Best benchtop lathe and mill for a garage machine shop

Yes, and many people do. A machine shop is two or three machines, a bench, a vise and a place to measure, and it fits a garage better than a woodshop does because it makes no sawdust cloud and needs no 20 ft stock lane. What it does need is weight capacity, clean power and a plan for chips and oil. The 12 x 22 one-car machine shop layout, the 22 x 22 two-car machine shop layout and the 24 x 24 layout show a lathe, a mill and a bench in each bay with a car parked. If your shop is a 12 x 20 ft bay, use the garage shop layout calculator to see what fits.

This page was researched from manufacturer listings, published specifications and owner reviews, not a bench test. The figures for the Grizzly machines come from the Grizzly briefs; for the Amazon machines we use the title and listing and say so where a figure is missing.

A word on expectations. A benchtop lathe or mill is a hobby machine. It is good for bushings, pins, small brackets and prototypes. It is not a production tool, and a heavy cut in steel will show you its limits. Start light, learn feeds and speeds, and upgrade when the machine is the limit instead of you.

Weight is the number new machinists underestimate. The Grizzly G4000 is 294 lb, the G0704 mill with its stand is 372 lb and the G0602 lathe is 432 lb. On a garage slab that is no problem; a concrete floor carries a car and much more. The problem is the bench or stand that sits between the machine and the floor. A bench rated for 2000 lb static, like the adjustable benches on the workbench page, can hold a lathe, but only if the load is on the legs and the top does not flex.

The G0602 is a good example. Its footprint is 47-1/2 x 12-1/2 in, about 4.1 sq ft, so the machine loads the bench at roughly 105 lb per square foot, all of it along one narrow strip. Put it on a bench whose top is stiff along that strip, bolt it down or shim it flat, and level it. A twisted bench makes a lathe cut a taper, and no tool setting will fix that.

Moving a machine this heavy is a two-person job with a lift or a gantry. Plan the delivery: the Grizzly machines ship by freight on a pallet, and the driver may leave it at the curb. Have help, a pallet jack or an engine hoist ready, and think about how you will get it up on the bench. Do not lift a 300 lb machine by hand.

All three Grizzly machines are 120V. The G4000 is 3/4 HP at 9 A, the G0704 is 1 HP at 12 A, and the G0602 is 1 HP at 13.6 A. A 15 A circuit is marginal for the 13.6 A lathe and a dedicated 20 A circuit is the safe choice. A mill and a lathe do not run at the same moment in a one-person shop, so one circuit can serve both machines if you work one at a time, but the lights, a vacuum and a heater should be on other circuits.

The machine shop amps page adds up the loads for a typical machine shop, and the workshop amps calculator does it for your own list. For longer runs, check the voltage drop; a lathe on a thin extension cord will bog down and the variable-speed drive will complain. A heavy cord like the 10 gauge 50 ft cord is the only kind to consider, and a permanent receptacle is better.

If you add a larger mill or a lathe on 240V later, the motor current tables (NEC Table 430.248: 16 A at 115V and 8 A at 230V per 1 HP) show why 240V is gentler on the wiring. Have a licensed electrician confirm any circuit, and read 240V in a garage explained.

The machines are half the cost. A basic set of measuring and holding tools is the other half, and it decides whether your parts come out right.

• Measuring: the HARDELL 6 in digital caliper for general work and a Fowler dial indicator with magnetic base for tramming the mill and checking runout.
• Tooling: the indexable lathe tool set gives you turning, facing and boring tools without grinding your own, which is a skill of its own.
• Holding: a drill press vise on the mill table, and a good bench vise such as the Nakkaa 5 in swivel vise or the Grizzly T33818 for everything else.
• Drilling: a benchtop drill press or the Grizzly T34608 for holes that do not need a mill.
• Grinding: a bench grinder such as the DeWalt 8 in or the Grizzly G0865 for tool bits.

Budget for cutting fluid, a chip brush, a scraper and a floor mat. And buy safety glasses first; a chip in the eye does not wait.

A machine shop makes a different mess from a woodshop. Chips are sharp, oil is slippery and the floor around the machines becomes a hazard. Put a mat under the operator, a tray or a splash guard behind the machine, and sweep chips with a brush and a pan, not your hand. Keep the area under the machines clear for a vacuum nozzle and use a magnet to catch strays.

Rust is the garage's gift to every cast iron surface. Wipe the ways and the table with oil after use, and wipe a film of Boeshield T-9 on bare iron before a long sit. A dehumidifier in a damp garage protects every tool in the bay. Keep an eye on the car, too: a car shares a space with a machine shop, and chips and oil end up on its floor. Park it on a mat or roll the machines to the wall when it comes in.

Fire is a real risk. Cutting oil and rags burn, and sparks from a grinder travel. Keep a fire extinguisher by the door, store rags in a metal can and keep the grinder away from the lathe. The guide on using a garage as a workshop covers the rest.

If you can pick only one, pick the one that makes what you want. The lathe makes round things: shafts, bushings, spacers, pins. The mill makes flat things and holes: brackets, plates, slots, pockets. A lathe is the more forgiving first machine because the tool does not wander, and it teaches speeds and feeds. A mill is the more useful second machine because it makes the parts a lathe cannot.

For a one-car bay, one of each is about the limit, and only if you keep them on benches against a wall and park the car in front. For a two-car bay, a lathe, a mill, a bench and a drill press fit with a car. The G4000, G0602 and G0704 fit sheets run each machine through every garage size. And if you want a woodshop in the same bay, think hard: chips and sawdust do not mix, and the rule is separate days, separate collectors.