Taig machinery

[eightwgt]

I am looking for a SMALL machine for use in my shop, and was looking at the Taig line of equipment. Anyone have experiance with these ?? Im looking for a small mill as I only use it for very small parts - and like to keep the cost down !

Thanks !

[MikeHenry]

Never used the Taig but started with a Sherline mill, so you might want to check those out as well. Their web site is at:

www.sherline.com

and you will find manuals, descriptions, and all sorts of other stuff there.

I found that the work envelope was a little too tight for me and have since moved up to a Clausing vertical knee mill. The Sherline still comes in handy once in a while though, so I've kept it.

Mike near Chicago

[Thrud]

Prazi (German) are very well made as are Emco (Austrian) (not ENCO). I have a Maximat 7 Lathe/mill. Extremely well made and accurate. It also uses full sized Lathe/Mill accessories.

Dave

[JCHannum]

Thrud has an important point there. Most of these machines (Taig, Sherline, etc.) are pretty decent, but, if you are just starting in machining, chances are you will eventually move on to larger equipment. Since tooling is such a large part of the cost of machining, you possibly will end up replacing much of your initial investment.

I am not too familiar with Taig, but Sherline accessories are pretty pricey, so plan ahead when buying.

[eightwgt]

Yes I agree with you, it does make sense to look ahead, and thats a good point made however I dont think Id ever 'upgrade', everything I do with it will be hobby stuff, boat,planes,cars, etc...mostly RC, with some trinkets mixed in so I am looking for an accurate machine, but small

[Thrud]

yup, that's what they all say - in the begining...

Dave ;-)

[eightwgt]

Dave....

How much can I expect to spend on a Pravi lathe ? I am talking about thier smallest one...I looked at it, it looks like a NICE piece of equipment !

[Thrud]

Blue Ridge Machinery sells both the Emco and Prazi (I believe). The Prazi is very well made as are Wabeco (German). I have an Emco maximat 7 and it is awesome for its size. None of these units tend to gear change boxes and gear changes are done of feeds and threading (the crappy part about smaller machines). I won't hazard a guess, but do not expect to get it for free. Nicely equipted the Taig and Sherline are most likely a little cheaper.

[Robert Jones]

The 2002 Enco catalog has the Prazi 5" x 12" for $1595. It's on page 35, and has accessories listed, too, Bobby

[RPease]

I also started with Sherline. Bought both their lathe and mill. Could have gotten the mill conversion parts to change from lathe to mill, but figured it to be too much trouble. Easier to just buy both. The are certainly limited in their applications (they are small), but are great for hobby work (R/C, modeling, etc.) and very accurate work can be performed with them. That's usually a function of the worker, not so much the equipment. However, eventually had to purchase a larger lathe to handle some larger tasks, so maybe the larger units would have been better. But, who can have too many tool, right?

------------------
RPease