opinions on the smitty 1220xl

They (3-in-1s) are OK in general but there are a bunch of compromises involved vs. two separate machines.

I have this one:
http://www.shoptask.com/

and after some minor problems and annoyances, I’m now quite happy with it. (all the “home machines” are made overseas and will require some work and time to get them working their best).

It is large enough that I can get a full 24″ barrel on the lathe between centers, and the way the mill head is positioned it has a much larger working area, without having to remove the lathe chuck (which you will frequently have to do with the 1220).

They all will be better as a lathe than as a mill. Consider carefully the size of the work you will use it for and how often you will need to change from lathe to milling function as tool setup time becomes one of the biggest handicaps.

There have been times already that I wished I had both separate, as you might be working on the lathe and come across a need to do a single mill operation before finishing up a turning/boring operation on the lathe……to do so you must undo your tool setup on the lathe, set up the mill, make that one cut, then reset the tools for lathe use again to finish up. Would be much easier to leave the lathe just the way you need it and take the part to the separate machine, make the mill cut, then put the part back in the lathe.

That said, I have found by planning carefully the various cutting operations for a given part, the multiple setups can be minimized.

Based on my time spent with mine, and the inherent limitations of the 3-in-1s; I’d say figure the largest parts you are likely to need to build, then look for a machine with at least 150% of that capacity, which will help ofset the limitations of the machine.

Overall happy with mine though.

here’s mine, before putting the sides on the cabinet/table: