I made do for quite some time with only about $150 worth of extra tooling and measuring equipment, together with some odds and ends that were donated to me. I made form tools and threading tools out of broken taps, old files, etc rather than buying them when I couldn't afford proper HSS blanks.
I've now officially spent more on tools and upgrades than the lathe cost, but it has paid for itself a few times already so it still is returning on the investment. I can better bore my own mould cavities with this chuck and can make certain types of rifle receivers with it as well.
I am also at the other end of the spectrum, where over time I have spent a LOT in tooling for both the lathe and the mill. Now, it happens over time, true, but it is an insane amount of money. It is with some level of embarrassment that I share these pictures.
The Bison 6-jaw set-tru chuck that I have is close to $900-1000 in today's dollars. That has been the single most expensive upgrade I have ever done. One that I would gladly do over again - not having to recenter stock is priceless. Here are pictures of JUST the lathe tooling I have at the moment for my 12x36. Knurlers and big boring bars, custom holders, some I never finished, and a few miscellaneous:
My secondary group of lathe tools. Some are custom for my lathe, some of those steel holders I made myself from a bar of tool steel, or designed for a much bigger late which I "adapted" to mine:
These on top of the lathe are my primary set - the ones that I use most often:
And I am not showing (because it is really embarrassing), how MANY inserts I have already on hand for all of that lathe tooling, and some I have never even tried yet. Since I switched to flood cooling when I was first drilling and (most specially) knurling in Titanium, the inserts now literally last almost forever, so I probably will never have to buy inserts again.
When I got started modifying LED flashlights, I started with a 7x lathe mainly to make stuff for myself. I then upgraded to a heavier 8x, and bought a table-top mini-mill. By the time I had the 8x I was already getting paid by other hobbyist to make flashlight parts and modifications, that buying the 12x made sense - not even a year after I got the 8x. I then found a brand new, never wired 8x30 Enco Knee-mill on ebay - that mill, and the 12x really pushed my capabilities, and within 1-2 years the lathe and mill itself had already made me more money than it cost me. The mill tooling probably costs me nearly as much as the lathe tooling, but there are fewer, although a lot more expensive pieces/parts. I made so many 1xD LED conversions on Maglites that I have lost count. I then was also making titanium shaving handles for others - that brought home some nice money as well.
So not all the money invested in tooling has been "out of my pocket", but looking back since 2006 or so, it has been insane how much I have spend on tooling. For the last 5-8 years, I try to buy no new tooling, and instead try to arrange the work using the tools that I already have, so my costs for the "machine shop" is maintenance stuff only, thus it is near zero to operate/use.
Will
