Well it depends on your interests, your budget and accommodation facilities, but assuming your interest is in Model Engineering the vast majority of people will choose the lathe. It is the most versatile of all the equipment's with the right accessories and drilling, milling as well as turning can all be accomplished. The size of lathe will again be dependent on the same factors above but a mid sized lathe of around 3 1/2" centre height will cater for a very wide range of projects. There are many to choose from and in these modern times the imported variety can off very good value for money. The Myford lathe is often used and many thousands of these were produced before the imported varieties became available. A big advantage of the Myford is that there is a vast amount of information on accessories that can be added and modifications made that extend its capabilities. Myford are a British company still producing lathes and although more expensive than the far eastern varieties should not be overlooked in making a decision for the reasons stated.

The lathe needs a very good stout bench on which it is mounted. Proper steel cabinets are available and are to be preferred but a well made wood bench can give good results but workshop humidity changes could present a problem with wood movement if care is not taken. The lathe should be solidly bolted to the bench and leveled ensuring that in the process no twist are being caused to the bed. A good spirit level will aid this process.

The important accessories for the late are the three-jaw chuck and the four-jaw independent chuck. The former is self centering and used primarily for round stock material and the later will hold almost all other shapes. The size of the chuck will determine its capacity to hold material but do not be tempted to buy a very large chuck as all that will happen is the chuck jaws will interfere with the bed when opened out. There are chucks that have threaded bodies, the advantage of these is that the gap in the bed between the headstock and bed can be utilised for the times when chuck jaws are opened very wide. The Face Plate is the third item as this plate with its slots forms the base upon which all sorts of oddly shaped components can be bolted for having turning operations performed on them.

After the lathe a drill press would be the next good buy and with it a vice that has X and Y adjustment as it makes centering work under the drill so much easier. The size of the drill press should accommodate a chuck capable of holding a 1/2" (12mm) drill and have a good working throat dimension of around 12".

As a labour saving device the band saw or powered hacksaw is a good investment. A model capable of cutting up t0 4 1/2" material will prove its worth very quickly.

The offhand grinder is a cheap tool and will of course be necessary for sharpening HSS lathe tools. One with 6" diameter wheels of different grits (one coarse and one fine) at each end should be sought. The fine grit need be no finer than 80 for most needs.

The last machine ..... well not necessarily the last, but the next in my list of importance would be the mill. There are so many different sizes of far east imports now to chose from and the prices are quite reasonable too. Your basic choice will be between a bench top model and a free standing model. After that the size of work tables needs consideration for the work you have in mind and probably last but certainly not least do you need a rotating head? ..... in most cases the answer is no, as adjustable angle vices and work tables are readily available. The mill will almost certainly be of the vertical type although secondhand horizontal mills can be picked up from the many secondhand machine suppliers. The vertical mill is probably the more versatile and easy to set up.