Small milling machine wanted
 

Me and my grandad are after a small milling machine preferably one that we can squeeze into the cellar, we are currently getting by with a vertical slide on the ML7 but are finding it hard work, we have no experience in milling machines so suggestions welcome, thanks
Ash

Ashley,

Go for the largest and most rigid machine you can fit in. I am really stuffed for space and I bought a micro mill (vertical sq column which tilts). When I did my 4" RP I managed to mill the cylinder block flange on it but it was really well outside the machines proper capacity and I had to take baby cuts, but it did get the job done. I have just done most of the operations on the body casting of the water pump for my 6" LS (going to post some pictures in the next week or so if I get time) but again it needed careful planning and light cuts.

Thus, I would go for a vertical machine, try for 3 T slots in the table with a decent table travel X and Y. Look at the spindle travel, distance of spindle from the column and maximum distance from spindle nose to table. What looks generous can very quickly be eaten up by collet chuck and then putting a vice or worse a rotary table on the table. I have been looking at Warco milling machines for my next one, they seem to be reasonably heavily built with a reasonable spec for the £'s.

Paul.

Anything?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tom Senior M1 is a good small machine.

Still looking to purchase one if anyone is thinking of upgrading/ selling one? Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wholeheartedly agree. Avoid most of the modern rubbish which is intended to look big but often can barely support itself, let alone do anything useful.

Buy a Senior M1, with both horizontal & vertical attachments and decent machine vice (Abwood, or similar). The only shortcoming will be that your z-axis (up & down) is via the knee, not a quill. They take MT tooling, so you can share some bits with the Myford. They are near indestructable, will machine things far larger than they were originally designed to do and swapping from 3-phase to single is a simple motor swap. They split easily (base, tray, column, knee, rear cover & motor), which makes taking them through the house possible if needed. The horizontal arbour support bar is invaluble for lifting the column back up once all the bits are in the correct room...

Look in the back of Model Engineer or Engineering In Miniature and you should find something fairly soon. Fairly that, try your local model engineering club. They are often asked to find homes for workshop equipment from deceased members etc.

Simon.

milling machine
 

I have a tom senior major milling machine nin good condition fixed head, s type head slotting head plus tooling as I said all in very good condition £ 2, 900.ono

A little too much machine for me sadly my budget won't stretch but thanks for the offer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you are tight on space and short on cash have a look for a Rodney Milling attachment for the Myford.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist....ad.php?t=22043

Small and fiddly sure but a step up from the vertical slide.
Alas they are hard to come by.

However if the concept of how it works will do the job for you you might be able to find some other type of small milling head to bolt to the tail stock end of the bed and use in a similar way.

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

Something from a very small mill drill for example.

I know Maximat made a 4 speed milling head with a 2 morse that bolted to the back of their lath bed in the middle that worked in the same way.

All depends on what you can find.

Might even be able to modify a small drill press to do the job.

Here is the Maximat.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Emco-Maximat...-/371553083188
You just need the milling head.

Thanks for the reply, we should have enough space for a separate milling machine, just not a full size one :) thinking of something similar to the Warco economy or rf25 size machine from looking about, just got to find one that's not a 7 hour drive away
Thanks aga


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A friend of mine has a similar machine and they do a better job than first appearance would suggest.

Just watch the max height dimension.

Imagine making a big hole in something.
First the centre drill then a couple of drills in a drill chuck then on to a few taper shank drills and then perhaps a boring head. Add in a vice on the table or a cylinder casting on parrallel strips and you can soon run out of height.

If you have several choices go for the one with the largest capacity.

I bought my warco major mill in 1995 and my warco bh900 lathe in 2001 and both have done a power of work often well above what they were designed to do
Many people don't rate warco machines but I feel for the price they cant be beat
My lathe was only £1600 and you cant even get close to a new myford for that and it came with everything for that price
So my advice is have a look at the warco stuff and make your on mind up
Mark

If you are not in the South of the UK, you may be interested in a Centec 2A type machine - there's one on e bay at the moment in Selby for £1150 or make an offer http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Centec-2A-...3D232037613529 and Cheffins have one in their Harrogate auction next w/ehttp://www.cheffins.co.uk/lot/-1200006-vintage-0

Nice looking small machine but they do have the height problem I mentioned above.

You can add a riser block down the track http://www.lathes.co.uk/centec/page6.html

Another cheap one here

https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-powe...tent=GpB_month

I used to have a Centec myself, they are a super little machine.
At one point I grafted a Bridgeport head onto it !!


Phil

Small desk top machine here,
should be able to strip and carry to the basement OK
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1723022138...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Nick

The mill/drills with the round column have a problem not often mentioned.
You only have accurate vertical travel for the length of the quill.
You can of course go more but you have to unlock the head and raise it on the column.
When you do that you loose your position and have to reset the job.
They work fine for general milling but for boring something or drilling a big hole where you have to start with a center drill
and work up to bigger sizes it can cause problems.
Like I said still fine for general milling.

If you look closely at the one in the Cheffins auction Stephan, - you will se that it has one.

There actually seems to be 2, one fitted and one on the tray.

http://www.cheffins.co.uk/assets/cat...ts/476/109.jpg

I did notice that. It would be my pick of the 3
The horizontal bit can be useful as well if you tip a job on its side.
Bit of imagination and you could do a lot with one of those machines.

When I was a machine tool dealer duplicate bits like that were a nice bonus, I could sell them off separately, that is probably worth about £100.

I think you can use more than 1 at a time to gain further height.

Few things in life are free. There is often a payoff between extra hight & rigidity when using these blocks. More than one is often asking for trouble.

Simon.

Just as an aside, the original Centec factory in Richmond on Thames still exists and is being put to good use.




http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pic...ictureid=32375

Think it has been "tarted up" a bit.................. LOL.










http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pic...ictureid=32376

Agreed, there are often times when you have to be gentle but time is not so important for a hobbyist.

Getting the job done is the key especially when there is not a bigger machine handy.

I have been slowly tooling up over the last year, I brought a 11" swing warco lathe and a VM32 mill with DRO. What I have discovered is these are the cheapest parts as i'm buying more tooling to use on them, eg, collets, parallels, bits, hss stuff, inserts etc.

As for quality, yes, they are 'ok'. Push them hard enough and they flex, however these are hobby machines not industrial, and you have to treat them as such. My lathe or mill will happily remove material to a depth of say 0.2 all day long, but try and take off 0.5 or more and it struggles, but I have time to do multiple passes. Accuracy is often mentioned as lacking on Chinese tools, and on the lathe I agree as the slides are sloppy and are more of a guide. Saying that, when I was practising and using a mic I was getting within 0.001 of where I was aiming for. On the Mill, I have a DRO that goes to 0.005 and I work off that and i'm looking to fit one to the lathe.

My lad uses the tools extensively as he's about to go to uni as a mech eng and so far has made a simple beam engine (compressed air) and is working on a flicker engine. For me, I have been making parts for my stationary engines, most of which required threads and the lathe has done with job. Quality of my work is down to my inexperience (threads are a bit rough) but overall I have been very pleased with my Chinese tooling.

Terry, feel free to pop down to my place if you need to borrow something bigger or more ridged
James (the one who had your old lister sl)

Well Iv finally got hold of a milling machine that suits my needs, next stage is some tooling, the spindle is mt3 I have got an er32 collet holder that has come with it that has a 3/8 drawbar, the first thing I will be after is a drill chuck, possible a full set of collets it should I just buy a selection? And obviously a few cutters, my question is where's best to buy from? Is a 3/8 draw bar common? Ideally I'm after a 3mt chuck that used a 3/8 drawbar so I don't have to keep changing it... Any suggestions welcome :) thanks again for all the replies
Ash


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ash,

You can easly make more drawbars. I've got three different ones for different holders etc. and it is not really a bother at all. You can get cheap ER collets from E-bay. I've bought a couple of sets (metric and imperial) which came from Hong Kong. They are fine. I even bought a set of ER50 collets for use in the lathe.

If the right holder comes up, but is a different thread, then provided you can get that thread through your spindle, go for it...
Regards,
Doug

I can recommend Chronos of Dunstable for collets, clamps etc. It is all imported modern stuff, but a sensible price for reasonable quality.

I would go for a set of ER collets. They each grip a range and having a set will prevent the tempation to wreck one by using the wrong size.

Don't worry over the drawbar size. If something else with a different thread comes your way, you can always knock up an additional drawbar. As long as it goes down the mandrel, there won't be a problem. Look out for some 2mt/3mt sleeves and then you can use things aimed at the Myford market too.

Simon.

Yes I do have a drill chuck for the myford tail stock,so if I got a sleeve is it reasonable to use that? It's just a 2mt no draw bar thread in it? Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should be fine. Don't buy the same thing twice!

Use a small brass drift to gently tap it out from behind if needed.

Simon.

I would second a set of ER32 collets, you can use them to hold drills as well you know! I have an ER system on my mill and I use that more than the drill chuck, lower profile gives more head room and they grip a drill better than a Jacobs 3 jaw chuck as well!

Paul.