New mill for newb

I see a could of "Round" Column mill on you Grizzly list. I personally would think twice about a round column mill. Because any Z axis movement is limited to the travel of the quill. It is very difficult to maintain perfect X Y alignment, if you have to raise or lower the head, as it is loose to rotate around the column, when it is unclamped to be raised or lowered.

As others have mentioned, try to get the biggest and heaviest mill you can for you budget. The extra mass helps with rigidity. Other nice things are more HP and Variable Speed.

Combo Lathe/Mills are always a tradeoff. But, some people like them. I think if you have the space, two separate machines is the way to go.
 
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Adrian,

Might be option if you could also keep an eye on Seattle, Portland, and Spokane Craig's List. There have been a fair number of used mills recently, at fairly decent prices. It's not a big trip to rent a truck for a day and drive down to pick something up. I bought my big Standard Modern utililathe from a guy in Vancouver and went to get it in a rented Box van. 4 or 5 hours round trip. Not bad at all, including time spent waiting at the border. Not sure what you might get charged for import duty going into Canada. The US Customs guy didn't care about my old used machine coming into the US.

Glenn
 
Can you describe any other constraints? You hope to limit the spend to about $3000 (CAD I assume).
Does $3000 mean you expect to have a certain amount of tooling, or can you get by with just the minimum tooling and add on as needed?
Do you have space for a full size machine, or even a small knee mill?
Are you good with a 3 phase machine? Have you got 3 phase power sorted out, or are you comfortable managing getting 3 phase power in your work space?
How much weight are you comfortable transporting and moving into your work space? Do you need to take the machine down a flight of stairs? Of course the transport can be very easy - if you are okay with just paying a machine moving company.
What is your time frame? Can you bide your time to wait for a used machine that will meet your criteria. In your area, I have seen several some decent machines do show up over the past few years (the lower mainland is one of my search areas). Of course, my opinion of "decent" may be quite different than yours.
What other shop resources do you have? Is this machine going to be your only primary machine? Are you looking for a mill which would compliment a certain sized lathe?
Are you new to machining, or just "new to this forum"?
 
Hi Adrian. Welcome to HM
I also would not buy a round column mill, or one that has metric/non-imperial leadscrews for the 3 axes. You want 100 thousandths per revolution.
Mark S.
 
Can you describe any other constraints? You hope to limit the spend to about $3000 (CAD I assume).
Does $3000 mean you expect to have a certain amount of tooling, or can you get by with just the minimum tooling and add on as needed?
Do you have space for a full size machine, or even a small knee mill?
Are you good with a 3 phase machine? Have you got 3 phase power sorted out, or are you comfortable managing getting 3 phase power in your work space?
How much weight are you comfortable transporting and moving into your work space? Do you need to take the machine down a flight of stairs? Of course the transport can be very easy - if you are okay with just paying a machine moving company.
What is your time frame? Can you bide your time to wait for a used machine that will meet your criteria. In your area, I have seen several some decent machines do show up over the past few years (the lower mainland is one of my search areas). Of course, my opinion of "decent" may be quite different than yours.
What other shop resources do you have? Is this machine going to be your only primary machine? Are you looking for a mill which would compliment a certain sized lathe?
Are you new to machining, or just "new to this forum"?

Hi

I'm currently in the process of having a shop built - still waiting for the city to approve the plans so it will be quite a long time until I have a full size machine.
I will need to get the machine into my basement which is 3 steps - concrete.
I am actively looking on Craigslist.
I'm not in any rush to get a machine.
As far as shop resources I do not own any milling equiptment just welders air compressors etc, this machine will be my only machine.
I am a total newbie to machining but have worked around the equiptment for many years.

Thanks
Adrian
 
If I understand you, you would be looking at a mill only shop. Is that because of specific work you plan to do, or perhaps you already have a lathe in hand (just not on site)? I'd be interested to hear your rational on just a mill (or just a mill to start with). For that matter, I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on a mill only shop (plus bench work and the usual small tools).

I understand the lathe only shop (that is all I had for over 25 years and it works quite well).
 
Hi Chipper

I am just starting out with machining - this will be my first machine.
Would love a lathe but I would like to start with a mill first so I can make small parts on it then as my skill level progresses I might consider some other machines.
I should probably mention that this is for personal use and I will not be making money off these machines.
Just trying to figure out which machine would be best for me and limit the buyer's remorse.

Thanks
Adrian
 
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I went and had a look at the Craftex milling machines and I do not like the quality- it seems as though I might be better off finding an old knee mill or buying a descent Grizzley.
 
Adrian, I maybe able to help you with your decision, I have both a mini mill and a mini lathe, the mill is BB CX612 which is the same as MLS 3990, I am using it everyday since I bought it last Christmas, it comes with 3/4 hp high torque brushless motor which seems to be more desirable with smaller(imported/Chinese) machines, there has been a few discussions here about these smaller machines and the consensus was that these machines can produce great projects if used within their limits.
If you are planing on working with harder material like stainless steel and hoping to remove .40" or .50"(10mm to 12mm) with each pass,a mini mill will most likely disappoint you terribly,mainly because they lack rigidity and power, but they work fine with Aluminum Mild steel if you only take off .010"-.o20" at a time, these mills also are a bit more finicky than the heavier duty knee mills, need more fine tuning, frequent readjustments, etc.
With all that said I still love using my mini mill and having fun with it and the lathe everyday although I must admit, it would be nice to own a more ridgid or more capable knee mill and would have bought one(used) if I had the space (head room)in my shop ,my suggestion to you is to look for a new or older ( small) knee mill in good condition especially if you have enough space and have 240V outlet in your shop, you also may have to contend with the 3 phase motors and the extra cost of buying the proper device (VFD) but if portability and /or lack of space is the issue, then go with the smaller machines.
BTW. welcome aboard.:)
 
Adrian, I maybe able to help you with your decision, I have both a mini mill and a mini lathe, the mill is BB CX612 which is the same as MLS 3990, I am using it everyday since I bought it last Christmas, it comes with 3/4 hp high torque brushless motor which seems to be more desirable with smaller(imported/Chinese) machines, there has been a few discussions here about these smaller machines and the consensus was that these machines can produce great projects if used within their limits.
If you are planing on working with harder material like stainless steel and hoping to remove .40" or .50"(10mm to 12mm) with each pass,a mini mill will most likely disappoint you terribly,mainly because they lack rigidity and power, but they work fine with Aluminum Mild steel if you only take off .010"-.o20" at a time, these mills also are a bit more finicky than the heavier duty knee mills, need more fine tuning, frequent readjustments, etc.
With all that said I still love using my mini mill and having fun with it and the lathe everyday although I must admit, it would be nice to own a more ridgid or more capable knee mill and would have bought one(used) if I had the space (head room)in my shop ,my suggestion to you is to look for a new or older ( small) knee mill in good condition especially if you have enough space and have 240V outlet in your shop, you also may have to contend with the 3 phase motors and the extra cost of buying the proper device (VFD) but if portability and /or lack of space is the issue, then go with the smaller machines.
BTW. welcome aboard.:)

Hi Ken

My shop is in the process of being built at the moment, originally I wanted a small machine to go in my basement but now I think I might build a temporary shelter for a larger knee mill and put next to my house until the shop gets finished.
I might also drive to grizzly and take a look at all of their machines before I pull the trigger.
My end height available will be 13ft in the shop and I have 240volt 80 amp available.
I have my feelers out
Thanks for the warm welcome :)
 
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