[lilguy]

Im setting up a 10'x10'x7' shop at my home.Have no experience with buying used machines. Are the Jet, Grizzly,Enco, Smithy machines acceplable for occasional repairs or upgrades to farm equiptment.All input and suggestions greatly appreciated.

[keitholivier]

Where in the US are you ? Availability of equipment does help keep the price down. I like this vendor in Cleveland OH: http://www.gahrmachine.com/index.asp

I would recommend that since you have a farm, you may tend to have bigger equipment, so I would try to get the biggest swing lathe with a reasonable bed (30-40") that I could find. You will run into limitations very fast with a 12" swing.

Keith

[Geof]

keitholivier gives good advise. Go for the sturdiest, biggest and probably oldest machine you can get. Go online and search for used machinery dealers, look for auctions of companies going out of business. The machines you mention are fine for a small hobby shop or even production of small items but for real world stuff on farm equipment you need a bit of brute strength in your machine. I grew up on a farm I know!

[bigbunny5]

I live here in Texas, and We have a small place but I've been pretty happy with my Grizzly Lathe/Mill machine I got on sale for like $3 or $400. Granted we don't relay farm, and only have one Farmall Model M to run Cattle and horses. but those machines are a good cheep place to start, to figure out What you think you need I'd look for a surplus tooling place, I got one kinda close! I hate to send anyone to harbor freight , but with a Dirt Floor Shop, and out in the Field you can't beat the price on tooling your Gona drop in mud and loose I personally have 2 kinds of tools. the ones for doing Machine work and the ones for fixing Stuff around the folks place

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

Ditto Geof's comments. My neighbors have a shop in one of there buildings and They are busy in there all the time. Between repair work on the farm machinery and stuff for "pulling tractors" there is a need for some hefty machines. Good old iron and a CNC Bridgeport in the machinery shed keeps the stuff moving.

[Andre' B]

The guy has an area 10 feet by 10 feet.

I got an RF31, a 6" Atlas/Craftsman lathe, a small work bench and some storage shelves in an area about that size.
Working on farm equipment is going to be limited to making/repairing small parts, not going to be making a flywheel out of 4140 and cutting down the half shafts for a 1066 pulling tractor.

[keitholivier]

Things I recently bought:

9x49 Kent 380 turret mill with 6" vice and 2 axis DRO. $950 "buy it now" on ebay in Grand Rapids.

Sheldon 15x32 Lathe 1970ish worn bed and leadscrew, but Anilam DRO, 3 chucks american made, wedge QC toolpost, 5C collet chuck, collets and a bunch of miscelaneous bits and pieces. $900 from Gahr Machine Co in Cleveland OH.

6x18 Gallmeyer & Livingston surface grinder with AC chuck / demagnetizer hydraulic control in perfect condition (1950's with original paint - looks good too) $500 from Gahr Machine Co in Cleveland OH.

In addition, I got a Hitachi 3hp VFD to provide the "juice" to the above machines. I may have a voltage problem with the Lathe, but I have to figure that out first....
Keith

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

Sorry, I blew right by the 10' x 10' part.