Harbor freight 42976 drill/mill machine question

[MichaelP]

...my friend just gave me a harbor freight drill/milling machine.

I would start thinking why your friend doesn't like you that much.

[darryl]

Is this actually one of those combo machines? If so you will want to check each axis to see if movement actually matches the marks on the dials. And there was a time when those machines came out in metric, inch, or some combination of both. Some of that was just so confusing. All I'm saying is check the accuracy of the movements so you either know what you're dealing with, or know what you would or should do to improve the machine before using it much.

When I bought my lathe, the cross slide lead screw was terrible- but everything else seemed good. That was my first project on the lathe- making a new lead screw and nut. Preceded of course by my making a reversing idler so I could cut left hand threads.

Your machine could be fine- or it could have a snag or two as it came from the factory. Figure it out and get past that early on, so you can get on with using the machine.