Im a toolaholic, yes I have a problem.
With that said, think about what you want/need to do before deciding on machinery then buy the biggest that you can afford and/or house.
Mini lathes are good, still have one in the shop.but serious limitations. And accuracy is not there.
Mini Mills are junk, too flimsy, you will never be able to take a decent cut not enough HP/Mass, you will take forever machining .050 at .002 a pass. And you can only mount a litty bitty vise on that table...wont hold much or very well. heck a decent Kurt or Parlec vise prob weighs more than the machine. For a mill, take a good hard look at Knee Mills where the knee is dovetailed to the base. Those bench top mills where the head cranks up and down are a real PITA for any type of precision.
Also, keep in mind the amount or real estate available on a small mill. Mount a vise, rotary table, indexer v-blocks etc.,,, and you run out of table real quick.
Thirty years ago, I started out with a mini mill and a drill press.
Today: two full size lathes (14x40 & 10x36), three Bridgeport manual mills, a horizontal mill, a Bridgeport/True-Trace tracer mill, couple of surface grinders, and a crapload of buffers/sanders.
If you asked me what I could do withoutnone of them, need them all for the work I do or may dothats why I have them. BUT keep in mind I make barrels, and any other obsolete part needed.
Also keep in mind tooling it gets expensive. Carbide endmills can easily run $30-$80 each, stay away from imported HSS lathe and mill cutters, total junk.
Play with the Unimat, see what it can do, as your capabilities start to grow, so will your tool collection.
Last edited by Mike Hunter; 08/27/20 10:43 PM.
