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Post by Artur on Jul 6, 2018 13:58:58 GMT -8
What mini mill do you guys own and which one would you recommend. I am leaning towards the mini mill from harbor freight, I want to avoid the dermal type mills.  |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 6, 2018 14:02:25 GMT -8
I have had a Sherline for many years. It's always worked for me. The selection in peripherals is very good. And when I phone up with questions, they have an expert on call.
I am thinking about getting another one with a larger capacity. Partly for that reason, but also so I can leave a setup on one, and go to the other, and back.
Ed
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 15:15:58 GMT -8
That mill from Harbor Freight is made by Sieg of China. It is the same mill as the one sold by Micro Mark; and Grizzly. It's an excellent machine. Do your homework on what collets and such are needed; most of the milling startup costs are the "extras" that don't come with.
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Post by Paul Cutler III on Jul 6, 2018 15:17:58 GMT -8
I picked up an antique Unimat recently and have yet to actually use it. However, I did take shop classes in high school and college so have used South Bends and Bridgeports. My biggest problem is coming up with a project to make that the Unimat can handle. I expect that at some point I'll need to mill a loco frame down because I really could have used this thing when I made a Cabbage out of a Walthers F40PH years back. But right now all the projects that are on my workbench don't need a mill or a lathe.
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Post by onequiknova on Jul 6, 2018 16:20:34 GMT -8
I have the harbor freight mill and love it. It is one of the best hobby investments I have made. As mentioned it is sold by different manufacturers, but is basically the same mill. They are referred to as X2 mini mills, and there is a large aftermarket for them. I went a little crazy with mine and added DRO's, a belt drive, and a home made power feed for the Y axis. It really saves your wrists on those long cuts. I have accumulated quite a bit of tooling, which of coarse makes the mill much more versatile.
The mill come with nothing, so you will at least need to buy a vice, a collet of some form and of coarse the end mills to make use of the mill.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2018 16:32:44 GMT -8
Artur, That is the exact machine I have had going on about 19 years now. The only difference, mine is a Grizzly. It is a good machine. Harbor Freight offers the same machine in their name. You can get any replacement parts from Little Machine Shop. It will handle pretty much ANY HO Scale job and frames up to an SD40T-2 from end to end as long as it is centered. Make sure you get the inch threads. It helps. The Micro Mark machine is the only machine you can get that comes with Inch threads. All the others you have to buy the kit. I have a Unimate as well and removed the milling portion and it is my small lathe. I also have a larger table top lathe for larger jobs. The Sherline is a good machine, but I think the size of the one in your picture is a much better choice. If you really get into machining, it can also be setup as a CNC mill. I have a friend in Tucson that CNCed his Grizzly. Tom is correct. Tooling is the hidden costs. I would highly suggest the quick change collet set from Micro Mark. Saves you from hammering the column to remove the collet each time you want to change a bit size. Just to let you know. When I bought mine, I knew NOTHING of machining. I broke enough bits and have learned how to listen to the machine. It did not take long. There are a few major key factors in milling. One is to make sure your mill is trued and the gibs are tightened properly. Make sure the ways are oiled and the screws are oiled. Understand your feed rate and RPM for the size of bit you are using and the material you are cutting. AND lastly make dang sure your part is held firmly. All hell will break loose if you do not have your screws properly adjusted and the part properly secured. Climb milling is your friend as long as you do not take to big of a bite. For soft materials like aluminum, brass and zamac. Cutting oil is not necessary, but it goes a long way to produce a good finish and preserve the life of your bits. One more suggestion. If you are going to use a machinist vise instead of hold downs. Do not get a screw type vise. Get a vice like this Micro Mark one. www.micromark.com/PRECISION-VISE-W-HLD-DOWN. This type of vise does not do everything for you. In many cases yo will have to make or have made your own tooling. But, this vise will do a lot for you. It comes with vise hold down blocks, but I think you will need the screws for them. There is a lot you will learn while using this machine. There is not a modeling project I have done to date since buying this machine that I have not used it on. Brian |
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Post by Artur on Jul 6, 2018 17:06:18 GMT -8
Thanks for the great advice and info guys
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Post by alcoc430 on Jul 7, 2018 3:41:02 GMT -8
Sherline for me. I like the fact all parts and accessories are available and that I have been able to upgrade over time. I was able to find a used one on ebay for a reasonable price.
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Post by cannon on Jul 7, 2018 6:17:33 GMT -8
The one comment that Brian slipped in is the most important. “The Micro Mark has inch threads on the lead screws” With a 20 pitch thread one revolution of the hand crank moves the table .050 of an inch. And having 50 graduations on the dial, each mark is .001 (one thousandth of an inch). The other machines have metric threads. With one a one millimeter pitch, so one revolution advances the table one millimeter or .03937. The dials have 40 graduations, so it is not quite .001 inch per mark. Over several revolutions this small error adds up. Just look at moving the decmil point to see what I mean. Ten revolutions moved the table .393 vs .400 with the MM. One hundred revolutions 3.937 vs 4.000 so your spacing might not be what you thought.
Dave
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 7, 2018 6:44:22 GMT -8
Graduated in fortieths? That's just plain weird. Being metric, I would have thought they'd go with hundredths, tenths, or even fiftieths. I don't even see how you can work with fortieths.
Don't forget, machinists actually work in "metric", too. It's just that the base unit is inches, not meters. Or centimeters, depending. Metric is based on decimal dimensions, as opposed to fractional. Same as machinist's dimensions.
Ed
PS: Thinkin' on it further (It can happen), it looks like they're trying to adapt a metric machine tool to inch workers by slapping on a weird dial. Yikes. I'd sooner go full metric, I think. Then, at least, I'd know where I was on the table.
You DON'T want the half-assed conversion. Get a full inch setup. Or, if you wish, a full metric.
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Post by cannon on Jul 7, 2018 7:57:14 GMT -8
If god had wanted man to use the metric system, She would have given them ten toes and ten fingers.
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Post by roadkill on Jul 9, 2018 6:26:52 GMT -8
That mill from Harbor Freight is made by Sieg of China. It is the same mill as the one sold by Micro Mark; and Grizzly. It's an excellent machine. Do your homework on what collets and such are needed; most of the milling startup costs are the "extras" that don't come with. Good to know! Might have to wander into Harbor Freight in the next few days(altho that can be very dangerous for me  !!!). |
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Post by Artur on Jul 9, 2018 7:43:00 GMT -8
That mill from Harbor Freight is made by Sieg of China. It is the same mill as the one sold by Micro Mark; and Grizzly. It's an excellent machine. Do your homework on what collets and such are needed; most of the milling startup costs are the "extras" that don't come with. Good to know! Might have to wander into Harbor Freight in the next few days(altho that can be very dangerous for me !!!). Same here lol. Harbor freight reminds me of Princess Auto in Canada, looks like they have the same mill but it’s over $1000. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 8:59:10 GMT -8
Like Dave and Brian stated...keep in mind that Micro Mark has added their own "touch" by using the true inch threads. For what I do with the mill, I don't really need that level of precision, but in the case I ever got into producing small parts from CNC machining, I would invest in the Micro Mark mill.
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Jul 9, 2018 9:49:24 GMT -8
I was in Harbor Frt yesterday, enjoying the A/C while the wife was walking around a flea market in the parking lot....
My impression, unschooled and totally with no experience in such things....if I can’t wack it with a Dremel tool I’m over my head, is that it is extremely heavy and appears to be quite well constructed. Especially compared to some other things you find there.
I have no place to put one, no knowledge in how to use one but if i did, I’d consider it. Then, of course, I’d have to get a lathe, too.
Get on the HF e-mail list and they often have some decent discount coupons that you could use. Last weekend they had 25% coupon plus their other deals and come-ones....caveat emptor (sp)
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Post by onequiknova on Jul 9, 2018 14:48:41 GMT -8
Like Dave and Brian stated...keep in mind that Micro Mark has added their own "touch" by using the true inch threads. For what I do with the mill, I don't really need that level of precision, but in the case I ever got into producing small parts from CNC machining, I would invest in the Micro Mark mill. FWIW, Little Machine Shop sells the parts to convert to true inch threads. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 15:33:53 GMT -8
Good to know!
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!!!).