The Home Machinist!

I saw a 3 in 1 at a tool shop goes by the name of Magnum in BC, Canada.

Looks very much like the HF 5980 machine with 14 1/2" swing and 12"

between centers, but has a quick change gearbox, reversible leadscrew.

So has threading,powerfeed on carriage and cross slide.

I can't seem to find this machine available for sale in the US, to

compare prices. Any help would be appreciated.

Do you mean this machine?

click here

Hi torch.

Yes that's the one, or should I say 3 in 1.

Sorry I should have posted the pic.

Are any of the places selling it in the US?

I'd like to compare prices, also anyone using one of these?

Feedback, if any?

That's a CQ9109 made by Shandong Linyi Jinxing Machine Tool Co., Ltd.

Here's the specs off their website:

Turning dia. (Steel) 40mm
Swing dia. over bed 360mm
Distance between centers 300mm
Spindle bore 20mm
Turning speed / grade 200-1800r/min/9
Longitudinal stroke 210mm
Lateral stroke 180mm
Longitudinal feed 0.0660.226mm/r
Cross feed 0.0370.127mm/r
Metric pitch/grade 13/9mm
Inch pitch/grade (optional) 724/12 T.P.I
Max.Drilling dia. 16mm
Max.disk milling dia. 63mm
Max.vertical milling dia. 12mm
Table size 200×185
Drilling and milling spindle speed / grade 430-2000r/min/5
Stroke of drilling and milling spindle 75mm
Power of motor 0.370.554kw
N.W. / G.W. 180/260kg
Overall dimensionL×W×H 910×790×810mm
Case dimension (L×W×H 1150×745×910mm

So yeah, the distance between centers is 12", but you can only move the table a little over 6"! Which half of the piece did you want to work on?

Northern Tool and Equipment in the US seems to carry that thing's little brother (CQ9107, no gears or power feed at all!) so maybe they can get that one too. Another option is to contact the factory and ask them if they have a US distributor for that model.

Personally, I look at that and understand how 3-in-1 machines got a bad reputation, but hey, it might be useful for some small stuff -- provided you don't need to thread your piece more than half way.

With the exception of color that is my central machinery 3 in 1 exactly.

_________________
Everyone want's a job until they get one.

This brings up another question.

Is it worth getting a machine that has power cross slide capability or are the manual levers good enough for most jobs?

It is necessary to have a geared lead screw if you want to cut threads with a single point tool. I would think any machine with that feature probably has gearing in the apron to power the cross-slide too.

If you are happy with using a die to cut threads then you don't need a powered lead screw, you can crank the carriage/table by hand. The quality of work depends on how controlled your hand cranking is. Mine are not perfect -- no matter how hard I try, I can see the difference in the finish between my hand-cranking efforts and allowing the lathe to feed itself at a constant rate. My best technique is to apply a bit of friction on the wheel with one hand while cranking with the other.

Now, one of the old hands like Harold can hand crank as well or better than the lead screw.

Sigh!
If only that was true!
I highly recommend power feeds, even for hobby work. That's especially true when you attempt close tolerance work.

Harold

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Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.

I stand corrected. I also don't feel quite as bad about my poor skills anymore!

Yeah, hand feeding is tough. Not to do----just to do with acceptable results. (Often a matter of opinion, eh?)

The only place I've ever enjoyed what I'd call success is in cylindrical grinding, where small work is involved. We did that routinely, and had little to gain by using power feed (which the machine had). Large diameter work, where work head speed may be drastically reduced---probably not a lot different from feeding a mill or lathe. Power feed wins, hands down.

Harold

_________________
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.