Smithy 3 in 1 machine units. Consensus?

D

dr_frankenstein

Mad Scientist
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Im interested in getting a Smithy 3 in 1 as my current machine shop privileges are drying up due to budget constraints.

well fine, I will get my own!

So whats the opinion on these units? are they worth the bread?

granted..... I know there not a replacement for the dedicated milling and lathe machines... but for my garage - seems like it would do as I need.

I have my eye set on a Smithy (model GN-1340 MAX) and it looks fairly decent?

Any opinions from true machinest would be greatly appreciated!

A.j.
 
I like mine. It works pretty good. I am no machinist but I have used it quite a bit. I wanted a bridgeport when I got this thing. Watch ebay for a smithy pr a bridgeport. There were two bridgeports on chicago craigslist for $800 each with cnc boards on them. shop around. I bought my Smithy for $500 with a lot of attachments and bits. I have the Midas 1220xl
 
I have used a Smithy for at least 10 yrs and as long as you have it calibrated once a year you will LOVE it !!!!

SW.
 
i am a machnist/toolmaker / cnc machnist. to me it does not look like the drilling part on the top does not move in and out otherwise there would be increments to do so. all though it does look like it spins.

personally i would take the $4000 they want for the smithy and buy real machine shop equiptment used.try craigslist. since most of the machnist jobs around here dried up/moved south or overseas there is plenty of used equiptment around here. 2 jobs ago the had a bunch of bridgeports the left outside until they scrapped them. i have had friends get them used for free!

make sure you can get the correct type of power for it before you buy it because i know they don't run on 110
 
DailyDrifter said:
What are you machining? I'm sure their pretty decent.
Click to expand...

for the most part, im not machining to much. small stuff like turbo parts, carb parts, and other junk. mostly aluminum.

thats kinda why I figured this would gimme my bang for buck... small enough to maintain some space, but big enough for more than i will probably ever need.

I have 220 in my shop now, so power isnt too big of a deal.

Thanks guys!

A.j.
 
The 3-n-1's are very compact and usually gap bed so you can actually swing a pretty good sized part if it is short. Problem is rigidity and accuracy, compared to full sized dedicated lathes and mills. If you can, shop used and you should get lots of tooling and a much better price. If you have the room shop for used full sized machines :). There is lots of stuff for sale in souther Calif. if you have a trailer or truck and can go get it. Spend some time cruising craigslist in various big cities across the country to get a feel for asking prices. There's lots of stuff on ebay but I think people are setting the prices too high and nothing is actually moving at those prices. I know of a guy in Bakersfield, CA who sells used stuff if you want me to dig up his email address (Gunner Asch, he posts all the time on the rec.crafts.metalworking Usenet newsgroup). Might be good to talk to him to get a feel for market prices.
 
Check out Shoptask

I have a shoptask Eldorado Bridge mill which I think is much sturdier than the Smithy set up for the mill head. Shoptask - Shopmaster. The newest version is the Patriot which is even better than my now 5yr old Elderado. It works great for the light fabrication work I do.
 
The problem with multi use machines is you have to break down a set up to do a different operation.
I do a lot of wood work and always hated going from rip to xcut. Now I have a dewalt slide compound miter saw and I do my xcutting on it.

In searching for a real good drill press I happened on a asian bench mill that has done very good as a drill press and is ok as a mill. Wish I had room for a bridgeport or other floor mill. $600 ~12 years ago with tooling.

I just got a 1952 logan 11x24 lathe and its great. $400 with 3 chucks and a handful of tooling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top