Torn between a lathe or mill

Help me decide. They both have there advantages and one doesn't really replace the other.

Lathe i could do tube mods ,tanks ,threading.

Mill i can do any shape box,make a lot of cool stuff but not tubes.

Wish i had the money for both but its not a option.

 

Well, I'd go for the lathe but that's just me

 

No one said tanks have to be round.... Threading though.... Hmmmm. I would say mill cause if the Vaping world ended do you really want to be stuck making custom table legs?

 

Care to elaborate on why?

Oh also forgot to mention the mill would be setup for CNC . That may change it a little.

 

Well basically I am a tube mod and Genisis maker although I have made 30-40 box mods too but I prefer the tube structures maybe they remind me of cigs not sure?

 

Like you said initially, they both have advantages. Only you will be able to make the final decision. But I, like others I'm sure, will stand behind you no, matter what you decide.

 

Threading is probably my biggest pro for the lathe. One con is if i do get the lathe i can make a tube mod but still wouldnt be able to do any milling on the tube to make it look sweet besides knurling and grooves.

Right now i do have a makeshift mill but i cant do any crazy work with it and surely wouldnt touch any stainless with it. Its a heavy duty drill press with custom cross slide table. Im thinking maybe i can still do very light machine work on tubes with it though although not sure if id even want to with the low accuracy and i know the chucks not made for side to side movement.

 

I think the tubes are best fairly unadorned in natural forms and if you want you could always do acid etching if you like the tatoed effect but again that's me and I am simple

 

Originally i was leaning towards to lathe because i have some cool rebuildable designs however with china knocking them off left and right now and offering them so cheap i cant see the point in making rebuildables anymore. Im still about dead even in choosing. The lathe is cheaper so thats a plus. I know both are a good choice to have in the shop.

I did have a cheap HF lathe long ago and while i had it i still always wanted a cnc mill.

So many pros to each. Its a very hard decision.

 

I think a lathe would be more versatile than a mill, at least for the e-cig market. You could always get a combo and have them both.

 

I hear you on the rebuildables I will not and cannot make them as cheap as china
but still will make some for myself and friends and like to make mods as well
some people will still go for USA quality albeit not cheap

 

One other thing to throw in is . A tube is much cheaper to send out for machining then a milled design. I can go to any machine shop and have them tread a tube with not much setup time. A milled piece would require lots of setup and tool changes upping costs so that would be a great plus on doing it in house.

 

Combos are usually not true mills unless spending a ton of money. Nice for keyways and stuff but its more for drilling and not full cnc design. I wish i could get both

 

I can't comment on what you should choose but I wanted to address your statement highlighted in black. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! Ohhhhh, let me tell you something mister, I would buy American made over China any day of the week!!! Yes, I run the co-ops but still, most of us genheads still want something that doesn't come out of China (modders make neater stuff)! Even if you ask people in other countries what they prefer, they would tell that they would support a fellow countryman first. Thanks for the rant...I'll get off my soapbox for now.

 

I have to say I agree with [MENTION=6344]hairball[/MENTION]. I am truly thankful to her for the co-ops and do enjoy the low cost genisis and atties I have purchased through them. It makes me happy that more vapers are having the opportunity to try them due to the low cost and AVAILABILITY.

I am still on waiting lists for made in the USA genisis and will continue to support US modders and manufacturers. I would like to see more of them and the capacity to keep up with the demand as this is sorely lacking at the moment.

BTW we have both a lathe and a milling machine (not CNC) if you ever get in my neck of the woods.

 

my honest opp on this is a cnc there are alot of tube mods out there but most of them are hard to get because there not based in the us ... i am sure if you build a new design ss mod they will sell enough to to help you buy a mill ...
think of a few designs post picks of them and see if the demand is there for you ...
just my opp i know i have bought way more mechanical tube mods then wood mods in my 3 plus years vaping ...

lawnman3... i wish you luck my friend either way ya go...cnc...

 

my 2 cents.............. i am a mini lathe owner now for...bout 2 years. i love my lathe. its the cheapest one made,by central machinery,sold by harbor freight. being the cheapest,doesnt mean its junk,ive fallen in love with this little turner. not only can i make tube mods,caps for them,switches for them,cut threads,make genisis atties,caps for them,turn delrin down for grommets(a trick ive learned to rid my cheaper atties of the flimsy rubber grommets), i can turn drip tips,make my own screw,nuts,spacers....i could go on and on. so i guess what im getting at is....id advize you to go for the lathe. if your buying a machine to make vaping gear,id say itll do more things youll want it to do .having said that,its not over after buying the lathe. alot of tooling is still required to turn the items you want to make. boring bars.bits,parting blades,...etc. i hope you enjoy whatever machine you buy,and i look forward to seeing your ideas/creations.

 

Im not saying there arent enthusiasts and collectors that want non china RBA's .I personally would take a US or European over chinese too. IMO, There are id guess from what i read probably 50-75% will stick to the cheap China made ones and its just not possible to produce them nearly that cheap. Theres lots of people who would take a 10.00 RBA with lesser quality over paying 100-150 for something similar and there are lots of people that wouldnt know the difference. It does make it hard when you fork up all that money to make something nice it takes 5x as long to recoup those costs now and a month later theres a large chance there will be china manufacturers making your exact product for 1/10th the price.Thats a big risk to take. Im sure the DID lost a major amount of sales along with bully attys. The chinese are just starting out with RBA's and anything they see of interest we know they wont hesitate to jump on.Im sure the quality on them will improve some over time too as they learn the little things on what makes them superior. I know a couple modders i talk to that had plans but held off.Im not mad that people buy them or sell them,its just something to think about now when making them.From a consumer point i understand that it helps people starting out with them testing the water.

Ill get back on topic now since i dont wanna make this that thread. I was just listing pro and cons of getting a lathe or mill.

 

That is exactly my main Pro for the lathe . Making the small parts(mechanical switchs etc)although they can also be made on the mill minus threading. For making the mods itself the CNC mill would be more useful imo because there arnt alot of mods with nice curves which is something iv been wanting to do. .Lawnman does have a great point though. Getting the lathe will eventually pay for the mill. I do have some hardware from my old lathe still sitting in a draw. I use to have the small HF lathe but sold it a while back. It was too small for what i was doing at the time and i had to have it replaced once when the motor went out of nowhere. If i do get another it will be a better lathe with a brushless motor. Theres a few iv been looking at. Id love to get or convert to a cnc lathe if i could but it will probably be too costly. I can always convert it in the future also.

Another pro for the CNC mill is i wont have to etch PCB's all the time anymore. I can just mill them. That saves some time.

I think i may be leaning towards the lathe for now since its a little cheaper and i can still use my modded drill press for light milling in the meantime.

 

im sure regardless of which way you go youll be addicted. modding is as addictive as vaping itself,lol. sometimes i think i still vape just so i can mod.its a great little hobby,beware,it can be really addictive.