Mill drill lathe combo

[E.Marquez]

Also, on the 3 in 1 machines, they are a lathe first with a mill as an afterthought, IMO. I mill much more often than I turn parts in a lathe. For my uses, I would rather have a large mill and a hobby benchtop lathe. If you don't foresee needing a mill much at all, but want to turn lots of small parts, a 3 in 1 might be alright.

Very much agree.... The 3-1 ones are better lathes then mils..

And you do have to take it much slower when milling then on most any dedicated Mil... As well as,, only the better 3-1s mill at all worth a damn... the others lack rigidity and HP.

My point above was.... the better 3-1's work and can turn out parts with as good a finish, and to spec as a dedicated gear head lathe, or mil.. .. It is all in understanding the materiel, tooling and setup.

But if time is money (or cause for frustration to you) skip the 3-1 even if it is capable of doing the job... Nothing happens fast on a 3-1.

as much as I like mine, and as good as the results are.. once the new shop is built, 3phase service installed.... there will be a large swing gear head lathe and Knee mill in the shop.