smithy 3 in 1 machines

[dobsogj]

Anyone use one of these? There is one thread on here, its old, and there isnt much info. I have some parts for sale on craigslist, and a guy is wanting to trade me one of these. It is new. Not serious use just playing around. Heres the link, its the 1220 xl.

http://www.campbelltools.com/smithy/smithy.html.

The parts I have for sale are $1400. He said he payed 2500 for this new, plus it has a table and some tooling. Its never been used, just sitting around in the packaging, still oiled down.

[bignissan]

I've never used one, but it looks pretty small...just ask yourself what you'll really be using it for, and if it fits the bill, I don't see any issue with it.

A few others will chime in with longevity etc. I'm sure....

[Wicked_S10]

If you are going to use it for mostly lathe duties, I would go for it. My experience with the chi-com column type mills is that the column lock cannot be locked rigidly enough to actually do any kind of reasonable work. The MT3 spindle taper in the mill/drill head is not unusual for a drill press, but it is unusual for a mill. You can get MT3 taper end mill holders, but to safely use them in a mill, you need a draw bar, the pictures look like a draw bar can be fitted, but it says nothing about one that I saw.

The lathe side of things looks decent for a small machine, and as long as it is tight and clean, it will probably be reasonable for home machine shop use.

I would definitely inspect it in person before committing to anything. I have seen the it's still new in cosmolene, or its barely been used machines before that were wore the f-ck out and then repacked, crated, or just wrapped up good in the corner of a shop. You can buy cosmolene, it is not a huge stretch that it has been there for 10 years, saw 9 years of hard use and then was cleaned and packed in cosmolene and looks just like the day it shipped.

FWIW I personally wouldn't pay $1400 for one, new or used, I realize this depends a large extent on what is available in your area, but if you hunt long enough you can put together some good machine tools for not much more than that and avoid the chi-com garbage. I bought a mill built in 1957 and a lathe built in 1968, both had seen industrial use, and both were 100x the machine that HF or grizzly puts out. Good enough for a machine shop anymore? Definitely not, excellent for home shop though.

*edit* The lathe portion of the machine is actually decent size compared to most in that price range. 12" swing and 20" between centers is going to be good for most jobs around the shop, you wont be boring and threading 4 links on it or anything, but you could easily machine adapters and bushings and most anything else your heart desires.

Later,
Jason

[dobsogj]

Thanks for the help guys. I will probably wait a few days and see if I get any cash offers for the parts before I do anything, so if anyone has any more input, please chime in. Thanks.

[ZukIzzy]

I have a smithy and have made some cool stuf on it, just don't get in a hurry it will only take a light cut. with patients you can lean how to machine and then step up to better quality machines if you want to. For $1400 you can do better.

Wayne

[D60]

These have an almost cult-like following and you *might* be able to sell it for more later, but if the guy is trying to trade you for $1400 he's obviously not had much luck doing so.

Jason's info on the mill portion of this sounds solid. Thus, if it's strictly gonna be a lathe look around. You can almost surely find something like a 12x36 Clausing for less than $1400, and it'll do a lot more.

But in the end if you don't get any decent cash offers for your stuff, maybe this is the way to go. As suggested, learn to machine on it and then you'll want to step up to better (dare I say "real") machines later.