Mortiser milling machine.

[DaveinDublin]

sorry, but I don't see this working that well. A mortiser has no ability to take a side load. And you have more travel in X than you do in y, in Y that casting may do a better job, but it won't in X. I would not consider it, as you are fighting with a casting that is not supportive.
you will spend a bit of money that won't do what you want.

I understand I will have to bolt a better spindle to the column with improved bearings ect.

 

[DaveinDublin]

Your correct about the slop in the lead screws. There is also the problem that the screw thread is an oddball size. I’m hoping that if the ways are accurate enough that replacing the existing screws with a proper metric set.

 

[DaveinDublin]

There's quite a number of home-made mills and lathes on the internet. My YouTube algorithm shows them. They are all a lot of work and usually there's not a lot of video showing parts being made. Although the basic parts are relatively simple, building and aligning everything is not easy. They are often simple machine, with none of the frills that machinists need to be productive. When I watch the build videos, it sometimes looks like a carpenter or mason has decided to branch out into a new field without knowing how things are done and with no "feel". In other words, building machines badly can be a way to subtly avoid becoming a machinist. I went through such a phase (mostly on paper) so I can't case the first stone but I certainly wouldn't advise such an extreme bootstrap strategy.

If you want to learn how to build machine tools, maybe this is the perfect opportunity. It won't be easy or inexpensive. The cheapest way to get a working mill is to buy an import and use it to improve itself. This is already quite a lot of work and you'll learn a lot.

If you just want to make parts, you might find that picking up extra shifts or getting a seasonal job will be more efficient. I think it would take a mechanical non-machinist 8 x 40-hour weeks to draw and build a 3-axis mill. If you worked that many hours at even 10 $/hr, you could buy an RF-30 and some tooling.

When I think back on the hours I spent thinking about machining and watching videos, it was such a waste of time. I should have told the wife that I wanted to buy a mill next year and it will cost 4,000 (a little extra for tooling and inevitable shortfall. Might have had to eat in on Fridays or find a side hustle but I could have been machining 10 years earlier if I had focused on buying a mill off the shelf.

In any case, good luck.

I completely got sucked into the “I can make that” route and have probably been watching too many videos on the tube instead of doing something constructive in the shed. I have a piggy bank setup and will hopefully get a proper bench mill someday. Can it be that hard to cut a slot then a hole

 

[DaveinDublin]

Lots of good advice! I've gone down the "I can make that" hole before. As everyone advices, not worth it! Get a side job if you need to buy a used mill. The mill/drills are cheap, capable and can do real work.

I’m beginning to rethink my plans

 

[DaveinDublin]

Don't do it. Guaranteed to be disappointing, and a grand waste of time and money.
Life is short. Pick a winning horse. Put on your Wellies and take purposeful strides.

This public service announcement brought to you by the sanity in machining coalition

I’m tuning my dial to the coalition broadcast frequency as we speak….

 

[DaveinDublin]

Good evening all. Having more ambition than money I am planning to build a homemade milling machine using a Vevor milling table and mounting it on a Sedgwick 571 mortiser. The motor is 380v 750w unit which I’m planning to run on single phase via a vfd and drive a r8 spindle. Has anyone else attempted something similar?View attachment 474975View attachment 474972View attachment 474973

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t one of my better ideas so far this year but I’m prepared to learn as I go. What if I was to rename the original post as Mortise “Drilling” machine? Would the addition of a vfd and a chuck give me a usable drill? I have no experience of vfds but from my research could the motor be connected as a 220v delta unit and the speed be adjustable?

 

[matthewsx]

I really enjoyed reading your mill building journey John. Did it manage to turn out any good work in the end?

Hi,

I do believe it would have been capable but no, never really did any real work with it. I started cutting the nut for my lathe cross-slide but the spindle I had at the time fried.

It was a learning experience, but would have been better off buying a mill that needed fixing up for the money.

I’m probably going to part it out soon.

John

 

[stupoty]

You can get ball screws and linier guides very cheaply from china vendors.

Vevor , banggod etc.

Definitely worth checking out and having a think about. (unless you already have the table , in which case.)

You might be able to get things sent on a pallet to ireland from the uk , not sure how much this costs though.

You can also get milling spindles which mostly come with some sort of ER collet nose for tool holding.

for example.

rails

https://uk.vevor.com/linear-guide-r...locks-smooth-slide-guide-steel-p_010992917873

500w spindle motor

https://www.banggood.com/Machifit-E...paign=aceng-pmax-uk-exrc-220802-meruem&ad_id=


set of rails and ball screws
https://uk.vevor.com/linear-guide-r...cpc&utm_id=19012369581&utm_term=&gad_source=1

Stu

 

[woodchucker]

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t one of my better ideas so far this year but I’m prepared to learn as I go. What if I was to rename the original post as Mortise “Drilling” machine? Would the addition of a vfd and a chuck give me a usable drill? I have no experience of vfds but from my research could the motor be connected as a 220v delta unit and the speed be adjustable?

would it pay to look in England, you are a short trip on a ship. Maybe the conversion money plus trip is worth it.

 

[DaveinDublin]

You can get ball screws and linier guides very cheaply from china vendors.

Vevor , banggod etc.

Definitely worth checking out and having a think about. (unless you already have the table , in which case.)

You might be able to get things sent on a pallet to ireland from the uk , not sure how much this costs though.

You can also get milling spindles which mostly come with some sort of ER collet nose for tool holding.

for example.

rails

https://uk.vevor.com/linear-guide-r...locks-smooth-slide-guide-steel-p_010992917873

500w spindle motor

https://www.banggood.com/Machifit-E...paign=aceng-pmax-uk-exrc-220802-meruem&ad_id=


set of rails and ball screws
https://uk.vevor.com/linear-guide-r...cpc&utm_id=19012369581&utm_term=&gad_source=1

Stu

I’ve bought the x y table above and a 5in swivel machine vice from Vevor and am very impressed with the quality of the vice. €100 odd including delivery for each. Only a fraction of the price of the Kurt vice which it clones.