Drill/Mill or Lathe/Mill attachment for small shop area

[DonRotolo]

As already stated, a combination machine does many things, all poorly.

First get a decent drill press. It need not be fancy, large or new - used Craftsman bench drill presses can be had for $100. When you have the choice, go for the highest quality you can afford. A 50-year old Delta is far superior to a brand new Grizzly or Jet.

If you do not have a power sander, get a small, inexpensive one. Harbor freight has a belt/disk sander that should be fine. You'll use this as much as the drill press, honest. Just remember, it's not a saw.

A lathe is a luxury, but a nice one. Again, buy the best quality you can afford. Get one that can cut screw threads, and good tooling. Again, a good used South Bend or Atlas will generally be far superior to a Chinese one brand new. Of course, beware of a bad used one that's all sloppy, it will produce poor quality work. You can do light milling with the proper attachment. You don't need a large lathe, 6" swing and 18" bed will handle 99% of your needs. Think Atlas 618/Craftsman 101.

Even more of a luxury is a mill, but here we're talking an item that takes up a few square feet and costs $1000 or more. We've managed to avoid needing a mill almost every year.

A small band saw, dedicated to Aluminum, is also a good investment.

You can get CNC versions of these, or perhaps DRO (Digital read Out), but in my opinion I want the kids to learn how to run these machines by hand, not let the computer decide the feed rate but have them learn the 'feel' themselves. I think they learn more that way, even if there are more "learning experiences" (mistakes).