Just Ordered Pm-727m, What Do I Need

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kf4zht

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Ordered a PM-727M and the starter tooling pack at lunch today, sounds like they are in stock and should be here this week or next. I don't have a driveway so liftgate delivery doesnt make sense. Going to meet them at the shipping terminal and have it loaded in my truck. Need to modify my engine hoist so I can mount it on the tractor. Between the tommy gate and that I should be able to pick it up off the truck and get it in the door. Once its in there shouldn't be an issue getting it into position.

Been trying to make a list of what I need to get it setup and some basic tools, could use some advice on what I am missing and where to get stuff.

So Far:
Lifting straps - HF
Milling Vise - Already ordered
Collets - Already ordered
DTI - Looking at CDCO or Shars right now
DTI Mount - CDCO or shars
Dial Indicators - already have 3
Mag bases - Already have 2
End Mills - I have some smaller ones (1/8-1/4), should I get a cheap set of bigger ones or only a few select sizes of good ones?
123 blocks - May wait for BF sales
Parallels - ?
Boring Head - I have a set of boring bars I got cheap a while back, is a boring head used that often or should I wait for a project that needs one?

What else am I missing?
 
I have found that with regard to the end mills that I have had better results with buying the better quality ones as opposed to the cheap ones, so for my PM25 I typically keep a few 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, and maybe one 1/2 rougher. The smaller ones I can oftentimes find 4 or 5-packs on Ebay at a decent price.
 
I recommend scouring craigslist ....

I got all of mine from a 2 ads....

I have tool box drawer full of end mills of all sorts ...
 
The smaller ones I have are all higher end axtrax and similar. They were bought for a mini cnc mill where the machine didn't have enough HP to overcome any dullness.

I've been watching craigslist for years. Atlanta is a really bad town for any types of machinest equipment in general. There was never any serious industry here, just a town of middle management. As a result you don't have the retired workers and discount old machines you get elsewhere.

Did find out that enco has 25% off and free shipping today only, about to hit them up. $30 for a Chinese dti vs 75 on sale for a mity make an easier choice

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
 
Cheape end mills are a good way to start, if this is your fist adventure in machining. Then you can step up to higher quality as you gain experiance. It's better to break a $7 hss end mill then a $35 carbide end mill. Congrats in the new mill by the way.
 
wrmiller19 said:
How do you break an end mill? Just curious, as I've never done that.
Click to expand...

1/8" or so endmill + CNC controlling motion + chips not clearing fast enough does it before you can even blink. CNC is great for precision and speed, but the machine has no feel, no ears, it just goes.
 
After I asked that I figured you were talking about CNC. I've seen my friends CNC eat a few end mills. :)
 
What you really need is an extremely slow internet connection to keep you from spending all your money on tooling. Hey, you asked.. ;)

If you didn't get the 1-2-3 blocks from Enco with the sale (it is seemingly still valid on their website as of this morning), Amazon is typically about the same price. The parallels on Amazon are cheap and good - plenty good for the hobby shop.

I prefer to get good endmills having used some quality ones and the cheap Grizzly set. Night and day difference in the grind and performance.
 
I personally dislike sets, I would get a couple cheapies to screw up then buy nicer ones to replace them. Depending on what you are milling a few sizes will probably be the ones you use 90% of the time. I have 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 in end mill holders both for convenience and I don't have to worry about the endmills falling out when I loosen the drawbar (I'm a high functioning noob).

What about a drill chuck?
 
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