"free" Is Never Free

intjonmiller

intjonmiller

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TL;DR version in bold at the bottom.

My brother just offered me his mill (RF-30 type Harbor Freight model; I forget the number) on the same terms as I got his lathe: indefinite loan because he doesn't know how to use them and never touches them and they make more sense in my shop than his.

Great! I'll take it! Right? Except free is never free. I don't mean in the sense of owing favors or anything like that (honestly I owe him plenty for the work he does for our vehicles already, even if I did help him build his shop). I just mean that he doesn't have almost anything for it. There's a simple angle vise (drill press table grade), a drill chuck, and nothing else I'm aware of. He's been using it as a glorified drill press and nothing more since he got it from our dad about a decade ago. It didn't feel appropriate during our phone call a minute ago to ask about tooling.

I have been frustrated without a mill as I'm setting up a lathe and I want to make my own toolholders and so forth, not to mention actual projects. But I'm cramped as it is. The only way I could take it is if I let go of the radial arm saw and the (worn out HF floor standing) drill press. And I'm a guy who actually likes a radial arm saw. And even though I have it set up well I'm not likely to get much money for it.

Which brings me to the issue: I can't afford to buy anything for a mill right now. And I would want to. I have a screwless vise for my surface grinder, which I suppose I could use on the mill. And I have about a dozen random end mills I've picked up when they were super cheap, figuring I would eventually have a mill. But no collets (R8, right?), no end mill holders, no boring head, no edge finder, no fly cutter, etc.

So here's the challenge: What is the least I would need to buy to get some basic squaring and slotting functionality from a mill? What is the barebones set of tooling to make it useful to have around? I'm not talking about the cheapest brands, just the fewest total items. I commented in a post yesterday about what tools to buy with a mill that I am VERY good at coming up with lists of things I want to buy. I am not so good at knowing what is actually NEEDED to make use of a mill (I've never used a mill), vs what is only needed for special operations, or just nice to have.

If it doesn't make sense for me financially to get this right now then I'll leave it in my brother's shop instead of having it in the way and only there to nag me to spend money on it. It's an open offer, no rush. I can take it when I want to. But I like my marriage more than I like machining, and I don't intend for that to change, so I have to take budgetary matters seriously. :)
 
I have a larger mill with a full set of ER40 collets. About 95% of the time I use the 3/8" collet and endmills with a 3/8th shank bought off of eBay.
Once in a while a 1/2" or 3/4" collet but it is NOT often. If you can't find a cheap set of R-8 collets on eBay then just go with a single 3/8th inch.
A set of hold downs is good to have for items that won't go in the vise.
When I bought my new to me, old mill, I bought a lot of tooling, some has never been used; get the mill then buy tooling to get a specific job done. Between Enco running 25% off w/free shipping and eBay you shouldn't "need" to spend too much right away.

Just my .02

Mike
 
Reeltor pretty well nailed it. Buy what you need. I've been doing it for over a year for my mill, If I need something (last was 5/16 hand reamer) I realized last weekend that I was going to need one for an upcoming job. I found one on Ebay Buy it Now, Free shipping, for $12.++, got it yesterday, used it today. If you can't wait three or four days, you aren't planning ahead. Did I need a whole set of reamers? no, not at all. Next one I need I'll buy it then.
 
Reeltor said:
get the mill then buy tooling to get a specific job done
Click to expand...

I don't always follow that rule for tools, but it is a good way to proceed.

I do follow that rule for kitchen items so an apt analogy occurs to me:

"Get the stove and buy the pans as you need them."
 
A 3/8 and 1/2" collets will do most things you'll do on that mill. You already have a drill chuck and if you make simple fly cutter it will get you by. A clamping set would be great but you can make t-nuts and use bolts. A vise would be nice but most things can be clamped down to the table easily. I'd move your drill out and replace it with with the mill even if you only use it for a drill.
 
If you have a 1/2" R8 collet,you can make slit STEEL ONLY bushings to hold smaller end mills. I say steel only because brass is too slippery a metal to securely hold milling cutters. I found this out MANY years ago when a WOODRUFF keyway cutter kept walking out of a brass bushing,nearly ruining a Ruger pistol I was slotting for a front sight. Fortunately,the cutter did not slip TOO much. But,WHY would a NON SPIRAL cutter slip?

And,be sure to keep OIL out of your steel bushing. You can slit it 3 times,equally spaced to maintain concentricity: 2 times most of the way through,and 1 time all the way through.

A better plan is to buy an R8 collet that has a set screw for screwing down against Weldon flats. Then,cut away your bushings so the screw can bear against your end mill's shank. THIS MIGHT TEND TO BREAK OFF the shanks of small size end mills though(Like 1/4" and smaller),if your bushing is NOT HARDENED. It can "give" enough on the opposite side from the set screw to perhaps pop the shank in half. Plus,if money is an issue,these type R8 holders cost more,AND,they hang farther out of the spindle(which is the part I like the least: It gives less rigid support to the end mill.)
 
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Like the guy's have said buy what you need for what your into and pretty soon you will have it all,
 
I fully appreciate and typically follow that philosophy. Please note the difference between that general philosophy and my rather specific question. Again:

* I have never used a mill so my only frame of reference here is forums like this and YouTube videos, and in both cases with remarkably few exceptions all work shown is by people who are very far along into their tooling acquisitions. Thus I don't have much frame of reference for figuring out what I will need.
* The ENTIRE point of asking here was to get a sense of how much I will need to spend to get the most basic functionality from the mill so it earns its space and I'm not just irritated that I have it but can't use it.

There have been several helpful responses. Thank you for that. It makes sense that I can do most basic operations with just a couple sizes of end mills. I hadn't thought about it that way. That does make it much more accessible.

Thank you also for the more abstract responses, even though they did not really match the specific question asked.
 
If you happen to find a good price on an optical tachometer, pick one up. The number one reason for wrecking a tool is machining at the wrong speed (RPM), usually too fast. Knowing the actual speed of your spindle will help with the learning process.

The best bang for your buck in end mills will be HSS ones. If you have a specific need later for a carbide one, you can get it then.
 
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