Suggestions on tooling a newbee with Mill can use.

[Leaky88]

Hi,
Mattvette89 has posted some machinist tools. I'm just getting into machining. I have a Model J dovetail Ram Bridgeport Vertical Mill with J-head, R8 taper and a VISE. I do have some mics, dial/travel guages, vernier calibers, depth guage. I have been reading and know I will need some tools to do initial setup, as well as some cutting tools. Any suggestions on what a "beginner" will need to get started would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Leaky

 

[IndyGarage]

You will probably need a set of clamps. They make nice mill clamp sets that are relatively cheap.

You will need a dial indicator with both a magnetic base and also a spindle clamp in order to tram the mill head as well as set things square on the table and center things with the spindle.

You will need a good drill chuck with an R-8 adapter. A nice set of number drills if you don't already have them. Mine is a keyless chuck.

A set of R-8 endmill holders and a a few endmills of different sizes, including at least one roughing cutter. Don't buy the cheapest end mills. They won't last.

A fly cutter is useful.

A 6 inch digital caliper is nice. I have both the harbor frieght one and a Browne and Sharpe - I always use the HF, because it's easier to use and I don't care if it gets beat up a bit. I can't remember when the last time I used any of the micrometers I have - 6 inch caliper does it all - measuring length and depth.

There are several places you can buy that stuff online. I've bought from both Enco and MSC with good luck. For rock bottom pricing and decent chinese import stuff I've bought from a place in Chicago called CDCO and gotten pretty good stuff from them as well.

I've had really good luck buying tooling used. Find a machinist in your area that is closing down a shop or retiring. I've bought boxes of endmills - some brand new, for pennies on the dollar.

 

[JoeFin]

Rotary Table
Dividing Head
Angle Plate

Good set of parallels and when you get tired of smacking your work pieces with a rubber mallet get a real Kurt vise

Oh and BTW - you'll need a lathe to go with that mill

 

[theoldwizard1]

DRO, all 3 axis.

 

[bczygan]

I'm in the same boat.

First get the fluids you need. I just bought a gallon of each plus the lubriplate B105 1.75oz. tube.

I need to sell off the excess. Get squeeze bottles for them.

Do you have an automatic oiler?

There's a prefilled hand oiler made for the zerk fittings, NO grease in the zerks!

How are you powering it? I'm using a VFD.

You need a rack for all your R8 collets.

Get a clamp on light for each side of the mill so there are no shadows. Use some kind of screening so chips don't kill the lights.

Some blue marking fluid and a height gauge and a small granite plate will make marking easy.

123 blocks

Parallels

Set up stuff

Coolant and squeeze bottle

Taps (Regular, metric and pipe)

Tapping fluid

Reamers

Gauge sets

Center finder or wiggler

V block

L block

Table feed and stops

Mark machine for zero on the dials with white out

Rotary indexing table

Hand tap wrenches, big and small

Some plastic and cardboard sheets to make chip guards.

Tool for cleaning table slots

Small throwaway brush for chip cleanup

Air hose and air gun

Wall charts

Anti fatigue mat

Safety equipment

3/4 wrench and other setup wrenches

Machinists jacks

Membership on online machining forums!

I'll think of more

 

[383 240z]

A clamp set, parallels. A spindle clamp for a dial inticator, a test indicator. I use a co-ax indicator fairly often. A couple of GOOD end mills, don't bother with cheap cutters they cause more frustrations than they are worth.

Now that you can make chips, get a machinists handbook and use it!! TONS of great info in there.

What kind of things are you planning on making? I've been working on a larger model steam engine as of late for fun. But real work keeps getting in the way.

Waste a few hours on YouTube. Search Tublicain (Mr Pete 222) and Keith Fenner. Pete has an easy style about how he does things, he is a retired shop teacher and explains things pretty well. You will get a solid foundation from him and a few project ideas. Keith Fenner is very enjoyable to watch and runs a job shop up in Mass. He shows a lot of his projects, and shows you how he tackles complex jobs. Lots of cool stuff. Keith

 

[bczygan]

Machinery's Handbook PDF free here:

http://www.pdfarchive.info/pdf/O/Ob/Oberg_Erik_-_Jones_Franklin_D_-_Machinery_s_Handbook_29th_Edition.pdf

Mag base for indicator.

Lubricants:
Note that the lubricants he sells can be replaced with equivalents by other manufacturers.

http://www.farwestoil.com/crossreference.pdf

http://bluechipmachineshop.com/bc_blog/product/bridgeport-milling-machine-lubrication-service-pack/

 

[jakemac]

Any suggestions on what a "beginner" will need to get started would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Leaky88]

OK, I just downloaded the manual. It will take me a while to read it. Last week received a gallon of Way and spindel oil with hand pump oiler ("Push and Lube" or something like....one made in Germany). Got it...no grease in the fittings. Man, I can see this going to be like building a watch. I'm 61, I just hope I live long enough to acquire it all. Can I wait on getting the lathe? Keep the suggestions coming please.

Leaky

 

[zkling]

This will get you a very good start for basic operations.

0-1 mic
0-6" calipers
edge finder
center punch
wiggler set
half thou (0.0005") test indicator with a indicol or the like holder
Set of endmills
Few parallel sizes
Boring head with boring bars
few collet sizes. 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" for starters.
Drill chuck

 

[larry_g]

I will add, since your mature, is to get a magnifying head piece. It is real handy for inspecting cutters and such. Some good bright light in the area helps a lot also.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[NOZZLEMAN]

Watch the Tublacain and Mr Pete vids on youtube... you will figure out what tooling you will need by watching this stuff and what you need to machine..

GET A SHOP VAC.... never blow sworf (shavings) I just spent hours and hours rebuilding a 2J Series I Bridgeport that had 47 years of accumulation.

 

[gearhead1]

My vote would be for a set of end mills, end mill holders, drill chuck, vise, and clamp kit.

I buy from Enco, Shars, Hemly Tool Supply, and a couple others.

After I got up and running, I got some roughing end mills, and use them more than I thought I would. I also bought a rotary table. Then I bought a chuck for the rotary table. I wouldn't offend the machinists out there and say I was one, but I can get done whatever I need to. (Probably five times longer.)

 

[Adam.C]

Watch out for Shars and the allure of cheap China tooling. Shars specifically sells items with ridiculous claims masked as specs. chinese collets are notoriously off axis, I've bought out of square 123 blocks (and they don't bolt together) and I see some advantage in having parallels that are specific decimel sizes (Starretts are almost like gage blocks).

If you don't have a DRO, first tool you'll need is a surface plate. A granite angle plate is a real luxury I wish I had bought sooner. Then buy and old Starrett surface gage (scribing block) and buy the bits to attach a dti to it. Then buy a good dti. Chinese DTIs are fine, but they have non std dovetails and stems so skip them and buy mitutoyo or a Swiss model.

With these things you can inspect your vise, and find out if it is straight and square. Buy a mag arm like a Noga and use that to check your machine. Until this is done, you will have problems understanding why you can mill something in your vise and reposition it, and continue milling the same surface.