool is bigger.



show what your made out of

[Edited on 10-25-2002 by 4x4]

Sorry to all that had a post in here below these that is now missing.

I didn't delete them. They were the only ones lost in the move. I assume because they were so new. My hosting provider had already grabbed the forums database before they were posted.

Jack

I had no intent to reply, but, I guess everyone has to jump on board and put their 2 cents in.

re: ".....even a worn out mill will easily outperform a Smithy." Now, if that isn't a put down, then I don't know what is., cuz it just ain't so!!

And whether your machine can take a 1" cutter and mine can't, has no bearing on anything, except one-up-manship.

I didn't come to this forum to put down other people's machines or machinery or to have mine put down. I came here to "give a little, take a little."

So, How have you been RC Jack?

Nobody put you or your machine down. Someone just expressed an opinion that they thought it was a good or better option to get separate larger machines than one small do it all machine.

You twist it all around and make a big stink out of nothing.

If you don't know the advantages of a 1" shanked mill bit compared to say a 1/4" shank, then you should ask. If BigWig doesn't have the time to fill you in, I will. And it has nothing to do with one upmanship.

Jack

P.S. When you register under another name, try to refrain from posting so we won't know it's you.

[Edited on 10-25-2002 by midmadn]

I can probably be of some help. Big Wig Im looking at spending about $21000.00 on a mill. What kind of help can you offer? PS.... Cent....some thing.CNC..Damn forgot the name

[Edited on 10-27-2002 by Jim]

Jim,

What do you plan to do with this machine? Work for industrial clients or hobby related work? For that kind of dough, you have lots of choices. Give me an idea of the size/type work you will be doing and I might have some suggestions.

That's pretty serious cabbage you plan to spend... been at it for awhile already?

regards
Jay

Hey B Wig, I just plan to play with it. No really im not braggin but thats pocket change every year I save up about 30 to 50K just to have some new year spending cash. I forget the name of the mill machine bad memory but any ways its not a toy nore junk. Im going to make what ever I want for my self and use it to make money. hey Big Wig you know how it is with a good CNC and a good lathe {What can't you make}Im sick of buyen junk, shit Ill make my own quality products. You ask size/type, what ever comes my way=Tools, parts for autos, tractors, hobbies, you name it. Im retired so I have plenty of time on my hands. Ive been working with metals for quite some time now and love it I use to do chroming but thats not as big as anodizing which I want to get set up. Chroming was just a lot of work and people didnt want to pay so the hell with them. Anodizing is easyer work and you see it every where.

One more thing Big Wig, Im also looking at a machine that uses high pressure water to cut through metals. Its used but good cond. the guy was showing me how it worked cutting through 1/4 inch stainless steel like it was butter. Puts my plasma cutter to shame.....

Well Jim, there are many ways you can go... I'm not sure exactly what you may have looked at but if I were you, I'd consider a good quality knee mill retrofit. I have built around 50 of these myself in all different configurations and they are probably the most versatile type of mahine out there. It won't be as productive as a vertical machining center but you'll be able to swing the turret, slide the ram, tilt the head all over the place... you see what I mean.

I have a 2 axis retrofit with an Anilam 3200 control and I love it. The control is very powerful and there is no need for any Cad Cam software. The programming is fully conversational and ther are many canned cycles. It has a geometry calculator as well that is very handy. If you prefer to generate you programs on a Cad Cam system, it's quite easy to post a G code program and use the 3200's built in G code coverter to input the data. There's so much more I could say about this piece of equipment... feel free to email me and we can talk further.

There are many other options as well. email me

I wish I had loads of money

Ok guys, so you don't like my Dremel/Hack Saw/Bench Vise/File/Drill/ BFG machine shop then do you! Well, if I had your money and you machining skills maybe I would buy a CNC machine! Let me ask all of you something: If you want to take a typical part, say an A-Arm, and make it from aluminum, how do you go about it? Do any of your machines have a way to "trace" the original A-Arm to get the dimensions into your machines? Or do you manually have to do it all? I honestly have no clue and would just like to know................

I would probably start by taking lots of measurements from the original A arm and draw it up on Cad... I'd then generate a toolpath from the Cad file. I do have a machine with a "teach" mode. I could clamp the part to the machine table and manually crank the machine around the part... this would create a program but I'd have to make very small moves each time. It would be very time consuming and the program would be tough to edit since it would be composed of a gazillion little lines of code

Sorry BigWig ive been so busy with these damn projects I have going on right now plus making room for that big machine I will have to put it in the garage not my hobby shop itll be safe in there. Ill get with you as soon as I can Jim..