I have a 13 24 Granite I bought new in 2005. I use it constantly in my hobby work building parts for astrophotography, telescopes, and mounts. Has been a great tool although they have gotten a LOT more expensive over the ears. I also have just about every tool and accesrory at was in their catalog. One of my favorites is the Super Indexer which is used a lot. One upgrade was to get better belts. But other than that it has held up quite well. The only failure in all those ears was the drive gear for the mill head. It has nylon gears which are necessary to minimise shock to the tools and gear train. I stipped a couple of teeth so replaced the gear. I suspect it was because the last setup from the factor was too loose as while that gear failed after two years of use....the replacment gear has held up fine. I even bought a spare gear just in case but haven't needed it. It is now 2022 so figure that bodes well for its duability of the Granite. I bought mine before they had the longer version but for my purposes I haven't found any reason to go with the 40" version. While the mill part works fine, I suspect that that is its weak spot due to rigidity. I was able to beef up some areas to improve that. I am not sure but I think this might be more of an isue with the 40" version if the offset of the mill head to the column is longer than on mine. Recommendation is to make some wooden bed covers out of OBD or plywood. Besides protecting the ways when not is use, it also helps deal with any potential rust issues. I use a commercial product to wipe down and oil the ways and the rest of the carriage, etc. to prevent rus. In addition when removing the chuck to give more room, etc. make sure you put the same bed covers on to prevent damage from dropped items to the bed ways. The lathe is capable of extremely accurate work....for astrophoto equipment I am ofen looking for .0005 accuracy and I can get this with the Smithy once you do some tweaking of everything. Yes....a higher cost/quality lathe would be great for accuracy but for my uses it has been more than satisfactory. i also belong to the Smithy Yahoo group. That has provided a lot of information and resources over the years. I learned how o use lathes and mills in high school and later college. Originally i was going to be a shop teacher but desided to get an Electrincal Engineer degree and that was probably a good move as most schools have dropped shop classes ;-) But those years of school gave me a lot of great training to use the machines.
A machinist friend of mine recently suggested that I get one of these. I have a dream of making my own Penny Farthings and Antique bicycles. I am hoping to purchase one of the machines this year so that i can accomplish my dreams...
Hi I appreciated the review you did I have the same Smith as you do but I wanted to tell you that I bought the stand with it too mine came with two big cast iron blocks to teak up the space under the smithy and it came with two rubber gaskets about 1/8 in thick to seal it so you might want to check with them on that. I hope you this was helpful and please keep the videos coming 👍
I absolutely love your videos on the Smithy I'm looking forward to many more perhaps even seeing some projects being done from beginning to end. I'm 66 now I would love to learn more about lathes and Milling. I do a lot of TIG welding for hobby, both steel and aluminum welding and some small amounts of MiG welding never did get into learning how to machine on a lathe or Mill but as soon as I hit the lottery, that's the machine that I'd love to get. I don't know why, I can't think of anything I'd want to machine or Mill but I do know that I'd like to play with it, thanks again for the video
Hey Joe!! Thank you so much for your comment and watching my videos. I try to keep my videos short and hit the high points of what I'm working on. It's easy to loose peoples attention with a lot of details, haha. I love my Smithy, it has its short comings but what can you expect from a 3n1 on your bench. Keep watching and commenting!
I have been looking at buying 😊that same machine. Thank you for the honest opinion on it! I have an old machine that is terrible in every way! I want one that is accurate and useful!
Great video. You got a really nice machine. I look forward to seeing you make some parts on it. I was surprised when the milling headstock moved and swung out of the way. That was unexpected. I liked that a lot, but at the same time, it seemed kind of weird and kind of unstable. I was thinking a fixed milling head coming from the back of the machine might be better. The machine is a great price if it is only $3600 USD for a new machine and one that is that nice.
Enjoyed your review of the Smithy Granite 1340MX. I've found the guys at Smithy as a whole to be pretty good answering your questions but I too have a couple of times that they never got back to me on questions I've had. You also need to talk to the right guy if you have technical questions about the machine.
The Tang on Morse Taper bits and tooling was not for driving the tool. The Tang on those tools is only for ejecting the tool and the slot is/was for using a drift and a mallet to break the friction lock of the Morse Taper on the tool. Modern lathes have eliminated the need for the Tang by incorporating a mechanism where the quill is cranked all the way in thus pushing the tool loose from the Morse Taper. Joe
jsjc458 hey Joe thanks so much for your comment and bringing me up to speed on the Morse taper Tang. I didn't know removing the tang was something new in the industry.
You will probably have to buy a Morse Taper extender sleeve since the carriage of the Smithy is so wide. You will discover that the sleeve is handy to have when drilling flat or small parts and the tail stock cannot get close enough because of the width of the carriage. Or for turning small parts between centers when using a live center to hold work between centers. The extender sleeve is handy to have for this so you still have room to move the carriage but can still hold the part between centers. Also you need a live center instead of the dead center that came with the lathe. Live centers do not require lubrication since the center has bearings that turn with the work. If you look at the drill chuck for your tail stock you will see a screw this is for when you use a Morse taper extender sleeve. The sleeves have the slot in them and still require angled drift to release any tool used with the sleeve. When you use your drill chuck with an extender sleeve you will need to loosen that screw so that it extends out in to the slot so that the drift will have something to push on to release the chuck from the extender sleeve. Just a tip for you. Joe
jsjc458 Thanks for the comment and info on the extender. I'm planning to pick a live center as well as some other goodies as time goes by and my budget allows. I would love a rotary table and indexing head too!😁
I just purchased a Precision Mathews PM 1236-T Lathe made in Taiwan and the tail stock comes with the tang slot. The Taiwanese lathes are a bit more pricey and higher quality than Chinese ones.
I am glad your Smithy is good and you are happy. I have the Mill LX-329. It is my worst tool in the shop. Very poorly made and the accuracy is so bad that I started use it in wood, just an expensive router now. The castings are the worst I ever seen. After spending weeks working on it, I have close to a 0.5" in backslash in all axis. Just to mention a few issue. Never again will I buy anything from that company. Looking to sell it for scrap and buy a real mill soon.
Great videos on the 1340. I recently came across one of the original Granite Classic 1324's locally and picked it up, with a BUNCH of tooling for a nice price. It needs a bit of cleanup and this classic model did not have the DC motor. I do mostly blacksmith work and so I'm not sure I'll be using it for a lot of high precision machining as much as moderate machining to help make jigs and tools for the blacksmith shop. For the most part, everything you have shown on your 1340 applies to my 1324 Classic. Thanks again!
Hello, I've watched everything since you purchased the lathe/mill/drill combo and I have been waiting for your review. Good honest review so far and I would like another in 3 months or so on your feelings about it but I would also like to hear you mention if it is a reasonable replacement for separate machines or not. Keeping in mind that it has some differences of course. I find the tailstock an irritating money saving way out of it on Smithy's decision, The tip on the drill chucks is a great one as 27 years in the heavy industry repair side and no one has ever told me about that fix for drill chucks. Although mildly embarrassing that I haven't figured it out either,LOL. Still debating on a smithy as I really do not need a lathe that much yet. Thank you for all the info and I have to say the fact the Smithy did not call you back is indicative of their customer care after the sale. The "It's gone and not my problem anymore" attitude may seem to be there. God bless and keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your comment! The main decisions factors are 1. room, do you have room for a separate lathe and mill 2. $$$$ can you afford separate machines? 3. Do you have the electricity for the separate machines? If the answer is NO to these questions then a 3-n-1 machine is the way to go. I will do more reviews in the future plus projects along the way as well.
nice casual review, honest and to the point,....when you by anything, they the Lathe company, don't tell you the negatives,anly the positives.......then the chase is on.like I said great video, and oh Yes thank you for the shout out....appreciate it .till next time....chow
1) Is this machine made in USA? If Smithy farms it out, that would explain inability to control design. “That’s the way they come” 2) I have seen people straighten bent mill spindles on videos by measuring runout on the taper, then once you are sure the spindle bearings aren’t loose, the taper can be straightened with a die grinder mounted in a fixture. this is precise work so I would measure all the parts and see which ones were out of true. I have seen people approach Harbor Freight machines as a kit that needs to be totally disassembled, cleaned, checked, and remachined and customized to the degree desired. If some component is out of spec, then get them to warranty it. Then if you do not like it, fix it! That includes reworking the tailstock or other parts and assemblies. I guess parts are available. What does a new tail stock or components cost? I assume they stock parts for old machines. People are even making their own machines. (Gingery)
My guess is there was some debris in the chucks when you seated them. Things need to be almost operating room clean when you seat them for precision friction fits. NEVER HAMMER ON YOU'RE SPINDLE OR TAIL STOCK OR ANYTHING IN THEM. (tapping on them down the length to release something like tapered tooling is different) You can bend your spindle or tweak the bearings. They're not made to take that kind of a lateral force.
Now that these are up to 5k now, what are your thoughts on it. Is it a $5k machine ? Really wanna put the trigger, but 20% price hike in the last year REALLY makes me 2nd guess just getting a decent 12x36 and a light mill.
just had a thought about your tail stock issue, how about using another drill adaptor (the 3 Morse one) and adding it to a collet holder/ chuck, like you use on the milling machine; that way all the drill bits ( > 1" - the size you look like you had in the video) can become straight shank bits, and can fit into this holder well, and it can be adapted easily for other machines also, without hacking your large taper shank drills! P.s. you forgot that in the smithy video, they also said that there is a screwed plug in the base of the drill chuck's arbour which HAS to be screwed in place, otherwise the chuck is stuck in the quill, ( the bolt allows the self_extraction feature to work!). nice to see some videos of smithy esp. something other than the granite series, a re leaf that they do make some "big" machines, and not just "midi" ones.
Nice job, well done. I have the same machine and would like to add a few points for potential buyers. Its 5 grand with the stand, taxes, a 4 jaw chuck, the steady rest, and shipping, so.... shop your local used machine tool dealer and EBAY before you buy. You may be surprised at what that money can buy in used traditional equipment, often with a DRO (another $1300 for the DROPROS EL300 in my case). Its compact compared to a separate lathe and mill option and It will do a decent job at light machine work. The motor is quiet and easily run very slowly for power tapping. It threads a wide range of both metric and standard sizes. The trade off is it is a light machine and you will learn to keep your tooling very sharp. Smithys are equipped with lift handles and you can move one with a couple friends fairly easily. That said, they will flex under heavy cuts and the cutting tools do tend to develop harmonics and chatter if stick out is not kept to a minimum. The 2HP motor in this model runs well off single phase 220V found in most residential homes. I have a Bridgeport mill now, as the milling table on the Smithy has no knee to raise it up and that limitation can be an issue on larger parts. If I were doing it again I would look for a separate milling machine and lathe instead. Technology has changed the game with older 3 phase machines easily converted to run off inexpensive VFD drives on single phase power.
A note fore you. Unless they have changed their work over seas since I got mine check in where your bearing oil goes for trash. I just opened mine up it has sand metal and some other grit caked in the bottom of mine just a note for you. My bearing need to be replaced. But no matter I still love mine. I'm just glad I have 8 + years experience on spindle repairs.
Great review!... I myself would love to have one, maybe some day. being a toolmaker I know just what these machines can do. I look forwards to seeing more review about it!
Great review, nice and clear. Refreshingly casual. I wonder if there is any sneaky way of truing up the chucks while the other bit is still chilly and avoid the hammer time. I'm still looking about for a decent hobby level lathe-mill combo available in the UK. 60 years ago we still had some heavy industry over here but not so much anymore. I did find a few but they look so feeble and tiny in comparison to the nice beefy (stable, accurate) ones you guys (Americans) seem to still make and use. I can only assume that iron is now too expensive in the UK to make anything with any weight to it anymore. Anyway, great job on the video, well made and presented.
Awesome Review! I operate a 1340 I-Max as part of my current job assignment. I hope to buy one of these for my shop at home real soon. But before I can set one up in my shop.....I'll need to move all the Stihl chainsaws I currently have on my work bench...:) :)
Nat Abram thanks for watching and commenting! I hope you get your machine soon and I'm sure you will love having it in your shop. BTW, I can give some of those saws a home!
You and I must come from the same mold. Smithy's and Stihl's.....Don't get much better than that! Oh and it looks like my next project will be to rework my brother's Husky 385 that has a damaged case half. Keep those videos coming!!!!
Could you not make a tail stick bore tube with a tang to replace the new tankless design. Realize that would probably require you buy a special hardened Roy bar stick yo make a tang style M3 taper bore stock tube and a large M3 drill bit to drill the tailstock tube as not sure a boring bar with taper jig would be rigid enough or accurate enough. I was looking at the older Harbor Freight central machinery 3n 1 that looks like this smithy minus the precision down quill feed.
Thanks for your honest review. Regarding the tang - is there any reason why the receiver could not have a slot machined in it for the tang if one was to buy one of these machines?
i have the same machine and the tang has nothing to do with the slipping mt tapers are all done just by the taper fit and unfortunately the smithy morse tapers aint the best in other words they only make about 40 or so % contact when they should make 90 to 95 % and the slot is only there so you can separate the tool from the adapter keep up the good work
Hammer not a great idea will pay for that in the future. As for as mounting the arbor freezing and dropping it in with a very lite tap on it would have worked out better and i do very lite. But all in i like the machine and i think you will enjoy it much over the years. Now going to watch #2. Watching in Alabama
I have started to watch your videos on the Smithy and I feel compelled to pass on a tidbit of knowledge about the tail stock, at least on my G1324. The tail stock tube has a threaded screw in the handle end that can be adjusted in and out if you are willing to take the unit apart. I adjusted the screw and now have no problem with the tangs on the tools keeping them from seating. The other side of this is the arbors that have the set screw instead of the tang will need to be adjusted to reach deeper in the hole so it will release when you spin the handle to draw it in.
P Wise thank you so much for watching and commenting on my video! I will definitely check on that screw and making adjustments. Thanks again and I will give you a shout out soon!!
Mine finally arrived! Is your mill considerably noisier than the lathe? I know there’s a set of bevel gears the mill has that the lathe doesn’t, but my mill, when running kinda has a whomp, whomp, whomp, sound. And it could be those bevels getting to know each other, but I was curious.....
Hey just wondering how ridged the mill end of your machine is as I've heard that with the 3-1 you loose that compared to buying seperate machines and especially because this one does swivel and is not fixed, I know it's a nice feature but, more moving part more problems? Does it have any play in it?
Could you possibly take the tailstock apart and machine in the slots for the tang? Just a thought. I have no idea if there would be other machining that would be necessary on the inside bore of the tailstock.
I have an old model smithy I will inspect my tailstock tomorrow I appreciate your video on the bench I am in the middle building one myself I’ll be posting some videos shortly... I wonder if you could dismantle the tailstock and add your own tang?
Thanks so much for the comment! I glad you enjoyed the bench videos, I cant wait to see yours! I gave a lot of thought to taking the tailstock apart and trying to figure a way to correct it. Maybe in the future!! Tell me how yours looks...
@@foothillstrailhiker2426 The First thing i did was strip my carriage, l found lots of casting grit inside cleaned greased and reassembled I took the time to adjust the gibs and checked for true at the time. I have yet to do the head stock and have not used the mill as of yet.
You should have gotten two spacer rings (square) that go in the chip pan. Weren't they in the bottom of your crate? It's been over two years since I got my Granite 1340, but I seem to recall that they were actually attached to the chip pan. But they are about an inch high.
You should have called Smithy when you ran into that problem--they're very responsive. But you definitely should have gotten two spacers so that you could have used your chip pan.
No spacers, I was pretty aggravated because I had the machine hanging from the chainfall when I discovered the need for spacers. This summer I will lift the machine and insert my own spacers.
Just call Smithy and tell them you didn't get any with the original order. To my understanding, they're not included with a Granite, unless you get the chip pan with the order as well--because (as you found out) there isn't enough clearance without them. So they *should* have given them to you.
Live and learn is right, like you said you're not a "professional" don't worry about the hammer incident... Sh@# happens. I am a Journeyman Tool & Die Maker of 35+ years and I'm sure your Father would be PROUD!!! enjoy your machine (But no more beating on the spindle please) Lol
That was the first I considered, but given all the Smithy stuff was without a tang (Drill chuck, dead and live centers) I opted to keep it all the same and cut the tang off. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thanks for the vid. not sure I agree with the tang idea, but shouldn't be an issue for me, probably never have a nice machine like that. i'm shopping around trying to justify how much I want to spend. I did notice that the top of the mill the cover looks poor in quality, unless that is just the video but it looks like it is mal formed. just saying, a little thing thanks for the information.
U reckon that machine would mill some holes in the floor board brackets on my Harley cause they don't make the brackets to lower the pegs for tall people lol but it needs to drop about a 1.5in an there is over 2in of metal left on the brackets
If you can cut the tang of the adapter why not remove the quill from the tailstock and mill a slot from side to side like the adapter so you wont have to break a good tools that is the only operation that the company haven't made
Just a bit of info, you can create the tang locking device by taking the shaft out of the tailstock and drill and tap for two grub screws either side of the back of the shaft opposite each other, then when you insert the drill or your taper the grub screws will create a locking device
The tang is not standard for tailstocks on real industrial machines. Been doing it for a very long time, and the only place it is common is on drill presses. Tailstocks and milling machines....not so much.
I am appreciating your videos very much. I know this was from a couple of years ago but they are helping me immensely. I recently acquired an older Smithy that was literally a Barn Find. All it cost me was a case of beer, some time and enough gas for a hundred mile round trip. I have been wanting some kind of Mill forever. I have a Chineseium HF 7X10 that has been a nightmare and so far I am just tickled pink with this Smithy after getting it all cleaned up and working. It's actually in real good condition. I just wanted to thank you for your videos. I do have one question though. How come I never get a glimpse of the pretty lady that is on all of your previews? Lol!
I looked at the Smithy web site wondering if their machine are made in the US or in China; I suspect it's the latter since nothing is said of them being made in the good old USA. The Smithy site says _Based near Detroit, Michigan, we are at the epicenter of metal parts manufacturing in North America. We are manufacturers and we focus on the design and delivery of quality machine tools_ That's great but you would think by now that Smithy would have some videos showing their manufacturing process and all American craftsmanship going into these machines. Most likely, they use CNC machines to make their machines and while CNC provides high output and accuracy on any given part on a Smithy machine, it does not mean that the machine, once assembled, is up to 2018 standards in machine design. According to Smithy, they started making these machines 30 years ago which means that the mechanical design of the machine is 30 years out of date. Just look at the CNC machines created by Mori -Seki, Mazak, and others. It makes Smithy look like they were made in the stone age. Imagine if a car company decided not to make any design improvements in their cars, rest assured they'd go out of business. This is what bothers me about Smithy, Taig, Sherline, Grizzly, and all those Chinese made machines: they are far removed from the machine tool design of today. As a machinist with 35 years experience, I would never buy any of these machines. For anyone interested in machining, you'd be better off buying, say, and old Logan lathe and a 8520 Clausing Mill and restoring them. True, they are hard to find but these older machines were made much better than today's Chinese machines and far better than Smithy. I often ask the question: is it asking too much of Smithy to get out of the past by upgrading the design of their machines so that it reflects 21st design? Oh, but then the cost of these machines would be too high- you might be thinking. Well, I look at it this way, I'd rather pay a few hundred dollars more on a Smithy provided they were upgraded with state of the art mechanical engineering- make some improvements, for Christ sake! How ironic is it that 30 year old Smithy's are most likely being made with 21st century CNC technology. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
GnosisMan50 thanks so much for commenting and watching my videos! The Smithy is 100% made in China. The company just designed and delivered. They don't manufacture anything that I know of. The machine is ok, certainly not as good a stand alone lathe or mill.
They are designed in the US, with the help of (I'm told) a PhD Engineering guy from one of the universities in Michigan. So I think they're well-engineered, and the Granite seems to be much-improved from the older machines that I've seen.
Every gear train has backlash. If you only have a little leave it alone if succeed in taking it out your gears will wear itself the amount of backlash it needs to work properly.i
I have to admit that I DO NOT have the skills to cut the slot. Thanks so much for watching my little videos and commenting. I will mention you in a shout out video in a few weeks!
The Ways are Not hardened, so the least little thing you drop on them will cause a ding, dent, and an upward place you’ll have to sand or file down. The table only has 2 T Slots, I learned to get by with 2, but 3 would have been much better. I bought my machine new 20 years ago and was finally able to sell it. They are hard to sell. For the money you can buy a much more robust machine, unless you think you have to have brand new. I wanted a NEW machine, but once I learned what I could do with a bigger used machine I totally lost interest in the Smithy.
They would not make it good??? Its not like they don’t own a machine shop. Its not like they don’t own the old plans. You had to ruin hundreds of dollars of taper mount drill bits and an adapter that may have to be used on a different machine.
I have a 13 24 Granite I bought new in 2005. I use it constantly in my hobby work building parts for astrophotography, telescopes, and mounts. Has been a great tool although they have gotten a LOT more expensive over the ears. I also have just about every tool and accesrory at was in their catalog. One of my favorites is the Super Indexer which is used a lot. One upgrade was to get better belts. But other than that it has held up quite well. The only failure in all those ears was the drive gear for the mill head. It has nylon gears which are necessary to minimise shock to the tools and gear train. I stipped a couple of teeth so replaced the gear. I suspect it was because the last setup from the factor was too loose as while that gear failed after two years of use....the replacment gear has held up fine. I even bought a spare gear just in case but haven't needed it. It is now 2022 so figure that bodes well for its duability of the Granite. I bought mine before they had the longer version but for my purposes I haven't found any reason to go with the 40" version. While the mill part works fine, I suspect that that is its weak spot due to rigidity. I was able to beef up some areas to improve that. I am not sure but I think this might be more of an isue with the 40" version if the offset of the mill head to the column is longer than on mine. Recommendation is to make some wooden bed covers out of OBD or plywood. Besides protecting the ways when not is use, it also helps deal with any potential rust issues. I use a commercial product to wipe down and oil the ways and the rest of the carriage, etc. to prevent rus. In addition when removing the chuck to give more room, etc. make sure you put the same bed covers on to prevent damage from dropped items to the bed ways.
The lathe is capable of extremely accurate work....for astrophoto equipment I am ofen looking for .0005 accuracy and I can get this with the
Smithy once you do some tweaking of everything. Yes....a higher cost/quality lathe would be great for accuracy but for my uses it has been more than satisfactory. i also belong to the Smithy Yahoo group. That has provided a lot of information and resources over the years. I learned how o use lathes and mills in high school and later college. Originally i was going to be a shop teacher but desided to get an Electrincal Engineer degree and that was probably a good move as most schools have dropped shop classes ;-) But those years of school gave me a lot of great training to use the machines.
Good, honest review of the Smithy 1340 Max. Anyone looking into buying this machine would appreciate the information from your experience.
Wills MightKnow thanks so much for your support in everything I do! Love ya!
A machinist friend of mine recently suggested that I get one of these. I have a dream of making my own Penny Farthings and Antique bicycles. I am hoping to purchase one of the machines this year so that i can accomplish my dreams...
Hi I appreciated the review you did I have the same Smith as you do but I wanted to tell you that I bought the stand with it too mine came with two big cast iron blocks to teak up the space under the smithy and it came with two rubber gaskets about 1/8 in thick to seal it so you might want to check with them on that. I hope you this was helpful and please keep the videos coming 👍
I absolutely love your videos on the Smithy I'm looking forward to many more perhaps even seeing some projects being done from beginning to end. I'm 66 now I would love to learn more about lathes and Milling. I do a lot of TIG welding for hobby, both steel and aluminum welding and some small amounts of MiG welding never did get into learning how to machine on a lathe or Mill but as soon as I hit the lottery, that's the machine that I'd love to get. I don't know why, I can't think of anything I'd want to machine or Mill but I do know that I'd like to play with it, thanks again for the video
Hey Joe!! Thank you so much for your comment and watching my videos. I try to keep my videos short and hit the high points of what I'm working on. It's easy to loose peoples attention with a lot of details, haha. I love my Smithy, it has its short comings but what can you expect from a 3n1 on your bench. Keep watching and commenting!
I have been looking at buying 😊that same machine. Thank you for the honest opinion on it! I have an old machine that is terrible in every way! I want one that is accurate and useful!
Did you buy the machine, If so what do you think of it?
Great video. You got a really nice machine. I look forward to seeing you make some parts on it. I was surprised when the milling headstock moved and swung out of the way. That was unexpected. I liked that a lot, but at the same time, it seemed kind of weird and kind of unstable. I was thinking a fixed milling head coming from the back of the machine might be better. The machine is a great price if it is only $3600 USD for a new machine and one that is that nice.
Enjoyed your review of the Smithy Granite 1340MX. I've found the guys at Smithy as a whole to be pretty good answering your questions but I too have a couple of times that they never got back to me on questions I've had. You also need to talk to the right guy if you have technical questions about the machine.
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the video on the Smithy. Overall I am very pleased with the machine.
The Tang on Morse Taper bits and tooling was not for driving the tool. The Tang on those tools is only for ejecting the tool and the slot is/was for using a drift and a mallet to break the friction lock of the Morse Taper on the tool. Modern lathes have eliminated the need for the Tang by incorporating a mechanism where the quill is cranked all the way in thus pushing the tool loose from the Morse Taper.
Joe
jsjc458 hey Joe thanks so much for your comment and bringing me up to speed on the Morse taper Tang. I didn't know removing the tang was something new in the industry.
You will probably have to buy a Morse Taper extender sleeve since the carriage of the Smithy is so wide. You will discover that the sleeve is handy to have when drilling flat or small parts and the tail stock cannot get close enough because of the width of the carriage. Or for turning small parts between centers when using a live center to hold work between centers. The extender sleeve is handy to have for this so you still have room to move the carriage but can still hold the part between centers. Also you need a live center instead of the dead center that came with the lathe. Live centers do not require lubrication since the center has bearings that turn with the work.
If you look at the drill chuck for your tail stock you will see a screw this is for when you use a Morse taper extender sleeve. The sleeves have the slot in them and still require angled drift to release any tool used with the sleeve. When you use your drill chuck with an extender sleeve you will need to loosen that screw so that it extends out in to the slot so that the drift will have something to push on to release the chuck from the extender sleeve. Just a tip for you.
Joe
jsjc458 Thanks for the comment and info on the extender. I'm planning to pick a live center as well as some other goodies as time goes by and my budget allows. I would love a rotary table and indexing head too!😁
I just purchased a Precision Mathews PM 1236-T Lathe made in Taiwan and the tail stock comes with the tang slot. The Taiwanese lathes are a bit more pricey and higher quality than Chinese ones.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Proves my point, a good machine has a provision for the tang.
I am glad your Smithy is good and you are happy. I have the Mill LX-329. It is my worst tool in the shop. Very poorly made and the accuracy is so bad that I started use it in wood, just an expensive router now. The castings are the worst I ever seen. After spending weeks working on it, I have close to a 0.5" in backslash in all axis. Just to mention a few issue. Never again will I buy anything from that company. Looking to sell it for scrap and buy a real mill soon.
Great videos on the 1340. I recently came across one of the original Granite Classic 1324's locally and picked it up, with a BUNCH of tooling for a nice price. It needs a bit of cleanup and this classic model did not have the DC motor. I do mostly blacksmith work and so I'm not sure I'll be using it for a lot of high precision machining as much as moderate machining to help make jigs and tools for the blacksmith shop. For the most part, everything you have shown on your 1340 applies to my 1324 Classic. Thanks again!
Hello, I've watched everything since you purchased the lathe/mill/drill combo and I have been waiting for your review. Good honest review so far and I would like another in 3 months or so on your feelings about it but I would also like to hear you mention if it is a reasonable replacement for separate machines or not. Keeping in mind that it has some differences of course. I find the tailstock an irritating money saving way out of it on Smithy's decision, The tip on the drill chucks is a great one as 27 years in the heavy industry repair side and no one has ever told me about that fix for drill chucks. Although mildly embarrassing that I haven't figured it out either,LOL. Still debating on a smithy as I really do not need a lathe that much yet. Thank you for all the info and I have to say the fact the Smithy did not call you back is indicative of their customer care after the sale. The "It's gone and not my problem anymore" attitude may seem to be there. God bless and keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your comment! The main decisions factors are 1. room, do you have room for a separate lathe and mill 2. $$$$ can you afford separate machines? 3. Do you have the electricity for the separate machines? If the answer is NO to these questions then a 3-n-1 machine is the way to go. I will do more reviews in the future plus projects along the way as well.
nice casual review, honest and to the point,....when you by anything, they the Lathe company, don't tell you the negatives,anly the positives.......then the chase is on.like I said great video, and oh Yes thank you for the shout out....appreciate it .till next time....chow
Thanks so much Ray! I wish I could seen this video before I purchased, I could have avoided some of the "Surprises"haha
1) Is this machine made in USA? If Smithy farms it out, that would explain inability to control design. “That’s the way they come” 2) I have seen people straighten bent mill spindles on videos by measuring runout on the taper, then once you are sure the spindle bearings aren’t loose, the taper can be straightened with a die grinder mounted in a fixture. this is precise work so I would measure all the parts and see which ones were out of true. I have seen people approach Harbor Freight machines as a kit that needs to be totally disassembled, cleaned, checked, and remachined and customized to the degree desired. If some component is out of spec, then get them to warranty it. Then if you do not like it, fix it! That includes reworking the tailstock or other parts and assemblies. I guess parts are available. What does a new tail stock or components cost? I assume they stock parts for old machines. People are even making their own machines. (Gingery)
My guess is there was some debris in the chucks when you seated them. Things need to be almost operating room clean when you seat them for precision friction fits.
NEVER HAMMER ON YOU'RE SPINDLE OR TAIL STOCK OR ANYTHING IN THEM. (tapping on them down the length to release something like tapered tooling is different) You can bend your spindle or tweak the bearings. They're not made to take that kind of a lateral force.
Now that these are up to 5k now, what are your thoughts on it. Is it a $5k machine ? Really wanna put the trigger, but 20% price hike in the last year REALLY makes me 2nd guess just getting a decent 12x36 and a light mill.
At that price I would look for something else.
Any suggestions on what to look at?
Great....I really amazed!..very interested!..how to avail that machine?and how much!!?
just had a thought about your tail stock issue, how about using another drill adaptor (the 3 Morse one) and adding it to a collet holder/ chuck, like you use on the milling machine; that way all the drill bits ( > 1" - the size you look like you had in the video) can become straight shank bits, and can fit into this holder well, and it can be adapted easily for other machines also, without hacking your large taper shank drills!
P.s. you forgot that in the smithy video, they also said that there is a screwed plug in the base of the drill chuck's arbour which HAS to be screwed in place, otherwise the chuck is stuck in the quill, ( the bolt allows the self_extraction feature to work!).
nice to see some videos of smithy esp. something other than the granite series, a re leaf that they do make some "big" machines, and not just "midi" ones.
Nice job, well done. I have the same machine and would like to add a few points for potential buyers. Its 5 grand with the stand, taxes, a 4 jaw chuck, the steady rest, and shipping, so.... shop your local used machine tool dealer and EBAY before you buy. You may be surprised at what that money can buy in used traditional equipment, often with a DRO (another $1300 for the DROPROS EL300 in my case). Its compact compared to a separate lathe and mill option and It will do a decent job at light machine work. The motor is quiet and easily run very slowly for power tapping. It threads a wide range of both metric and standard sizes. The trade off is it is a light machine and you will learn to keep your tooling very sharp. Smithys are equipped with lift handles and you can move one with a couple friends fairly easily. That said, they will flex under heavy cuts and the cutting tools do tend to develop harmonics and chatter if stick out is not kept to a minimum. The 2HP motor in this model runs well off single phase 220V found in most residential homes. I have a Bridgeport mill now, as the milling table on the Smithy has no knee to raise it up and that limitation can be an issue on larger parts. If I were doing it again I would look for a separate milling machine and lathe instead. Technology has changed the game with older 3 phase machines easily converted to run off inexpensive VFD drives on single phase power.
Thanks for the input. I appreciate you watching and commenting
A note fore you. Unless they have changed their work over seas since I got mine check in where your bearing oil goes for trash. I just opened mine up it has sand metal and some other grit caked in the bottom of mine just a note for you. My bearing need to be replaced. But no matter I still love mine. I'm just glad I have 8 + years experience on spindle repairs.
Mike Hale thank you for the advice! I appreciate you watching and commenting
Like our talk before I have had mine since 03 but not worked it hard.
And your welcome
Great review!... I myself would love to have one, maybe some day. being a toolmaker I know just what these machines can do. I look forwards to seeing more review about it!
+Negimaster23 thank you so much for commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, there will more coming in the future. Maybe you can get one someday.
You have no complain bro you have a great machine there.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great review, nice and clear. Refreshingly casual. I wonder if there is any sneaky way of truing up the chucks while the other bit is still chilly and avoid the hammer time. I'm still looking about for a decent hobby level lathe-mill combo available in the UK. 60 years ago we still had some heavy industry over here but not so much anymore. I did find a few but they look so feeble and tiny in comparison to the nice beefy (stable, accurate) ones you guys (Americans) seem to still make and use. I can only assume that iron is now too expensive in the UK to make anything with any weight to it anymore. Anyway, great job on the video, well made and presented.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting.
Awesome Review! I operate a 1340 I-Max as part of my current job assignment. I hope to buy one of these for my shop at home real soon. But before I can set one up in my shop.....I'll need to move all the Stihl chainsaws I currently have on my work bench...:) :)
Nat Abram thanks for watching and commenting! I hope you get your machine soon and I'm sure you will love having it in your shop. BTW, I can give some of those saws a home!
You and I must come from the same mold. Smithy's and Stihl's.....Don't get much better than that! Oh and it looks like my next project will be to rework my brother's Husky 385 that has a damaged case half. Keep those videos coming!!!!
Nat Abram will do!
+Nat Abram sure do, I would to see a video on that Husky!
Could you not make a tail stick bore tube with a tang to replace the new tankless design. Realize that would probably require you buy a special hardened Roy bar stick yo make a tang style M3 taper bore stock tube and a large M3 drill bit to drill the tailstock tube as not sure a boring bar with taper jig would be rigid enough or accurate enough. I was looking at the older Harbor Freight central machinery 3n 1 that looks like this smithy minus the precision down quill feed.
Very good video, Thank You.
a lot of old lathes have a flat bed like that. I would be interesting to see if you could get a proper tailstock from a different lathe
I will definitely keep that in mind! Thanks for watching and commenting on my videos.
I love it, I have been wanting one for a while now. I didn't know they were so robust, very nice. Make something nice for us
Take my Word for it, DON’T BUY A SMITHY.
Thanks for your honest review. Regarding the tang - is there any reason why the receiver could not have a slot machined in it for the tang if one was to buy one of these machines?
I have no idea why the slot wasn't machined other than it saves money.
I plan on buying the same machine myself.
hows the rigidity of the machine? That seems to be my biggest worry. tailstock kind of disappointing. thanks for the review!
For a small machine I have been pleased.
did they happen to mention when they removed the tang? I know there was an update in 2003. Maybe an older tailstock would fit.
i have the same machine and the tang has nothing to do with the slipping mt tapers are all done just by the taper fit and unfortunately the smithy morse tapers aint the best in other words they only make about 40 or so % contact when they should make 90 to 95 % and the slot is only there so you can separate the tool from the adapter keep up the good work
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hammer not a great idea will pay for that in the future. As for as mounting the arbor freezing and dropping it in with a very lite tap on it would have worked out better and i do very lite. But all in i like the machine and i think you will enjoy it much over the years. Now going to watch #2.
Watching in Alabama
Thanks for watching and commenting
I have started to watch your videos on the Smithy and I feel compelled to pass on a tidbit of knowledge about the tail stock, at least on my G1324. The tail stock tube has a threaded screw in the handle end that can be adjusted in and out if you are willing to take the unit apart. I adjusted the screw and now have no problem with the tangs on the tools keeping them from seating. The other side of this is the arbors that have the set screw instead of the tang will need to be adjusted to reach deeper in the hole so it will release when you spin the handle to draw it in.
P Wise thank you so much for watching and commenting on my video! I will definitely check on that screw and making adjustments. Thanks again and I will give you a shout out soon!!
Wondering if this was a correction for the initial problem thanks for the reply
Joe West I haven't had time to try it yet. It's on the list of things to do and I just keep forgetting to try it.
Mine finally arrived! Is your mill considerably noisier than the lathe? I know there’s a set of bevel gears the mill has that the lathe doesn’t, but my mill, when running kinda has a whomp, whomp, whomp, sound. And it could be those bevels getting to know each other, but I was curious.....
OK Farmer yes, the mill head is definitely noisy compared to the lathe. Got to be the extra gearing
Hey just wondering how ridged the mill end of your machine is as I've heard that with the 3-1 you loose that compared to buying seperate machines and especially because this one does swivel and is not fixed, I know it's a nice feature but, more moving part more problems? Does it have any play in it?
Its quite ridged, you just be sure to tighten everything up. Thanks for watching and commenting
Great review presentation. Excellent. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching and commenting
I love my 1324. the backlash can be easily fixed with washers.
Thanks for watching and commenting on my videos. I love my Smithy as well.
Have you seen my DRO videos yet?
I just did. You did an amazing job installing it and explaining
Could you possibly take the tailstock apart and machine in the slots for the tang? Just a thought. I have no idea if there would be other machining that would be necessary on the inside bore of the tailstock.
It's a possibility. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I have an old model smithy I will inspect my tailstock tomorrow I appreciate your video on the bench I am in the middle building one myself I’ll be posting some videos shortly... I wonder if you could dismantle the tailstock and add your own tang?
Thanks so much for the comment! I glad you enjoyed the bench videos, I cant wait to see yours! I gave a lot of thought to taking the tailstock apart and trying to figure a way to correct it. Maybe in the future!! Tell me how yours looks...
Foothills Trail Hiker there is no tang in my unit either. I will try and tackle that after my cart is build for lack of a better word.
I'm looking forward to seeing your bench and Smithy!
LOL
Thank you, I learned alot!!!
What is your thought on cleaning all the cosmoline from the gear case and regressing it ? Thanks for the videos from a fellow 1340 Max owner.
I followed the instructions in the manual and just lubricated mine. If you do, let me know how it turns out.
@@foothillstrailhiker2426 The First thing i did was strip my carriage, l found lots of casting grit inside cleaned greased and reassembled I took the time to adjust the gibs and checked for true at the time. I have yet to do the head stock and have not used the mill as of yet.
You could always back the piece out the tailstock and machine a slot yourself for the tang
Thank you, Paul McCartney!
You should have gotten two spacer rings (square) that go in the chip pan. Weren't they in the bottom of your crate? It's been over two years since I got my Granite 1340, but I seem to recall that they were actually attached to the chip pan. But they are about an inch high.
You should have called Smithy when you ran into that problem--they're very responsive. But you definitely should have gotten two spacers so that you could have used your chip pan.
No spacers, I was pretty aggravated because I had the machine hanging from the chainfall when I discovered the need for spacers. This summer I will lift the machine and insert my own spacers.
Just call Smithy and tell them you didn't get any with the original order. To my understanding, they're not included with a Granite, unless you get the chip pan with the order as well--because (as you found out) there isn't enough clearance without them. So they *should* have given them to you.
Live and learn is right, like you said you're not a "professional" don't worry about the hammer incident... Sh@# happens. I am a Journeyman Tool & Die Maker of 35+ years and I'm sure your Father would be PROUD!!! enjoy your machine (But no more beating on the spindle please) Lol
Thamks for watching and commenting! No worries about the great hammer incident being repeated.
You have a Mill now, what about making the slot in the tailstock quil?
Why haven’t you uploaded videos actually making stuff with your smithy 1340 combo lathe , mill , drill. ??? Is the machine good. ??
you could try to taper the tang instead of cutting it off. you do have the lathe
That was the first I considered, but given all the Smithy stuff was without a tang (Drill chuck, dead and live centers) I opted to keep it all the same and cut the tang off.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thanks for the vid. not sure I agree with the tang idea, but shouldn't be an issue for me, probably never have a nice machine like that. i'm shopping around trying to justify how much I want to spend. I did notice that the top of the mill the cover looks poor in quality, unless that is just the video but it looks like it is mal formed. just saying, a little thing thanks for the information.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I have been happy with the Smithy.
Take the tail stock apart and milk a slot in it. You have the machine to do it. But yeah, they should include the slot.
Do you ever make things with it and I would like to know is it commercially industrially rated meaning can it hold a 8 hour a day operating load
Thanks for commenting. I use it regularly, when I am doing a project, etc. No it is not designed to be operated 8 hours a day, 7 days a week.
great review
U reckon that machine would mill some holes in the floor board brackets on my Harley cause they don't make the brackets to lower the pegs for tall people lol but it needs to drop about a 1.5in an there is over 2in of metal left on the brackets
I'm sure it would. Bring them to me and I will fix them up for you.
Ok I'm working half day Tuesday I'll get them off then bud
Dang!! Did away with the tang??? What are they thinking?
Who knows, thanks for watching and commenting.
excellent video for prospective Smithy buyers. I wonder if Smithy has since made changes to the tail stock?
I doubt it. Thanks for watching and commenting.
If you can cut the tang of the adapter
why not remove the quill from the tailstock and mill a slot from side to side like the adapter so you wont have to break a good tools
that is the only operation that the company haven't made
good call
Just a bit of info, you can create the tang locking device by taking the shaft out of the tailstock and drill and tap for two grub screws either side of the back of the shaft opposite each other, then when you insert the drill or your taper the grub screws will create a locking device
The tang is not standard for tailstocks on real industrial machines. Been doing it for a very long time, and the only place it is common is on drill presses. Tailstocks and milling machines....not so much.
I am appreciating your videos very much. I know this was from a couple of years ago but they are helping me immensely. I recently acquired an older Smithy that was literally a Barn Find. All it cost me was a case of beer, some time and enough gas for a hundred mile round trip.
I have been wanting some kind of Mill forever. I have a Chineseium HF 7X10 that has been a nightmare and so far I am just tickled pink with this Smithy after getting it all cleaned up and working. It's actually in real good condition.
I just wanted to thank you for your videos. I do have one question though. How come I never get a glimpse of the pretty lady that is on all of your previews?
Lol!
She does show up in a few of my videos but you have to watch them all to find out! Haha
@@foothillstrailhiker2426 I'm working on it.
Lol!
@@foothillstrailhiker2426 I have been thinking of buying a granite.. Do you still love yours?
thanks, good info, very informative however, you need to get a collar mic
I looked at the Smithy web site wondering if their machine are made in the US or in China; I suspect it's the latter since nothing is said of them being made in the good old USA. The Smithy site says
_Based near Detroit, Michigan, we are at the epicenter of metal parts manufacturing in North America. We are manufacturers and we focus on the design and delivery of quality machine tools_
That's great but you would think by now that Smithy would have some videos showing their manufacturing process and all American craftsmanship going into these machines. Most likely, they use CNC machines to make their machines and while CNC provides high output and accuracy on any given part on a Smithy machine, it does not mean that the machine, once assembled, is up to 2018 standards in machine design. According to Smithy, they started making these machines 30 years ago which means that the mechanical design of the machine is 30 years out of date. Just look at the CNC machines created by Mori -Seki, Mazak, and others. It makes Smithy look like they were made in the stone age. Imagine if a car company decided not to make any design improvements in their cars, rest assured they'd go out of business. This is what bothers me about Smithy, Taig, Sherline, Grizzly, and all those Chinese made machines: they are far removed from the machine tool design of today.
As a machinist with 35 years experience, I would never buy any of these machines. For anyone interested in machining, you'd be better off buying, say, and old Logan lathe and a 8520 Clausing Mill and restoring them. True, they are hard to find but these older machines were made much better than today's Chinese machines and far better than Smithy. I often ask the question: is it asking too much of Smithy to get out of the past by upgrading the design of their machines so that it reflects 21st design?
Oh, but then the cost of these machines would be too high- you might be thinking. Well, I look at it this way, I'd rather pay a few hundred dollars more on a Smithy provided they were upgraded with state of the art mechanical engineering- make some improvements, for Christ sake! How ironic is it that 30 year old Smithy's are most likely being made with 21st century CNC technology. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
GnosisMan50 thanks so much for commenting and watching my videos! The Smithy is 100% made in China. The company just designed and delivered. They don't manufacture anything that I know of. The machine is ok, certainly not as good a stand alone lathe or mill.
They are designed in the US, with the help of (I'm told) a PhD Engineering guy from one of the universities in Michigan. So I think they're well-engineered, and the Granite seems to be much-improved from the older machines that I've seen.
How come you cut it off you should just take it off and make your own so you can use the tank
Every gear train has backlash. If you only have a little leave it alone if succeed in taking it out your gears will wear itself the amount of backlash it needs to work properly.i
Thank's for watching and commenting
Where is Smithy made ?
The same sorry place everything else is made CHINA.
@@foothillstrailhiker2426 Dang ..... thanks for getting back to me so quickly !
I do appreciate it.
Sir What is the price of this machine
Visit this website to find pricing... smithy.com/smithy-lathe-mill-combo-0
Any one know how this compares to a grizzly 9729?
I would like to know the same!!
The old saying about "curse the darkness" can't you cut a slot in the tail stock , just sayin, thanks love these vids ,Stupid in Pahokee
I have to admit that I DO NOT have the skills to cut the slot. Thanks so much for watching my little videos and commenting. I will mention you in a shout out video in a few weeks!
The Ways are Not hardened, so the least
little thing you drop on them will cause a ding,
dent, and an upward place you’ll have to sand
or file down.
The table only has 2 T Slots, I learned to get
by with 2, but 3 would have been much better.
I bought my machine new 20 years ago and
was finally able to sell it. They are hard to sell.
For the money you can buy a much more
robust machine, unless you think you have to
have brand new.
I wanted a NEW machine, but once I learned
what I could do with a bigger used machine
I totally lost interest in the Smithy.
They would not make it good??? Its not like they don’t own a machine shop. Its not like they don’t own the old plans. You had to ruin hundreds of dollars of taper mount drill bits and an adapter that may have to be used on a different machine.
Their only answer was "That's how it comes." Thanks for watching and commenting!