My experiences with a 3 in 1 machine (Smithy)

I am writing this because I found little information available on the web, other than manufacturers web sites for these machines.

Before I bought a machine, I did a little research to make sure it would work for me. Since I am not a machinist I had several conversations with my brother who is, for recommendations as to the specifications. I had a list of things I expected of the machine.

They were:

1. Thread projects with both English and Metric threads.
2. Accuracy of .001 of an inch or better.
3. English dials.
4. R8 collets for Mill spindle.
5. Quick change gears for threading.
6. Service and availability.
7. CNC compatibility.

With this small list, I searched the web for information and reviews on any and all models I could find. I found 3 in 1 machines at http://www.grizzly.com, http://www.northerntools.com, http://www.harborfreight.com, http://www.smithy.com and http://www.shoptask.com. The ones at Grizzly and Northerntools did not come close to my specs. Harbors freights was the cheapest but had metric dials and would not cut a 13 thread. It also was not CNC compatible. Shoptask had a good unit, probably the most rigid, second in price with there special offer. If I understood the information they sent correctly, you would have to change gears for every different thread you cut. But the ordering information also said order now for October delivery and it was the first of December.

So that left the Smithy 1324, which met all of the above specs. It was also the most expensive of the machines considered. There was a model of Smithy that met most of the specs, that was cheaper than the one I bought, but I figured I was only doing this once and I had better get it right the first time.

When I called Smithy they were polite, courteous and answered all of my questions. They did not try to push there machine on me or give me a sales pitch. I ask questions they answered them and that was all. I did not order a machine at that time, I said thank you and hung up. A few days later, after more research, I called again with more questions, they answered them just as before. The third call was to order a machine. I ordered the Granite1324.

Setup just out of the box. 12/18/03 Click on thumbnail to enlarge.

After the order I was emailed a tracking number and the Smithy arrived just as scheduled. Before the Smithy arrived some of the accessories that I had ordered at the same time came in a separate UPS shipment.

From what I could tell from my research on the web all of this type on machine are made in China. The quality of the machine seams to be controlled by the watchful eye of the seller. The only other machine I have been able to touch was one at a Harbor Freight store. It was not the model I was looking at but you could see some differences in attention to detail. I am not an expert on these maters though and am sure I have a lot to learn.

When I went to pick up the Smithy at the Roadway Freight Terminal. I backed my trailer up to the loading dock for pickup trucks. The man at the terminal seemed to be in a hurry to get me loaded and did not want to wait 2 minutes to let me take the tail gate off of my trailer so it would be easier to get the box into the trailer properly. The trailer was not quite as tall as a pickup truck would have been. Any way when he put the box into the trailer he tilted he fork lift and pushed the b ox into the trailer. As he did so the bottom edge of the box broke one board as he pushed the box into the trailer. It also broke the steel band on that end of the box. I did not see any damage to the machine, and have not since. I should have insisted that he let me take off the tail gate. It would have let me move back on the hump they had made for pickups and lifted the back of the trailer several inches. Plus he would not have had to push the machine into the trailer over the tail gate. As they say hind site is 20/20.

When I got home with the machine I first assembled the work bench. Put it where I thought I wanted it. Then used a shot crane to lift the machine out of the trailer and set it on the bench. See above. All of the procedures for this were described in Smithy's literature. It only took a short time to discover that I had not chosen the right place for the machine. But that was not a big problem.

Here are some pictures that I took to document the arrival of my new tool.

Arrival of the 4 jaw chuck by way of UPS

Here you can see the steel band is broken and the board on the pallet. See description of how this happened above.

Unpacking.

The set up machine.

I should have taken some pictures of lifting the machine with the crane but somehow mist that. The second to last picture shows the beam above the machine. Although it is not directly above the machine it was close enough that when I changed a collet, I had to be careful not to bump my head if I stood on step stool. To eliminate this problem. I moved the machine to the location in the last picture.

I should mention that I took the time to read the literature before I did each step. There were several bolts and adjustments that were loose. Most of which you are told to check in the manual. They also tell you how to clean and prepare the machine for use. Make adjustments for use and accuracy. There are some hints as to how to cut thread and other useful information. They do not teach you how to be a machinist. Smithy has been very helpful on the phone.

To check the alignment of the tail stock I turned a 1/2 inch shaft about 16 inches long. all but about an inch on each end. While it was still in the lathe, I measured the turned area at both ends. I found that the tail was about .002 larger. So I adjusted the tail toward the front of the machine at what I guessed to be .001 and turned it a little more. Then measured again and only had a perceptible difference. I sanded the shaft with emery cloth and even that disappeared.

Update: January 03, 2004

It has been a little over a year since I posted anything to this page and it is time for an update.

As I became more familiar with the machine, I began to notice that at certain speeds it would shake from front to back. After talking to the Smithy people and running several tests with little results. I became obsessed with finding the cause of this movement. And to be honest I have note eliminated all of it and probably never will. But I did find some of it. Smithy replaced the clutch and pulley that shifts power from the lathe to the mill, but that did not really fix the problem. However with the new parts in place I used the machine to balance the old parts and cleaned and re greased the bearings. This eliminated most of the shaking. I think that if there were a shim of some kind to line up the clutch with the lathe shaft it would help considerably.

This is not the only problem I have had with the machine, although this problem was purely my fault. I was cutting slots for a wooden tool bit holder with the power feed, when I hit the machines limits. Pulling the table toward the front of the machine and cracking the apron and screw seat at the front of the table. This also bent one of the shafts in the apron. I was able to straighten the shaft and none of the gears were damaged.

When replacing the apron, Smithy told me that I would have to do some drilling and tapping. That was really no problem. Smithy sent along some instructions with the apron that helped a lot. But as with most instructions you have to read between the lines some. The one thing that Smithy should have been more specific with was the installation of the half-nut engagement lever. The hole in the new casting used for the locking pin that prevents engaging the half-nut during table feed was off by more that half the diameter of the hole. They do make mention that this may not line up and that you may need to enlarge the hole in the half-nut lever. Had I enlarged the hole enough to let this engage It would have been very large and may have defeated its purpose. I choose to block the half-nut open and use the machine to slot the hole in the half-nut lever. This was done after marking the proper position for the slot with the locking pin removed. Most of the time I use the Smithy to repair small parts. But once in a while I actually make parts from scratch. One of my first such projects was to make a drive spur for my sons wood lathe. The original had been lost. I also made a lock nut for the spur. Both are pictured below.

These parts were my first attempt at cutting inside threads. The threads are 3/4 X 16 . The nut was a large 5/8s nut that was bored and rethreaded. Then screws onto a shaft inserted in the lathe and faced. The spur was a large peace of rod that was turned to the desired diameter, then bored and threaded without removing it from the lathe. It was then placed in a chuck on the rotary table and the 2 flats were cut. Then the rod was cut to length and placed back on the rotary table and I used the mill to cut the teeth. Cutting these teeth would have been much easer had I had a left handed end mill. But since I did not, I cut the tapered back side of the teeth first with the table in the vertical position. Then laid the table down and cut the front of the teeth and valleys. It works well with the ability to move the center in and out of the spur to fit the material.

Update: April 17, 2005

I received these questions these questions recently and thought they might be of interest to others.

1. Does the current operator's manual which comes with the machine helped you learn easily the major components of the Smithy 3-in-1 and their functions?

2. Is the information discussed in the manual essential to learning the INs and OUTs of Smithy 3-in-1 models?

3. What are the basic problems you encountered while reading the operator's manual?

4. What should be added or deleted?

Update: June 7, 2005

I have had the need to turn down bolts for small parts. To do this I have been putting the head of the bolt in the lathe chuck and using the center in the small end. This gets the job done but the head of the bolt is never centered. so I ordered a face plate from Smithy and a lathe dog to use with it. I find that the lathe dog will not fit the face plate. and the face plate is so large that the table will not pass under it. This is not impressive for equipment that is supposed to be made for the machine.