Finally picked up a milling machine...

[Jason280]

I've been considering a mill for some time, but could never find a decent enough deal for me to commit. Most were either too expensive, too far away, or in too bad of shape to take a chance on.

Last week, I ran across a deal on a small Grizzly that was not only reasonably close, but in very good condition. Price was right, so I brought it home and finally got it unloaded. Now, its not a knee mill, and I know most people recommend Bridgeport or nothing, but I think this one will be a great model to learn on (at least until I find something bigger).

It didn't come with much in the way of tooling, but it did come set up with DRO and power feed on the X axis. I'll need to add a set of clamps, a decent 4 or 5" vise, and a few other jigs....not to mention tooling/cutters. I've already ordered a set of collets, still waiting for them to arrive. I also need to fab up a leveling base, and will probably be bolting it down just to make it a little more rigid.

This is the stuff I already had around the shop...

...and a neat rotary Craftsman table (I think its a Palmgren).

...with a few cutters...

 

[VocaTexas]

If it suits you and does what you want it to, it's all good. I've got a line on a horizontal mill I'm going to try to pick up soon. Good luck with your new machine.

If you aren't already a member, head over to Hobby Machinist and sign up. Lots of friendly helpful people over there.

 

[James-W]

I think you will have a wonderful time playing around with it. I realize there are much nicer and much more expensive equipment out there, but unless you are going to be making precision parts what you have will work out just fine. I have a mill and a lathe that I inherited from my older brother when he passed away back in 2012. They certainly aren't the greatest pieces of equipment around, but they work OK and I have used them for several projects with a great deal of success.

 

[PugetDude]

Great score, Jason!
Price?
(Maybe a "You ****" in your future?)

 

[Jason280]

I ended up paying $1400 for the mill, but probably could have gotten it a little cheaper. The problem is, anything priced even remotely decent locally disappears quick, so there usually isn't much time to try and dicker about price.

 

[Aaron_W]

$1400 isn't a bad price for that. The base machine runs about $1500 new, but the power feed and DRO add at least $1000 over that. It looks brand new in your photos, maybe not quite at the you **** level but still a good deal for you.

The other part is even if ultimately this doesn't quite "do it" for you, you have a mill to play with and learn so you can be patient and look for that great deal on the one that will do everything you want.

 

[gte718p]

$1400 isn't a bad price for that. The base machine runs about $1500 new, but the power feed and DRO add at least $1000 over that. It looks brand new in your photos, maybe not quite at the you **** level but still a good deal for you.

The other part is even if ultimately this doesn't quite "do it" for you, you have a mill to play with and learn so you can be patient and look for that great deal on the one that will do everything you want.

Don't forget the stand which is another $200 or so. I think you did pretty good. As you know from your search, if you decide it is not for you or you want to move up to a Bridgeport or clone later it will be a quick sale and you can recoups most of your money.

If you get tired of cracking the wheels, that mill makes a great CNC conversion. You can make up for having to do light cuts by having the computer do many passes exactly the same.

 

[txvwnut]

That mill should serve you well for making chips and mistakes. I started with a smaller setup and once I got the need and confidence to step up to a larger unit I did. I have a Palmgren rotary table and looks quite like your C-man, I think C-man used to rebadge Palmgren stuff.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Don't forget the stand which is another $200 or so. I think you did pretty good. As you know from your search, if you decide it is not for you or you want to move up to a Bridgeport or clone later it will be a quick sale and you can recoups most of your money.

If you get tired of cracking the wheels, that mill makes a great CNC conversion. You can make up for having to do light cuts by having the computer do many passes exactly the same.

Enjoy the rabbit hole:

 

[FlaGman]

I think you did very well. I have been casually looking for something similar.

 

[Jason280]

I already have a couple projects in mind, just a matter of getting tooling, etc in place. First thing I need to make are a few fingers for my 24" Di-Acro box/pan brake, it's missing around 6-8" worth.

 

[Robert Haas]

You have a great start. A surface plate will let you use those two height gauges as they are intended.

A small mill like that will teach you all the fundamentals and will let you make an educated decision on your next mill.

 

[Asport]

Nice starter mill and for a decent price Jason!

 

[Benito]

And it begins....

 

[Aaron_W]

And it begins....

No kidding, 4 years ago I bought a lathe and I thought that would be it on the spending...

 

[Jason280]

Any suggestions on end mills and cutters?

 

[txvwnut]

I started with an economy tin coated HSS endmill set and am still using as of today. Types of milling and cutting tools really depends upon what type of material you are machining and at what speeds.

Since your just starting out the economy stuff will get you going and if you don’t get carried away should suit you just fine till you wanna dump some cash into the higher end stuff.

 

[M6erfan]

Nice score Jason. Congrats!

 

[Jason280]

Ok....2, 3, or 4 flute roughing end mill for general mild steel/aluminum milling?

 

[MJD1]

2 flute for aluminum and 4 flute for steel. Get center cutting for general work

 

[Robert Haas]

Buy it,

Read it

Live it.

 

[Asport]

Variable flute will help reduce vibration on a lighter machine.

This is a good starter set, great price and excellent quality!
https://www.maritool.com/p17845/4-Flute-Variable-Flute-End-Mill-Kit-TiAlN-8pcs/product_info.html

 

[Jason280]

Buy it,

Read it

Live it.

I tried ordering that book before, ended up with some kind of extra addition.....the actual book isn't exactly cheap!

 

[Robert Haas]

Knowledge costs.

Cheap out and realize there was a reason it was expensive.

 

[Kevin54]

You'll get more use out of a 2 flute endmill than a 4 flute.

 

[larry_g]

In reference to the Machinerys Handbook, any edition in the last 20 years is good. Even a 40 yo book will do a lot for you. I pick them up in the used book stores if it's ~20 or so.

BTW that looks to be a good deal you got there. I would suggest that if shopping for a vise lean toward the 4". Plenty big for that machine.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Jason280]

I have a chance to get a Kurt 6" machinist, but I'm afraid it will be too big for the machine.

 

[larry_g]

You might want to watch the above, kinda fun and informative.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[txvwnut]

Buy it,

Read it

Live it.

I picked up a digital download off eBay for 18 bucks.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You are still going to need a decent set of calipers, some dial indicators with mag bases. and assorted hold down bolts, nuts, finger, etc.

Make sure to find good directions on tramming each axis !

 

[Jason280]

I have calipers, micrometers, and indicators with a mag base.

Small vise that came with the mill...

Found the 6 & 8" Starrett 98s to match the 12"...

....and I'm not quite sure what this does.

 

[larry_g]

....and I'm not quite sure what this does.

That is a planer&shaper gauge. It is used to set a height reference or take a measurement. You set it up on a surface plate with a rule or height gauge. and then move it where ever to set a height IE from the cutter to the table. Conversely you can you can set it in a space where both the bottom and the rod or one of the steps the other side. Remove it and measure it to get the distance. It is an old tool that has gone out of popularity with newer tools available like an inside caliper or an adjustable parallel. Still useful if you want to use it.

On edit, if you look at your second picture it looks to be set to measure the distance between the cutter and the table. Slide it into the space and adjust it so the rod just touches the cutter. Then measure with whatever measuring tool gives the accuracy you need.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[tool_scrounge]

I have a chance to get a Kurt 6" machinist, but I'm afraid it will be too big for the machine.

A used Kurt 4" would be as better fit. I have heard good things on the Glacern 4" vises, though I use Kurt.

https://www.glacern.com/gsv_440

 

[Toold_up]

Most importantly wear your PPE. Eye glasses are a must! Don't let your hair or clothes get sucked into the machine because it will ruin you day. That machine is small but if your hair get sucked in it's not going to care. You will have an endmill chewing on your cranium until it's had it's fill........ Be mindful of your fingers when working with the machine on. Those little spinning endmills don't look so scary but if you touch one they will remove material from your hands much faster than it does metal! SAFETY FIRST - Do not become complacent around these machines, they WILL hurt you BADLY!

Great reference books:

https://www.engineersblackbook.com/



Not sure what size spindle your machine has but you will need some type of tool holder. ER Collets are great because they are versatile (very wide use range compared to other styles), but you may be able to find a good deal on some end mill holders (Can be expensive because they are one size per endmill).

I have a Clausing 8520 with ER 32 collets and I really like it. The ER setup consumes some daylight, but I haven't done anything that doesn't fit yet.

Get some WD-40 in a gallon jug and a spray bottle for lubrication when milling aluminum.
It's cheap and will get you there.

Make sure you have a chip brush to keep your work and machine clean. Cover anything that you don't want tiny chips to fill up! Those T slots in your table will fill up quickly and if you don't have a T slot cleaner (easy to fab up) you will be hating the cleanup after doing the fun stuff! A shop vac really helps too! I like to run the vac while machining so it ***** up all the chips as they come flying out.

I hope that first part sinks in.

 

[Robert Haas]

Lighting, far and away the most useful and important aspect of using a vertical mill.

Next to the DRO I installed I can tell you that the light I built that is mounted to my quill (A 17 element LED Halo) has improved operations immensely.

 

[FlaGman]

I picked up a digital download off eBay for 18 bucks.

There is one listed for $4 right now

 

[pepi]

I have a chance to get a Kurt 6" machinist, but I'm afraid it will be too big for the machine.

Here's a novel idea, plug the mill in start a project, buy the tooling for it,..... alone If you do not have it in that pile of stuff pictured.

Then do the same with the next project, as you acquire tooling for one, some can be used for others.

All this Krystal ball gazing is a waste of $$ and time. 6" vise it over kill for that mill...

A picture for perspective, seen is a 4" vise, end mill 3/4''

All in all I'm saying set it up run, experience and learn, keep the wallet closed for a short while.

Pep

 

[OccupantRJ]

What do you plan to use the levels for in machining?

 

[Robert Haas]

What do you plan to use the levels for in machining?

if you have a perfectly set up mill with a dead nuts level table, you can use machinists levels to do set ups to within a .005" tolerance that is close enough for 95% of most hobby level projects.

The trick is getting your mill table that level and it is not easy.

It took me the better part of a day to get there.

 

[larry_g]

View media item 46238
Above is a 4" vise on an 8x30" table. Any bigger would cause problems.

lg
no neat sig line