Hobby minimills?

[josh817]

Looking for a cheap mill so I can make some parts, perhaps for the Z, perhaps not.

 

They're pretty expensive however when I started looking at them I am thinking maybe I can just use our already nice drill press and mount one of those tables on it. I'm lacking in knowledge... Don't really know what those tables are called, but they allow you to adjust in the x-y planes accurately.

 

 

Is this realistic, to get the table, the cutting bits, and just use the drill press. Granted I would have to find a way to make the Z travel or height of the bit travel, accurately readable.

 

 

I figured a minimill would be a more versatile than a lathe.

Edited April 19, 2012 by josh817

[Michael]

It's probably not realistic because most drill presses are not designed to take lateral loads on the drill chuck. They will chatter, producing a rough and uneven cut. Also, the drill press frame is insufficiently rigid, and the connection between the work-table and the shaft supporting the drill motor/belts/chuck is too flimsy.

 

A better choice is buying a used mainstream mill. Decent examples can be found for around $1000. In the long run, you'll spend more money on attachments (various cutters, end-mills and so forth) than on the machine.

[josh817]

Blah! I don't have that much to drop! The most I would spend would be to get a Harbor Freight minimill..

 

We have one of these, as well as a bench model drill press.

 

Quite honestly I must have been underestimating what these things do. I figured it wouldn't be too much side load or chatter if you lube it up well and go slow.

Edited April 18, 2012 by josh817

[zero]

I trolled craigslist for a while and found this little mini mill for a few hundred bucks. I'd imagine you could pick up a nice used old one.

 

[cockerstar]

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/103972-milling-machine-for-my-garage/page__p__972420__hl__mill__fromsearch__1#entry972420

[h4nsm0l3m4n]

Buying a mill isnt only about buying the actual machine. Youre going to need a lot more "stuff." Lots of endmills, drill bits, taps, fixturing tools are all required for you to build parts. Some of these items are consumables. Youre going to want a good quality vise and table if you want your parts to be of any decent precision. Finally a good stock of materials at various thicknesses is going to be important if youre designing parts "on the fly." All this "stuff" is going to be the bulk of the cost when owning a mill.

 

I'm sure if youre clever you can come up with most of this stuff but I would ask yourself "what is your project?" Do you WANT to build a mill, or do you WANT to work on your Z? If its the later and youre really only doing this to make parts for your car I wouldnt bother getting a mill. Instead get well acquainted with a CAD software and find some decent shops that do CNC machining, laser cutting, sheet metal bending work. Those shops have been doing that kind of work for years and will probably be able to produce better parts than you can make in your garage with no time investment on your part. Send them the design and they will make production/show-quality parts in just a couple days.

 

Theyre cheaper than you think too. I just had my local sheet metal guy laser cut and bend me this fan shroud I designed to mount on my radiator. $50 and the part came out PERFECT!

 

Sure I could have cut some aluminum, etc. and rigged something up but the fit and finish probably wouldnt have looked as good AND I would have had to mess around with it for a day or two. Why add more work? Use your engineering knowledge and design some awesome parts. Who knows, if you design something really cool you could put it up on here to sell

Edited April 18, 2012 by h4nsm0l3m4n

[josh817]

That's a good idea.

 

I'm having to outsource my aluminum welding, if I ever get around to it, but other than that I like to do it all myself. The quality/looks don't really bother me since its well.. just me. If it works the way I want it to then yay for me.

 

An example, I'm just about done hobbling my fuel injection manifold together. Between school and work it has taken me a year of brain storming, reading, and actual doing. The labor part was really only 3 full days ironically.

 

 

A mill would be nice to make small parts like flanges, spacers, etc. I also had plans to build a 3 cylinder oscillating air motor, drew it all up in Google Sketchup, never went any further...

 

Anyway, as you can see, I'm not necessarily working on very fine clearances or anything (note the fat felt tip marker in the background hahah). If it's a little off... well, I pull out the file. haha The parts I am wanting to make are parts that other companies already produce and I just don't feel like dishing out lots of money for the work. Plus I have more pride and more fun doing it myself even if it wasn't my idea.

[Tony D]

Nice Josh! I'm sure those injectors are at the 5 degree oblique angle as well, huh?

 

My hobby minimill is a full sized 1.5HP Bridgeport with a J-Head and shaper on the back. $800 plus $245 for the single phase motor conversion kit. Bought from the original purchaser who used it from 1975 to 1998 in his shop to cut slots in aluminum or thin plate steel.

 

When I turned the head to 45 degrees for my injector conversion on SU's he put his hand on my shoulder and said "I've never used that feature!" Talk about knee being tight! This thing was like brand new, with the years of patina on the paint. Hell, he even threw in boxes of little end nibs of billet for the cost of the scrap value he would have gotten. I don't think I will find another deal like that. Latest purchase yet to be installed is an XYZ DRO kit (chinese) for $280 that was on e-bay but that I had delivered to our factory in Shanghai for a little bit of nothing! Getting that 40" Glass Gauge onto the plane was NOT easy!

Edited April 19, 2012 by Tony D

[johnc]

Agreed with everyone here. Find a used mill (doesn't have to be a Bridgeport for your intended useage) and try to score ALL of the tooling. When I opened my shop I bought a Granite mill/lathe combo and it turned out to be an OK lathe, a really good drill press, and a shitty mill.

[thehelix112]

John,

 

Granite combo by smithy?

 

Dave

[johnc]

Yes.

[thehelix112]

Can you elaborate on the review re lathe and mill functionality by any chance? I find the idea of a combo very appealing given I have a tiny garage, and the smithy one is going to be better than the HF knockoff I guess?

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Tony D]

I tried to give John C my second full size Bridgeport, but he turned it down.

I would agree that a Smithy is a damn good thing to have, and will do everything mine will do for 99.95% of what you would normally do in the course of a project---all while having the advantage of being bench-top mountable.

 

Actually it will do more than mine, because it's a metal turning lathe as well.

 

Then again, as part of that $800 deal, I got a 17 X 48" Cinncinnati Milacron Lathe as well. Rotary Phase converters are a PITA!

 

I would make note that the REAL SMITHY has a resale value VERY close to new purchase. They don't go down in value. I would personally buck up the money for the brand-name over the HF one, unless you wanted to intimately get acquainted with the machinery when you buy it by taking it completely apart, going over everything and accurizing it, and then using it. The HF stuff is O.K., but you have to take steps to 'make it better' if you want what you will get out-of-the-box from a new or even used Smithy!

 

In addition, the Smithy is bigger than my 6" Atlas/Craftsman Lathe. But I hold out for that deal on a particular Atlas 10" lathe with EVERY attachment ever made for it---same guy sold me the Bridgeport, and just couldn't part with the 10". He offered it to me for $350 and last I talked he stuck to that price. For that price, I'll live with it taking up the floor space---same as I do with the Bridgeport!

[Racer Z]

My dad has a mill in his shop, a real big Bridgeport. The mill alone takes up a lot of space and uses a lot of 240 volt electricity. His collection of bits and tables and such take up a lot of room also. There is a roll-away dedicated to just mill parts and that does not include much much more. He made a living working out of his shop and this tool made him a lot of money.

 

I don't claim to be good at using his mill or lathe, but I have used them a bit. I have also tried to use my drill press as a mill and I can tell you it's not the same. Some good notes have already been expressed so no need to repeat that. The drill press does not spin nearly as fast as the mill so work goes slow and the cut looks terrible. My drill press does not have the power as a real mill and I have to take tiny little bites.

 

A mill and lathe do not do the same type of work. You will want and need both. Maybe this small mill you found will work for your needs, it's bound to be better than using a drill press as a mill.

 

Try to find a school nearby that offers a machine calls. My local high school has an adult night class where we can work on hobbies. I am a student there for that reason and I have access to my dad's shop as well.