Making parts, not just joining them
This is where a workshop stops repairing parts and starts making them. We compare bench lathes on swing, distance between centers and spindle bore, mills on travel and column rigidity — and we are explicit about the hidden cost: the tooling standard, which you buy into once and pay for indefinitely.
Two-step belt drive + electronic speed · facing, turning, boring · €529
A precision lathe small enough for a bench corner — and the cheapest way into turning that is not a toy.
Best for: Small parts, bushes, spacers and modelmaking, on a bench that also does other things
24 W · 20,000 rpm motor · 3,000 rpm spindle · 0.1 mm (0.004 in)/division
A 24-watt desktop mill for wood, plastic and soft metal, with a 0.1 mm (0.004 in) handle scale — the cheapest machine in this hub and the smallest increment it can be set to.
Best for: Model work and teaching, on wood, plastic and pure copper or aluminum
≈ $170
180 × 360 mm (7.09 × 14.2 in) · HT200 cast iron · four speed ranges · €718
Cast iron rather than folded steel, and four gear ranges — mass and torque, which is what a small lathe lacks.
Best for: A first real metal lathe, where 360 mm (14.2 in) between centers covers most repair work
12 V DC · lathe and mill in one · tool-height shims · soft metals only
A 12-volt combination mini lathe and mill that supplies shims to set the tool height — the one adjustment that decides whether a small lathe cuts or rubs.
Best for: Teaching turning and milling on one machine, in wood, plastic and pure copper or aluminum
≈ $235
36 W · 20,000 rpm motor · 3,000 rpm spindle · 0.1 mm (0.004 in)/division
The 36-watt version of the XENDOLL desktop mill, with the same spindle speed, the same handle scale and the same bullets as the 24-watt one.
Best for: The same model and STEM work as the 24 W machine, with half again the motor
≈ $200
7 in swing · 14 in centers · 2,500 rpm variable · reversible · DRO
The only real metal lathe in the American half of this hub — 7 by 14 inches, variable to 2,500 rpm, reversible for left-hand threads, with a digital readout and a cutter kit.
Best for: Turning steel parts on a bench, where the tooling has to come with the machine
≈ $510
12 V DC · belt drive · all-metal body · integrated vice
A 12-volt mini drilling and milling machine with a belt drive and no plastic in the body — and a listing that publishes not one dimension or speed.
Best for: The same model work as its twin, if the price is lower on the day
≈ $200
1.5 HP brushless · 50–2,250 rpm · R8 spindle · 18.9 in X · 13.8 in to table
A benchtop mill-drill that names its tooling standard plainly — an R8 spindle — and publishes the travels and the clearance that go with it.
Best for: A workshop buying into R8 tooling on purpose, with a bench strong enough to carry it
≈ $2190
600 W brushless · 50–1,125 / 100–2,250 rpm · head tilts 45° · LCD depth and speed
A benchtop mill-drill with two speed ranges, overload protection and an LCD showing both spindle speed and drilling depth in inches or millimeters.
Best for: A bench where the depth of cut has to be read rather than counted on a dial
≈ $1875
24 W · spindle jump < 0.1 mm (0.004 in) · X 45 mm (1.77 in), Y/Z 35 mm (1.38 in) · 0.05 mm (0.002 in)/division · 3.5 kg (7.7 lb)
The only machine in this hub, either half, that publishes a spindle runout figure — and it publishes eleven other specifications alongside it.
Best for: Precision model work, where the resolution of the handles and the runout of the spindle are the whole question
≈ $210
Up to 250 mm (9.84 in) workpiece length · thread cutting · steel, brass, aluminum · €1,154
A precision lathe that cuts threads — the operation that separates a lathe from a machine that turns things round.
Best for: Precision work where you need to make a thread rather than buy one
220 × 600 mm (8.66 × 23.6 in) · 750 W brushless · 125 mm (4.92 in) three-jaw chuck · €1,206
The largest capacity here — 600 mm (23.6 in) between centers — with a brushless motor and stepless speed.
Best for: Repair work on shafts and long parts, where capacity decides what you can take on
1300 W brushless · 50–2,250 rpm · R8 in the title, MT3-ER32 in the specs · 118 kg (260.1 lb)
The same mill-drill as its stablemate, with 1300 watts instead of 1.5 horsepower — and a spindle standard its own title and its own specification cannot agree on.
Best for: The same work as the R8 machine on this shelf, once the seller has confirmed which spindle ships
≈ $2230
In machining, the mass and rigidity of the frame decide the accessible accuracy. That is what the price buys, before any function.
A bench machine lets you learn the principles on small parts before knowing what you really want.
A machining tool sits on a stable base, is wired in and leveled. Weight and footprint decide feasibility before any question of capacity.
Shafts, bushes, spacers and threads on short parts. That is already a great deal for repairing what can no longer be found.
It saves space and does both functions less well than a dedicated machine. Switching from one configuration to the other also costs time.
In steel and stainless, yes: it carries the heat away and improves surface finish. Cast iron is machined dry.
By workpiece diameter and material: the larger the part, the slower it must turn. Cutting-speed tables give the starting point.
With high-speed steel tooling, yes, and it is a skill in its own right. Insert tooling lets you start without it.
A badly clamped part is ejected at high speed, and a chuck key left in becomes a projectile. Removing the chuck key before any start is the absolute rule.
A lathe must be set level and shimmed, or the bed twists and accuracy disappears. It is an installation setting, not a detail.
Yes, at reduced speed and with a steady feed. Stainless work-hardens as soon as you rub without cutting, and then becomes very hard to recover.
In machining, mass makes the accuracy: a light machine chatters whatever the tooling. Remove the chuck key before every start — that is the absolute rule — and shim the machine level, or the bed twists and the accuracy disappears.
There is no table here, and the reason is in the listings. The figure published most often across these 13 products is capacity, given by 2 of them — short of the four in five a column needs to compare rather than to display gaps. Each product page says what its own maker published.
$170 – $200
3 models
XENDOLL W104MA, 24 W desktop mill, XENDOLL W104MB, 36 W desktop mill, INTBUYING T028371FBA, 12 V mini mill-drill
$210 – $510
3 models
JARYANNIX FT-028371, 24 W mini mill-drill, Beacon Pet 2020090101, 12 V mini lathe and mill, Erie Tools SP2102, 7 × 14 variable-speed mini lathe
$1875 – $2230
3 models
IntXanth Y028417, benchtop mill-drill with LCD, INTBUYING T028334, 7 × 27-1/2 in R8 mill-drill, INTBUYING SM028356, 7 × 27-1/2 in mill-drill
Specifications: manufacturer sheets for welding and metalworking machines and the matching Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa.
Most recent revision in this category: October 7, 2026.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
