Milling machine Opinions

[jumpingryan]

I am on the lookout for a milling machine.

I would prefer a small one, as I plan to use it for light aluminum work mainly on smaller stock. Things like counterboring to start.

Anyone have an opinion on this machine or experience with this brand? It is alot bigger than I wanted, but I do have the space for it..... It also is within my budget, but might more of a machine than I need....

http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...ng-Machine-16-Rotary-Table-W0QQAdIdZ455081673

R

 

[helterskelter]

That ad is just for the rotary table that is attached to the milling machine. Not the actual machine. But a knee mill of that size is certainly acceptable to fiddle around with in your garage. I wouldn't recommend anything smaller or you will be disappointed with how much you have to baby it on harder materials.

 

[fomocoforrester]

Yes - that's just for the rotary table.

As you say, a machine like that one would be overkill for small aluminum work - I would think what you need is something like this .....

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill-Milling-Machine-25/G1005Z

 

[hofferwood]

Yes - that's just for the rotary table.

As you say, a machine like that one would be overkill for small aluminum work - I would think what you need is something like this .....

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill-Milling-Machine-25/G1005Z

I agree.
I got lucky and picked this one up for 400 bones.

 

[383 240z]

I wish that rotory table was closer!!! Getting back on topic. A small bench top unit will usually sell for MORE than a nice sized knee mill will, as more people can use it, I am of the opinion that in machine tools the heavier the better. My Cincinnati Toolmaster weighs in around 2200 lbs. and is a 3 phase. has a 9"x42" table. The base is about 28"x36". Not huge, but not a table top. The only people bidding on it were scrap buyers, and me. The 3 phase scared off a bunch of buyers, as did the size.

I moved it into my shop by myself with no special equipment, just an engine crane, a prybar, some 1" black iron pipe, and a come-a-long. I got it working on 220V with a simple $80 static phase converter. I paid just under $400 for the mill. I see much smaller less capable benchtop units go for 2x that. Either way when your buying look for ones with as much tooling as you can find. I EASY have 2K in tooling and I dont have anywhere near all I want/need. Keith

 

[383 240z]

PS. I've never liked those round column mills. To hard to keep aligned. Try to find something more like this, yes I know its a Bridgy, but it was the first decent pic that came up in my search. Keith

 

[383 240z]

As much as I am against small, light mills, I would LOVE to have this little guy!!!! Keith

 

[mooseracing]

The small mills are nice but you end up spending more since they are home/small shop use with less surplus out there. Alot of us don't have high amperage or want phase/rotary converters. I have a 704 Grizzly and a 10" lathe that I do alot of work on. Stick to the dovetail columns not the round.

 

[LXCam]

The small mills are nice but you end up spending more since they are home/small shop use with less surplus out there. Alot of us don't have high amperage or want phase/rotary converters. I have a 704 Grizzly and a 10" lathe that I do alot of work on. Stick to the dovetail columns not the round.

Agreed on the dovetail 1000%. I have both a jet unit with power down feed and drives for x/y transverse I bought many years ago. Hell I even out fitted it with a 3 axis dro. And a 9/42 Bridgeport. That table top unit has made me a great deal if money through the years and has done anything I've asked if it with the right tooling and set up time. My only ***** is that flipping round column. Anytime you're in a situation you need to raise or lower it, you have to re-align your datum...fn pain in the *** even when you figure out a good way of doing it. There are a couple products I make on it and have spent hundreds if dollars on cutters just so I don't have to change the head elevation.

Ain't nuttin wrong with those smaller bench top units, don't let these guy shame you into something that doesn't make sense in your shop. BUT, make sure you get one with a 2hp motor and if you do end up buying a round column style, the first thing you need to do is shim the column true to the table.

Good luck bud, the machines are cheap, its the tooling that'll hurt the ole wallet.

 

[zkling]

Small, light weight and "good" milling machine aren't really words that belong in the same sentence together.

The Bridgeport style of knee mill is by far the most prevalent manual machine you will run across. Which is of the style of the mill in that ad. That doesn't mean they are the best though, just versatile. I'm not sure what your used market is like up there, north of the border. Brands like Bridgeport, causing, rockwell, tree, K&T, cincinnati. Are all good brands and pretty common down here in the US.

LXcam is very much correct. I have seen guys that make lots of money off of the bench top, round column mill drills. I specifically remember a guy over on the PM site that converted one to CNC and made really nice MX bike parts including triple clamps from solid bar stock. They can be made to produce good work, as long as you understand their limitations.

 

[Tj4]

Industrial hobbies makes a nice square column mill. You can get a manual version to a full cnc.

 

[rsanter]

What size parts are you going to be doing?
To me I think I would push for a full sized Bridgeport or similar clone or if you are really only doing small suff and only aluminum then look at one of the smaller desktop CNC machines like a max-nc

Bob

 

[Steevo]

+1 on dovetail columns.
My first "mill" was a mill/drill, and turned out to be a disappointment to me.
I then bought a used Grizzly knee mill:

I like this machine a lot, but still lust after a full-size mill.

It doesn't help that I see ads all the time for full sized mills for $2500 or less.

 

[mtnwalton]

Definitely a Bridgeport if you have a choice

 

[fomocoforrester]

I agree with everyone who says that a knee type, dovetail column type mill is the best option for general shop use, but for the type of work that the OP said he was going to do, the round column type should be more than adeqate.

In the rare event that a change in head elevation would be required during a machining operation - a $2 keyring laser and a splodge of white paint on the shop wall opposite, will solve the problem ....

 

[Dave455]

If you are going to use it for counterboring you probably want a Jig Boring machine rather than a mill. A Jig Borer has the accurate X Y table of the mill, but the spindle isn't designed to take side loads, so the whole thing can be much smaller!

Finding a small but solid mill is tricky. My favourite is the British made Centec. They were designed as small production machines so they are very solid for their size. Most are horizontal, but there is a vertical also!

I'll post one pics later if I have time!

 

[fomocoforrester]

Ther's some good pics here ....

http://www.lathes.co.uk/centec/index.html

 

[antinym]

I have a similar mill. It's a glorified drill press. You can do work on it, but you'll probably end up frustrating your self. You wont be able to precise work, either.

 

[fomocoforrester]

I have a similar mill. It's a glorified drill press. You can do work on it, but you'll probably end up frustrating your self. You wont be able to precise work, either.

I'm not sure which "similar mill" you're talking about - but here's an interesting site that shows just what you can do with a Rong Fu 25 once you start adding things like - a good vice - power feeds - indexing - and a DRO.....

http://www.micro-machine-shop.com/rong_fu_rf_25_mill.htm

 

[tool_scrounge]

The problem with a lot of smaller machines is that they are not very stiff, resulting in the need to take small cuts to avoid chatter.

I would recommend you find a used Index 40 or 55 milling machine. They are smaller than a Bridgeport but are well made. The company (wells-index) is in Michigan and still supplies parts for them.