Fox Lathe/Mill???? Calling out TinMan!!!

$600 is about 1/3 of the list price, so it sounds like a pretty good deal. If it comes with lots of extras, it could be a very good deal. It is REALLY easy to spend several hundred dollars on tooling and accessories for either a mill or a lathe (right Chad?). If it comes with cutters, measuring tools, etc. then you may have something.

I notice that it has "change gears". That means you will get a stack of loose gears that you will have to change out when cutting screw threads and such.

There's no real magic to determining the condition. Does it still have the instruction manual? Does it look well lubricated? Is it powered up and how does it sound when running?

There's almost nothing on a machine tool that should wiggle. Everything should move smoothly, but without slop or play. Check out the "ways", which are the polished areas where things move. Look for dings or dents where something may have been dropped on them.

Ask the guy what kind of oil he uses, and if he has any extra. That's a leading question, because if he
doesn't know, or doesn't have any, then you have to wonder how well it has been taken care of.

Run Away! Run Away!! (see monty python)

That evil metal working machine will be the ruin of you. If you've been a woodworker in the past you will learn that there's a whole new world of tools and equipment of which you were previously blissfully ignorant. Your work shop will suddenly be too small, your blades will be dull from cutting materials that they were not intended to cut, have you ever had a metal shaving in your foot? - you will. Flip flops apparently are not the shoe of choice for metal workers.

With all that said, I have no idea how I worked for as long as I did without a mill. Being able to finely control movement with the piece securely clamped is a very good thing.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

hahaha, that thing looks kind of awesome...you might have to give it a serious look over and make the leap

I hope you get it Larry, I'd love to see you get into making stuff. In the worst case you'll be able to sell it, probably at a profit. If you have nowhere to keep it bring it to my place <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

I have never done any real gunsmithing, but I think this might be a little lacking for that level of accuracy. In the machine tool world, rigidity (and therefore accuracy) goes right along with mass. That is not to say that a small machine can't be accurate, but it has to be a really good small machine.

You are right that R8 tooling would be better than M3, but that would require a bigger machine. I think this machine could be great for the level of accuracy that a speargun requires. Not sure about a rifle though.

But another way to look at it is you have to learn on something. Play with it for a little while, and if it doesn't suit your needs, then Dan is probably right that you can easily get your money out of it on resale.

Quote from Tin Man

I have never done any real gunsmithing, but I think this might be a little lacking for that level of accuracy. In the machine tool world, rigidity (and therefore accuracy) goes right along with mass. That is not to say that a small machine can't be accurate, but it has to be a really good small machine.

You are right that R8 tooling would be better than M3, but that would require a bigger machine. I think this machine could be great for the level of accuracy that a speargun requires. Not sure about a rifle though.

But another way to look at it is you have to learn on something. Play with it for a little while, and if it doesn't suit your needs, then Dan is probably right that you can easily get your money out of it on resale.

X 2
Not tight enough for gun smith work but a nice little home shop unit that runs on 110 and not 3 phase.
In Cali these turn up in fresh condition at swap meets for 500 bucks with a little tooling.Fine for a light duty cycle on spear guns.
Cheers, Don

Maybe he'll take $500,good luck.it always nice to have one of those in the garage for winter.

haha, papaa, our winters are some of the best diving, the big fish come in, it is a little cold w 65 degree water ...we are soo blessed down in FLA

LOMartin- I was going to say the same thing as Jeff, if you get this you can really "cut your teeth"( terrible time for that expression) on a small enough unit to learn the moves...if I had the space I would want to give it a whirl....

I can't recomend a particular brand or model, but I'll throw out a few things to get your thought process started:

Floor model or bench top? The smaller bench top drill presses will probably do.

Capacity? How large are the holes, and in what material? Unless you are drilling large holes in hard stuff, you probably want to spend your money on accuracy, and not horsepower.

How many speeds? Mine has 16, and I probably use 3. 9 is plenty. With that said, if you are drilling in hard materials, it is good to have a really slow speed available.

Make sure it has a good depth stop, and the biggest table you can find

The limit to accuracy on a drill press, for me anyway, is usually my ability to position and hold the work accurately. Set aside enough coin to get a good vise, and maybe even the type that are adjustable in X and Y, along with some V-blocks for holding round stuff.

Thanks for concise advice Jeff.

Here are some other helpful goodies that you may not have thought of. None are indespensible, but they do come in handy sometimes.

Sorry for the goofy picture sizes. Is there a way to make them thumbnails that remain small until you click on them?

Letter size and wire sized drill bits. Very cool for when you want a hole that is just a tiny bit larger or smaller than a standard size.
Parallels - Use these to make sure that your piece is sitting perfectly in the vise, but you still have room underneath to drill through. A set will have numerous pairs in different heights.
Center finder - A low budget solution that will get you pretty close when you need the center of a round piece.
Center drills - These are short and stiff, and won't "walk" like normal bits can. Use them for a getting hole started precisely where you want it. Just a little dimple is all you need, then switch to the regular drill bit.
Cheap dial indicator on a cheap magnetic base. Easy way to know where you stand when you just want to move the vise a hair.
Countersink bits - For deburring holes.
Deburring tool - Also helpful for deburring holes, or any sharp edge.

very cool toys Jeff

I told you guys! A whole new world of tools you never knew that you needed - and he's just getting started.

Still trying to find you those steel toed flip-flops . . .