Mill machine

fiolledapool said:
ok... and this machine with table XYZ? http://grizzly.com/products/5-Speed-Baby-Drill-Press/G7942
Click to expand...

That's an extremely light weight drill press, and would make a terrible mill, even for wood working. There are so many issues with using this type of machine as a mill I don't even know where to start.

My advice is to learn as much as you can about mills in general, then go shopping. There are lots of European machine tool makers and if you got real lucky perhaps there is a nice used Deckel FP1 waiting for you somewhere close.

Here's a site that has lots of information on many different mills, so you can look up any machine that you happen to meet in your travels :

http://www.lathes.co.uk/

Dave
 
As Dave said that is a drill press. A mill has a table that you move. This is what you need for accuracy.

John
 
fiolledapool said:
ok... and this machine with table XYZ? http://grizzly.com/products/5-Speed-Baby-Drill-Press/G7942
Click to expand...

A drill press can never be substituted for a mill, even if you add an X,Y table. The chuck in a mill uses a Jacobs and Morse taper. Those tapers can not take any side force without the chuck falling out. For milling you need a machine designed for milling. You can cut your point grooves on a lathe until a machine is located and many people just use lathes all of the time.

By the way, I have this mill/drill that I purchased about seven or eight years ago.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=33686

I added a power drive for the Y axis. I got it at one of the stores where it was damaged. The on/off/reverse switch cover was damaged so I got the machine for 550.00. It took about 15 minutes to repair the cover. Like any machinery from Horrible Fright, I had to do a lot of cleaning and had to tweak a few components to get it to run as true as I liked but you must decide when buying such equipment from different importers. Do you want to do the cleaning and tweaking for a substantially lower price or pay Enco, Grizzly or Jet to do it for you at greatly increased prices? That is the main difference between the different companies, how much time was expended getting the machine ready for use. I've been very happy with mine. I had a chance once to buy another that a closeout outfit had. Although new, it was taken apart and had some hand wheels and such missing. I could have had it for 300.00 and told them I would buy it and just set it up as a dedicated point maker but changed my mind as I didn't feel like moving it. Great mistake on my part as it is a pain in the arse setting up and tearing down and moving the mill-vice when wanting to use as a normal mill.


Dick
 
Last edited:
I don't think with that budget, you are going to find a mill with enough travel to do points unless you find something used.

I have the Mill RocketQ linked (Grizzly 1007). It works great for points. I took a day and build a jig that I can pivot to do 4, 6 or 8 point cues. Now that I have the CNC mill, the Grizzly stays set up for 4 points and I have 0 setup time.

Don't forget that after you buy the mill, you are going to either have to build or buy a fixture to hold the cue that you can index. I think I spent another $300 or so here. Another $100 on a bit. I've had the bit two years and have had it sharpened once. Probably getting close to time to get it sharpened again.
 
fiolledapool said:
I am lost... can someone show examples of cheap and small mill that I can buy...any link?
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thought I made this post last night, but it seems to have vanished, so I'll try again.

This is about as small and cheap as it gets for a "mill" to cut points. A router, a mill table, an indexing head, a tailstock, a couple of dial indicators, and some MDF. Of course, if you have a CNC machine, that will work too.
Mr H

mill.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mr Hoppe said:
Hmmm, thought I made this post last night, but it seems to have vanished, so I'll try again.

This is about as small and cheap as it gets for a "mill" to cut points. A router, a mill table, an indexing head, a tailstock, a couple of dial indicators, and some MDF. Of course, if you have a CNC machine, that will work too.
Mr H
Click to expand...

what travel have this bed?
 
Mr Hoppe said:
Hmmm, thought I made this post last night, but it seems to have vanished, so I'll try again.

This is about as small and cheap as it gets for a "mill" to cut points. A router, a mill table, an indexing head, a tailstock, a couple of dial indicators, and some MDF. Of course, if you have a CNC machine, that will work too.
Mr H

mill.jpg
Click to expand...

Mr H, I'm impressed. That is one trick machine.
This is what creativity is all about.
Few people realize that this type of innovation is an integral part of cue building and it's an art-form that is vanishing in this country. It's encouraging to know that there are still a few who keep the fire going. These are the people for whom I have respect.
Again, very good work Sir, keep it up.
BTW, do you have a similarly ingenious pwr/fd in the works?
 
Mr Hoppe said:
Hmmm, thought I made this post last night, but it seems to have vanished, so I'll try again.

This is about as small and cheap as it gets for a "mill" to cut points. A router, a mill table, an indexing head, a tailstock, a couple of dial indicators, and some MDF. Of course, if you have a CNC machine, that will work too.
Mr H

mill.jpg
Click to expand...

Not to shabby!!!
 
Mr Hoppe said:
Hmmm, thought I made this post last night, but it seems to have vanished, so I'll try again.

This is about as small and cheap as it gets for a "mill" to cut points. A router, a mill table, an indexing head, a tailstock, a couple of dial indicators, and some MDF. Of course, if you have a CNC machine, that will work too.
Mr H

mill.jpg
Click to expand...

Mr Hoppe, where did you get the indexing head stock or whatever it's called?

Thanks Larry
 
It's called an indexing fixture and they are available at just about any machinery/tool supply, even eBay. Should be in the $30/40 range.
You know, getting some tool catalogs might not be a bad idea.

The trick here is to get the centers of both the fixture and the tail-stock to the exact same height. It could give a whole new meaning to 'taper' if you don't.
 
KJ Cues said:
It's called an indexing fixture and they are available at just about any machinery/tool supply, even eBay. Should be in the $30/40 range.
You know, getting some tool catalogs might not be a bad idea.

The trick here is to get the centers of both the fixture and the tail-stock to the exact same height. It could give a whole new meaning to 'taper' if you don't.
Click to expand...

Meaning it's easier to just avail of an old small Atlas or SB lathe and use that to " mill" ?
 
KJ Cues said:
It's called an indexing fixture and they are available at just about any machinery/tool supply, even eBay. Should be in the $30/40 range.
You know, getting some tool catalogs might not be a bad idea.

The trick here is to get the centers of both the fixture and the tail-stock to the exact same height. It could give a whole new meaning to 'taper' if you don't.
Click to expand...


Thanks, I looked on several tool sights and ebay for indexing head, indexing tailstock and even did searches just using indexing. Now that I know what to call it I hope to have better luck.

Larry
 
JoeyInCali said:
Meaning it's easier to just avail of an old small Atlas or SB lathe and use that to " mill" ?
Click to expand...

No, not at all.
What Mr. H has built is a 'form' of a mill. No comparison to a lathe as it has no 'turning' capabilities. Indexing is done manually.
You'll notice that he does have a small lathe's tail-stock mounted on the R end of the table to support the stock being 'milled'.
It looks to be a very trick little set-up for doing points & billets. Even with just 11.5" travel on the X axis, that's more than enough for points.

The purpose of my statement about maintaining the same height of the centers supporting the work, was so that you don't have points and slots running at a slant to the center-line of the work.

While I stiil love my BridgePort type mills for such operations, I'm very impressed by the ingenuity Mr H has displayed in his machine.
Somewhat conversely, I'm saddened by the LACK of ingenuity by the new generation of CMs that are just coming into the 'game'. The instant gratification generation whose attitude is " I don't have a clue how to make it but I think there's someone who already makes it so I'll just buy one".
You see it everyday on here. Welcome to the new America.
 
KJ Cues said:
The trick here is to get the centers of both the fixture and the tail-stock to the exact same height. It could give a whole new meaning to 'taper' if you don't.
Click to expand...

I like QMAKERs solution, use a 5C spin indexer at both ends. The side that acts as the "tailstock" would use the sliding spindle feature, and the indexing side would leave the spindle in for indexing. Seems rather brilliant to me as a 5C spin indexer is worth a lot less than a tailstock and you are assured they are at the same height.

Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top