Advice/recommendations about new equipment for our machine shop

[DonRotolo]

The advantage of a lathe is that no other machine can do what it does, such as manufacturing a shaft. It can also do light milling and slotting with a milling attachment. Just for making spacers - very precisely - it is worth it's weight in steel. And wierd threads can be cut as well. A nice manual lathe from Grizzly about $1k, add up to $400 for basic tooling.

If you want precision drilling capabilities, then get yourself a decent X-Y vise. Or, as we do, just learn how to really precisely lay out and mark a piece for hand-drilling. It isn't difficult just requires some care and understanding of the tools and techniquest to be used.

You can get a used knee mill for maybe $1k, it might need to be disassembled, cleaned and re-adjusted. Tooling and workholding gets expensive, so budget another $1000 for that. You can end up with a very capable machine though, even if it is from WWII. Budget for moving the thing too, they can weigh a ton.

I don't think you'll be as happy with a laser cutter as you think. Only mid-power units can cut aluminum. Most of the lower-priced (<$10k) units are only good for wood, paper and maybe some plastics. For that and that, a CNC plasma cutter may be a good choice. The cuts are not as finished, but 3/8" aluminum and some steel are no problem.

Good luck, and search the threads already discussing the topic.