Benchtop Milling machine

[jarhead]

Who has one, and what do you think?

I used to be a toolmaker years ago, I know a bench top mill is no replacement for a Bridgeport, or Lagun.

I am close to retirement and am resto-modding a couple of older cars. I would like to be able to have a decent X-Y table to mill some parts or even locate some holes and drill them.

What do you have?

 

[astroracer]

I have a Smithy Combo 9X12, a Jet 9X14 and an old Cincinnati/Bridgeport Frankenmill.
Consider a 3 in one. Smithy and Grizzly both have excellent machines and, for the money, you will be hard pressed to equip your shop with all three machines.
Granted some guys poo-poo them but they do a good job even with the limitations they have.
The mill side of it could be a "bit" better but, in my experience doing fab and restoration work in my shop, I use the lathe side MUCH more then the mill side anyway.
Here is a current discussion about the 3 in one combo machines:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356299
Mark

 

[logikal]

Precision Matthews. I own a PM-727M. Truly well built piece of equipment, with astounding reviews. I do a lot of programming on a Haas and find this little guy to be perfectly for my home workshop. I added a 3 axis and power feed.

machinetoolonline.com

they are local to me (about 15 min) and they have awesome service, and very knowledgeable reps.

 

[braidmeister]

I bought a G0759 last year (G0704 w/ DROs) to machine some stuff while I redo my Bridgeport BOSS CNC. It looks like a little toy compared to the BOSS.

It's pretty good for most light work you'd want to do. The mini-mills were just too small for me and not enough power. This one is pretty good with enough range to do real work.

I couldn't find a manual BP near me that wasn't all clapped out so I pulled the trigger on the Grizzly.

 

[jarhead]

Some great ideas here.
My neighbor bought a new Grizzly Knee Mill and a lathe a few years ago for his gunsmith shop, I should walk down there and ask him for a review. I appreciate yours.

I also like the idea of the dual purpose machine, I have a friend that has one, I have offered to trade him a Ford 9", Detroit locker with 31 spline axles, have not received an answer yet on that.

Thanks, Joe

 

[Dingleburry]

I think this would work just fine

 

[jarhead]

Have you run into any issues with only have 2" of travel on the spindle?

I bought a G0759 last year (G0704 w/ DROs) to machine some stuff while I redo my Bridgeport BOSS CNC. It looks like a little toy compared to the BOSS.

It's pretty good for most light work you'd want to do. The mini-mills were just too small for me and not enough power. This one is pretty good with enough range to do real work.

I couldn't find a manual BP near me that wasn't all clapped out so I pulled the trigger on the Grizzly.

 

[braidmeister]

Have you run into any issues with only have 2" of travel on the spindle?

No...here's the deal. It is what's considered a Mill/Drill, meaning that it has 2 actions that can be performed on the Z. First, it works like a drill press in the sense that it has a 2" stroke on the quill that you can operate via the handwheel on the side. Pretty much just like a drill press. What's nice is it has a DRO built in just for the quill - so doing counterbores or drilling to a specific depth is easy. The quill is ONLY for drilling. It will have too much side to side slop in it for milling. (Not that it's sloppy - just not what you'll want to do)

Second, you can move the Z down via the column handwheel. This is where you'll drop the Z/tool/spindle down to cut a deeper pass...like if you were making your own receiver or something. Works pretty well for that application.

So...When you are drilling, you lock the column down & when you are milling, you lock the quill down - so neither moves depending on what you are doing.

If you get the one I did with DRO, it does X,Y,Z plus the independent DRO on the quill for drilling depth. It's pretty sweet for a small/mid sized mill. I took a piece of Unistrut and tagged it into the side of the stand, then lagged it into one of the 4x6 posts holding up the building. It is also bolted to the floor. It makes it pretty solid.

Aside from tooling, you'll want a decent vice. The one from Grizzly fits well. I think it was about $139. I also got a depth stop and spindle lock from LMS Very helpful for changing tools and precisely limiting quill depths. I also sprung for the X power feed. Meh...is OK, great for surfacing at a steady rate. Mine doesn't jog, but moves fast enough with the dial. They offered to take it back - I just didn't feel like dealing with shipping it back and all that. Their customer service has been top notch.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Stay away from mill/drill machines. You will never get them to tram correctly or they will fall out easily. The round column is the problem.

You can easily spend as much as the machine on a good vice. parallels, various clamps/hold downs and some tooling. do you have inside and outside mic's ? Most of the low end stuff does NOT come with digital readouts. You will want them.Of course if you are going to use carbide inserts, you will need a special grinder.

Little Machine Shop has some nice machines, if they are big enough for your projects. They work well in aluminum, brass and plastic. Very slow in steel.

 

[braidmeister]

Stay away from mill/drill machines. You will never get them to tram correctly or they will fall out easily. The round column is the problem.

Neither the G0759 nor the G0704 it's based on, has a round column. Dovetail ways all the way around. I'm dialed in & holding .0005" all around...which is the limit of my instruments. There is a small .001-.0015" up/down at the -X and +X extents of the table, but that's plenty good for anyone in a garage.

 

[Murphy4570]

If you are an old Tool & Die maker, you might get frustrated with the import stuff.

Perhaps take a look on your local craigslist first, and see if there's an old J head Bridgeport, Tree, or Cincinnati mill available? You should be able to get one for around $1,500.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Look for a.millrite mill by Burke or Powerrmatic. 60% the size of a bridgeport but very rigid. Older Index mills (like the 40) are.nice and.compact.

 

[pi_guy]

Who has one, and what do you think?


What do you have?

I think a lot of people are going to parrot what they read on line.
If you can live with the part size restrictions or are creative with your part holding tooling you can machine most things.

I have a Enco 3 in 1 it has enabled me to do things I had to farm out or visit an other shop and borrow the machine.
The whole thing comes down to tooling, you will be told the only right tooling type is R8. But truth be told if you look a little bit you can find the equivalent in Morse Taper. There is not much I can not do with my setup.
I am going to try a 2.5 inch face mill on it soon

 

[jarhead]

Thanks for the flood of replies...
To answer a few questions...
I sold nearly all of my Mics when i changed careers 17 years ago, I gave my neighbor the Gunsmith the rest,
I will be fine with a small machine although I have been watching C-List anyway for months
Not enough room for a full size mill, i just got done, well actually am finishing up expanding my shop
About to retire in 12-18 months so this is a fun thing and not a money maker

I do appreciate all comments and suggestions. Yes I was a tool maker for many years, switched to telecomunications when my knees could no longer take it. We held tolerances on tooling at .0002. I am aware what i am looking for won't do that. Most of the stuff I will be making will be +/- .005 with my old eyes lol, as I said I am about ready to retire.

Joe

 

[theoldwizard1]

Neither the G0759 nor the G0704 it's based on, has a round column. Dovetail ways all the way around. I'm dialed in & holding .0005" all around...which is the limit of my instruments. There is a small .001-.0015" up/down at the -X and +X extents of the table, but that's plenty good for anyone in a garage.

And that is why you want a dovetailed column !

 

[braidmeister]

And that is why you want a dovetailed column !

Not following you... Both i listed have a dovetail column.

 

[gte718p]

I have a round column bench top. RF 31 to be exact l. It has limitations, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and made many good parts on it. If money is no object the square column is better. It was not worth the extra $900 to me. I had less then $1000 in mine delivered to my doorstep.

 

[ritestuff]

I have a round column bench top. RF 31 to be exact l. It has limitations, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and made many good parts on it. If money is no object the square column is better. It was not worth the extra $900 to me. I had less then $1000 in mine delivered to my doorstep.

Exactly. I have an old RF 31 type from the early 80's. It's built like a tank, and although it has it's limitations, has made me plenty of decent parts. Bought it used for 400 bucks with a shitload of tooling. If you need a "high end machine" to make a part, it's more a question of skill than the tool.

 

[Brock Wood]

Since we are talking 'Benchtop" & "Grizzly", allow me to introduce my G0773 Combination Lathe / Mill. I separated out the power feeds to each motor to allow for auto feed for milling operations. Only took 2 separate 20A breakers on a 100A subpanel.