New Charter Oak 12Z on the way

Nice work Bill. I can't tell you how many times I have had to make something work when I am by myself. I have never, knock on wood, gotten hurt, but I had to have a two level fusion in my neck from two collapsed discs. My doctor told me it was from beating up my body by lifting things I shouldn't have. I was also a strength coach in college, I am sure that didn't help. Anyway congrats on the new mill. I looked at the CO's, but they were a little out of my budget. It will be interesting to see how you make out.

Good Luck!
 
Anyway congrats on the new mill. I looked at the CO's, but they were a little out of my budget. It will be interesting to see how you make out.

Good Luck!

Hey Brooks,

I didn't know about the COs when I bought my PM25 or I might have waited until I could afford it. But, I'm not planning to get rid of Blue just yet.

I've got some ideas for stiffening the column a bit and am going to redesign parts of the pulley system I bought and will use it for light duty/high rpm work with small cutters. I'll use El Hefe for the larger stuff. :)

In the last pic I posted you can see, albeit somewhat blurry, just how much bigger the CO is compared to the PM. A friend here was telling me how he buries a 1/2" end mill in 1/2" 4140 and the mill doesn't complain a bit. Different tools for different jobs.

I did a light cleanup on El Hefe and oiled the ways to try them out. Very smooth. Maker of Things was telling me that he didn't even check tram on his mill until today or adjust the gibs. After checking the tram he didn't have to touch a thing. I'm hoping mine turns out as good as his.

Now that I've got the 'heavy stuff' out of the way, I'm looking forward to the weekend. :allgood:
 
Way to go on the creative solution and refraining from dressing in cammo and going on a rampage. ;-)
 
Bill, good work. I say no fouls for any bleeding that can be stopped with a bandage in a situation like that. I think your garage is a little too tall though, the mill looks less menacing when you can't see the ceiling in the pic.
 
Bill, good work. I say no fouls for any bleeding that can be stopped with a bandage in a situation like that. I think your garage is a little too tall though, the mill looks less menacing when you can't see the ceiling in the pic.

It's still pretty menacing, all black and such. Height is just about perfect for me @ 6'3". Glad I asked for an extra 4" of height on the stand. The bleeding was minimal. I raised a burr on the edge of the chip tray getting it between the mill and stand. Then I promptly ran the inside of my middle finger over it. Right in the joint too... @#$^@$%^@%$ ;)

First mill I've ever owned that I had to look 'up' to see the fwd/rev switch (my friends BP clone was like that, but I didn't own it). And that is with the head mid-range in Z. And near as I can tell, the ceiling is somewhere between 9 and 10' tall.

But I still named him El Hefe (The Boss). :roflmao:
 
Congrats Bill. Looks great. Now get to making chips.

Can I at least wire the plug and check tram? It's easier to do when I don't have chips all over the place. :)

That reminds me, I can actually use a 3" face mill now. Any recommendations? I have to surface some iron and steel for my new cross slide and compound I'm going to make.

Oh and Mike: I saved some weight going with this mill over the 935, but it probably takes up as much room as yours. But at least I can (carefully) move mine around on it's wheels. :)
 
Can I at least wire the plug and check tram? It's easier to do when I don't have chips all over the place. :)

That reminds me, I can actually use a 3" face mill now. Any recommendations? I have to surface some iron and steel for my new cross slide and compound I'm going to make.

Oh and Mike: I saved some weight going with this mill over the 935, but it probably takes up as much room as yours. But at least I can (carefully) move mine around on it's wheels. :)

Sure, but what is taking you so long.:whistle: There was a time I thought about making mine "mobile" to move around the shop but figured that would just be more of a hassle than leaving it in it's assigned spot and working around it. Probably six of one and a half a dozen of the other.

As far as a facing mill/cutter, I bought one from Shars a few months ago and have used it a couple of times now, works pretty well for the price. I have a Glacern in my sights but a little more saving first.
 
I have been eyeballing the Tormach superfly cutter. I was quite impressed by the videos.
 
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